A thousand miles in the Rob Roy canoe on rivers and lakes of Europe

i_

A

THOUSAND MILES

IN THE

ROB EOT CANOE

ON RIVERS AND LAKES OF
EUROPE.

BY J. .MACGREOOR, M.A.,

^ TBINITY COLLEQE, CAMBBIDGE ;
BABBISTEB AT LAW:

Numerous Blustrattons antit a

THOUSAND.

LONDON :
SAMPSON LOW, SON, AND MAESTON

MILTON HOUSE, LUDGATE-HILL.
1866.

(The Right of Translation reserved.)

D
<U<

M3

PREFACE.

THE voyage about to be described was made
last Autumn in a small Canoe, with a double
paddle and sails, which the writer managed
alone.

The route led sometimes over mountains aud
through forests and plains, where the boat had
to be carried or dragged.

The waters navigated were as follows : —

The Rivers Thames, Sambre, Meuse, Rhine,
Main, Danube, Reuss, Aar, 111, Moselle, Meurthe,
Marne, and Seine.

The Lakes Titisee, Constance, Unter See,
Zurich, Zug, and Lucerne, together with six
canals in Belgium and France, and two expe-
ditions in the open sea of the British Channel.

TEMPLE, LONDON,

April 25, 1866.

IV

THE AUTHOR'S PROFITS FROM THE FIRST AND
SECOND EDITIONS, WERE GIVEN TO THE
ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION

AND TO
SOCIETY.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS,

Page
EAPIDS OF THE EEUSS (Frontispiece).

SEA EOLLEES IN THE CHANNEL ... ... ... 19

SWIMMING HEED ON THE METTSE ... ... ... 28

SINGEES' WAGGON ON THE DANUBE ... ... ... 49

A CEOWD IN THE MOENING ... ... ... ... 65

HAYMAKEES AMAZED ... ... ... ... 80

NIGHT SUBPEISE AT GEGGLINGEN ... ... ... 93

THE Eos EOT IN A BUSTLE ... ... ... 110

SAILING UPON LAKE ZUG ... ... ... ... 134

SHIRKING A WATEEFALL ... ... ... ... 152

A CEITICAL MOMENT ... ... ... ... 168

ASTEIDE THE STEBN ... ... ... ... 186

THE EOB EOT AND THE Cow ... ... ... 213

POLITE TO THE LADIES ... ... ... ... 230

G-EOUP OP FEENCH FISHEBS... ... ... ... 246

PASSING A DANGEEOUS BAEEIEE ... :.. ... 263

A CHOKED CANAL ... ... ... ... ... 281

ElGGING ASHOEE ... ... ... ... ... 290

EOUTE OP THE CANOE (Map) ... ... ... 291

CHAET OP CUEEENTS AND EOCKS .. 302

CONTENTS.

CHAPTEE I. page

Canoe Travelling- Other Modes— The Eob Roy— Hints-
Tourists — The Eivers— The Dress— I and We ... 1

CHAPTEE II.

The Start— The Nore— Porpoises— A Gale— The Channel—
Ostend Canal — Eiver Meuse — Earl of Aberdeen —
Holland— The Ehine— The Premier's Son— Eiver Main
—Heron Stalking— The Prince of Wales ... ... 12

CHAPTEE III.

Hollenthal Pass— Ladies— Black Forest— Night Music-
Beds — Lake Titisee — Pontius Pilate — Storm — Starers
— Banket — Four in hand — Source of the Danube ... 38

CHAPTEE IV.

Eiver Donau — Singers — Shady nooks — Greisingen — Mill
Weirs — Eapids — Morning Crowd — Donkey's Stable —
Islands — Monks — Spiders — Concert — Fish — A race ... 55

CHAPTEE V.

Sigmaringen— Treacherous trees — Congress of herons —
Flying Dutchman — Tub and shovel — Bottle race —
Snags— Bridge Perils— Ya Yol— Ferry Eope— Be-
nighted— Ten eggs ... ... ... ... 75

CHAPTEE VI.

Day-dream — Eiver Iller — Ulm — A stiff king — Lake Con-
stance— Seeing in the dark — Switzerland — Coloured
Canvas — Sign talk — Synagogue — Amelia — Gibberish 96

CHAPTEE VII.

Fog — Fancy pictures — Boy soldiers — Boat's billet — Eating
— Lake Zurich — Crinoline — Hot walk — Staring — Lake
Zug— Swiss shots— Fishing Britons— Talk-book ... 118

CHAPTEE VIII.

Sailing on Lucerne — Seeburg — Eiver scenes — Night and
snow — The Eeuss — A dear dinner — Seeing a rope —
Passing a fall — Sullen roar — Bremgarten rapids ... 142

Vlll CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IX.

Hunger— Music at the mill— Sentiment and chops— River
Limmat — Fixed on a fall — River Aar — Rhine again —
Douaniers — Falls of Lauffenburg — The cow cart ... 159

CHAPTER X.

Field of Foam — Precipice — Puzzled — Philosophy — Rhein-
felden Rapids — Dazzled — Lower Rapids — Astride —
Fate of the Four-oar— Yery Salt— Ladies— Whirlpool
— Funny English — Insulting a baby — Bride ... ] 77

CHAPTER XI.

Private concert — Thunderer — La Hardt Forest — Mulhouse
Canal — River 111 — Reading Stories — Madame Nico —
Night Noises — Pets — Ducking — The Yosges mountains
— Admirers — Boat on wheels — New wine ... ... 196

CHAPTER XII.

Bonfire — My wife — Matthews — Tunnel picture— Imposture
— Fancy — Moselle — Cocher — Saturday Review Tracts
— G-ymnastics — The paddle — A spell — Overhead —
Feminine forum — Public breakfast ... ... 216

CHAPTER XIII.

River Moselle — The Tramp — Halcyon — Painted woman —
Beating to quarters — Boat in a hedge — River Meurthe
— Moving House — Tears of a mother — Five francs . . . 234

CHAPTER XIY.

Ladies in muslin — Chalons Camp — Officers shouting —
Volunteers' umbrella — Reims — Leaks — Madame
Clicquot — Heavy blow — The Elephant — First Cloud... 255

CHAPTER XY.

Meaux on the Marne — Hammering — Popish forms — Wise
dogs— Blocked in a Tunnel — A dry voyage — Arbour
and Garret — Odd fellows — Dream on the Seine —
Almost over — No admittance — Charing-cross ... 276

APPENDIX.

Hints for Canoists — The Rob Roy's Stores — Chart of rocks
and currents — The Kent — Danger — Exercise— Sun —
Walking machine — Odds and ends— Future voyages ... 291

CHAPTER I.

Canoe Travelling— Other Modes— The Eob Roy— Hints
—Tourists— The Rivers— The Dress— I and We— The
Election.

THE object of this book is to describe a new mode
of travelling on the Continent, by which, new
people and things are met with, while healthy
exercise is enjoyed, and an interest ever varied
with excitement keeps fully alert the energies of
the mind.

Some years ago the Water Lily was rowed by
four men on the Rhine and on the Danube, and
its " log " delighted all readers. Afterwards, the
boat Water Witch laboured up French rivers, and
through a hundred tedious locks on the Bale
canal. But these and other voyages of three or
five men in an open boat were necessarily very
limited. In the wildest parts of the best rivers
the channel is too narrow for oars, or, if wide, it
B

2 THE CANOIST.

is too shallow for a row-boat ; and the tortuous
passages, the rocks and banks, the weeds and
snags, the milldams, barriers, fallen trees, rapids,
whirlpools, and waterfalls that constantly occur
on a river winding among hills, make those very
parts where the scenery is wildest and best to be
quite unapproachable in an open boat, for it would
be swamped by the sharp waves, or upset over
the sunken rocks which it is utterly impossible
for a steersman to see.

But these very things, which are obstacles or
dangers to the " pair oar," become interesting
features to the voyager in a covered canoe. For
now, as he sits in his little bark, he looks forward,
and not backward. He sees all his course, and
the scenery besides. With one powerful sweep of
his paddle he can instantly turn the canoe, when
only a foot distant from fatal destruction. He
can steer within an inch in a narrow place, or
pass through reeds and weeds, branches and
grass ; can hoist and lower his sail without
changing his seat ; can shove with his paddle when
aground, or jump out in good time to prevent a
decided smash. He can wade and haul the
light craft over shallows, or drag it on dry ground,
through fields and hedges, over dykes, barriers,
and walls ; can carry it by hand up ladders and
stairs, and can transport his boat over high

CANOE TRAVELLING. 3

mountains and broad plains in a cart drawn by
a horse, a bullock, or a cow.

Nay, more than this, the covered canoe is
far stronger than an open boat, and may be
fearlessly dropped headforemost into a deep pool,
a lock, or a millrace, and yet, when the breakers
are high, in the open sea or in fresh water rapids,
they can only wash over the covered deck, while
it is always dry within.

Again, the canoe is safer than a rowing-boat,
because you sit so low in it, and never require to
shift your place or lose hold of the paddle ; while
for comfort during long hours, for days and weeks
of hard work, it is evidently the best, because you
lean all the time against a backboard, and the
moment you rest the paddle on your lap you are
as much at ease as in an arm-chair ; so that,
while drifting along with the current or the wind,
you can gaze around, and eat or read or chat with
the starers on the bank, and yet, in a moment of
sudden danger, the hands are at once on the
faithful paddle ready for action.

Finally, you can lie at full length in the canoe,
with the sail as an awning for the sun, or a shelter
for rain, and you can sleep in it thus at night,
under cover, with an opening for air to leeward,
and at least as much room for turning in
your bed as sufficed for the great Duke of
B 2

4 OTHER MODES.

"Wellington; or, if you are tired of the water
for a time, you can leave your boat at an inn —
it will not be " eating its head off," like a horse ;
or you can send it home or sell it, amj. take to the
road yourself, or sink into the dull old cushions
of the " Premiere Classe," and dream you are
seeing the world.

With such advantages, then, and with good
weather and good health, the canoe voyage about,
to be described was truly delightful, and I never
enjoyed so much continuous pleasure in any other
tour.

But, before this deliberate assertion has weight
with intending " canoists," it may well be asked
from one who thus praises the paddle, " Has he
travelled in other ways, so as to know their
several pleasures ? Has he climbed glaciers and
volcanoes, dived into caves and catacombs, trotted
in the Norway carriole, ambled on an Arab, and
galloped on the Russian steppes ? Does he know
the charms of a Nile boat, or a Trinity Eight,
or a sail in the -ZEgean, or a mule in Spain?
Has he swung upon a camel, or glided in a
sleigh, or trundled in a Rantoone ? "

Yes, he has most thoroughly enjoyed these and
other modes of locomotion in the four corners of
the world ; but the pleasure in the canoe was far
better than all.

THE ROB ROY. 0

The weather last summer was, indeed, ex-
ceptionally good; but then rain would have
diminished some of the difficulties, though it
might have been a bore to paddle ten hours in a
downpour. Two inches more of water in the
rivers would have saved many a grounding and
wading, while, at worst, the rain could have wetted
only the upper man, which a cape can cover ; so,
even in bad weather, give me the canoe.

Messrs. Searle and Sons, of Lambeth, soon built
for me the very boat I wanted.

The Rob Roy is built of oak, and covered fore
and aft with cedar. She is made just short
enough to go into the German railway waggons ;
that is to say, fifteen feet in length, twenty-eight
inches broad, nine inches deep, weighs eighty
pounds, and draws three inches of water, with
an inch of keel. A paddle seven feet long, with
a blade at each end, and a lug sail and jib, are the
means of propulsion ; and a pretty blue silk
Union Jack is the only ornament.

The elliptic hole in which I sit is fifty-four inches
long and twenty broad, and has a macintosh cover
fastened round the combing and to a button on
my breast; while between my knees is my
baggage for three months, in a black bag one
foot square and five inches deep.

But, having got this little boat, the difficulty was

6 HINTS.

to find where she could go to, or what rivers were
at once feasible to paddle on, and pretty to see.

Inquiries in London as to this had no result.
Even the Paris Boat Club knew nothing of
French rivers. The best German and Austrian
maps were frequently wrong. They made villages
on the banks which I found were a mile away .in
a wood, and so were useless to one who had made
up his mind (a good resolve) never to leave his
boat.

It was soon, therefore, evident that, after
quitting the Rhine, this was to be a voyage of
discovery. And as I would most gladly have
accepted any hints on the matter myself, so I
venture to hope that this narrative will lessen
the trouble, while it stimulates the desire of the
numerous travellers who will spend their vacation
in a canoe.*

Not that I shall attempt to make a " handbook"
to any of the streams. The man who has a spark
of enterprise would turn from a river of which
every reach was mapped and its channels all
lettered. Fancy the free traveller, equipped for
a delicious summer of savage life, quietly sub-
mitting to be cramped and tutored by a " Chart

* See Appendix. Special hints for those who intend
to " canoe it " will usually be given in the footnotes, or
in the Appendix.

TOURISTS. 7

of the Upper Mosel," in the style of the following
extracts copied literally from two Guide-books ; —

(1) " Turn to the r. (right), cross the brook, and
ascend by a broad and steep forest track (in 40
min.) to the hamlet of Albersbach, situate in the
midst of verdant meadows. In five min. more a
cross is reached, where the path to the 1. must be
taken; in 10 min. to the r., in the hollow, to the saw
mill ; in 10 min. more through the gate to the r. ;
in 3 min. the least trodden path to the 1. leading
to the Gaschpels Hof ; after J hr. the stony track
iito the wood must be ascended," &c., &c. — From
B 's Rhine, p. 94.

(2) " To the ridge of the Riffelberg 8,000 ft.
Hotel on top very good. 2 hrs. up. Guide 4 fr.
Horse and man 10 fr. Path past the Church :
then 1. over fields ; then up through a wood 1 hr.

Past chalets : then r. across a stream." 9s

Handbook.

This sort of guide-book is not to be ridiculed.
It is useful for some travellers as a ruled copy-
book is of use to some writers. For first tours it
may be needful and pleasant to have all made
easy, to be carried in steamers or railways like a
parcel, to stop at hotels Anglified by the crowd of
English guests, and to ride, walk, or drive among
people who know already just what you will want
to eat, and see, and do.

8 THE RIVERS.

Year after year it is enough of excitement to
some tourists to be shifted in squads from town
to town, according to the routine of an excursion
ticket. Those who are a little more advanced
will venture to devise a tour from the mazy
pages of Bradshaw, and with portmanteau and
bag, and hat-box and sticks, they find more than
enough of judgment and tact is needed when
they arrive in a night train, and must fix on an
omnibus in a strange town. Safe at last in the
bedroom of the hotel, they cannot but exclaim
with satisfaction " Well, here we are all right at
last!"

But after mountains and caves, churches and
galleries, ruins and battle-fields have been pretty
well seen, and after tact and fortitude have been
educated by experience, the tourist is ready for
new lines of travel which might have given him
at first more anxiety than pleasure, and these he
will find in deeper searches among the natural
scenery and national character of the very countries
he has only skimmed before.

The rivers and streams on the Continent are
scarcely known to the English tourist, and the
beauty and life upon them no one has well
seen.

In his guide-book route, indeed, from town to
town, the tourist has crossed this and that stream

THE DRESS. 9

— has admired a few yards of the water, and has
then left it for ever. He is carried again on a
noble river by night in a steamboat, or is whisked
along its banks in a railway, and, between two
tunnels, gets a moment's glimpse at the lovely
water, and lo ! it is gone.

But a mine of rich beauty remains there to be
explored, and fresh gems of life and character are
waiting there to be gathered. These are not
mapped and labelled and ticketed in any handbook
yet ; and far better so, for the enjoyment of such
treasures is enhanced to the best traveller by the
energy and pluck required to get at them.

On this new world of waters we are to launch
the boat, the man, and his baggage, for we must
describe all three,

" Anna virumque canoe."

So what sort of dress did he wear ?

The clothes I took for this tour consisted of a
complete suit of grey flannel for use in the boat,
and another suit of light but ordinary dress for
shore work and Sundays.

The " Norfolk jacket " is a loose frock-coat, like
a blouse, with shoulder-straps, and belted at the
waist, and garnished by six pockets. With this
excellent new-fashioned coat, a something in each
of its pockets, and a Cambridge straw hat, canvas

10 " I " AND " ME."

wading shoes, blue spectacles, a waterproof over-
coat, and my spare jib for a sun shawl, there was
sure to be a full day's enjoyment in defiance of
rain or sun, deeps or shallows, hunger or ennui.

Four hours' work to begin, and then three of
rest or floating, reading or sailing, and again, a
three hours' heavy pull, and then with a swim in
the river or a bath at the inn, a change of gar-
ments and a pleasant walk, all was made quite
fresh again for a lively evening, a hearty dinner,
talk, books, pictures, letters, and bed.

Now I foresee that in the description of this
tour I shall have to write " I," and the word
" me " must be used by me very often indeed ;
but having the misfortune to be neither an
Emperor, an editor, nor a married man, who
can speak in the plural, I cannot help it if I am
put down as a bachelor egotist, reserving the
" we " for myself and my boat.

The manner of working the double-bladed
paddle was easily learned by a few days' practice
on the Thames, and so excellent is the exercise
for the muscles of the limbs and body that I have
continued it at intervals, even during the winter,
when a pretty sharp " look out " must be kept to
pilot safely among the red and yellow lights of
steamers, barges, embankments, and bridges in an
evening's voyage from Putney to Westminster.

THE ELECTION. 11

All being ready and the weather very hot at
the end of July, when the country had caught the
election fever, and M.P.'s had run off to scramble
for seats, and the lawyers had run after them
to thicken the bustle, and the last bullet at
Wimbledon had come " thud " on the target, it
was time for the Rob Eoy to start.

CHAPTER II.

THE STAET.

The Thames— The Cornwall— Porpoises— A Gale— The
Channel — Ostend Canal — The Meuse— Earl of Aber-
deen— Holland— The Khine— The Premier's Son— The
Kiver Main — Heron stalking — The Prince of Wales.

THE Rob Roy bounded away joyously on the top
of the tide through "Westminster Bridge, and
swiftly shooting the narrow piles at Blackfriars,
danced along the waves of the Pool, which looked
all golden in the morning sun, but were in fact of
veritable pea-soup hue.

A fine breeze at Greenwich enabled me to set
the new white sail, and we skimmed along with
a cheery hissing sound. At such times the river
is a lively scene with steamers and sea-bound
ships, bluff little tugs, and big looming barges.
I had many a chat with the passing sailors, for it
was well to begin this at once, seeing that every
day afterwards I was to have talk with the river
folk in English, French, Dutch, German, or else
some hotchpotch patois.

BARGEES. 13

The bargee is not a bad fellow if you begin
with good humour, but he will not stand banter.
Often they began the colloquy with, " Holloah
you two !" or " Any room inside?" or " Got
your life insured, Gov'nor?" but I smiled and
nodded to every one, and every one on every river
and lake was friendly to me.

Gravesend was to be the port for the night,
but Purfleet looked so pretty that I took a tack
or two to reconnoitre, and resolved to stop at
the very nice hotel on the river, which I beg to
recommend.

While lolling about in my boat at anchor in
the hot sun a fly stung my hand ; and although
it was not remarked at once, .the arm speedily
swelled, and I had to poultice the hand at night
and to go to church next day with a sling, which
appendage excited a great deal of comment in
the village Sunday-school. This little incident
is mentioned because it was the only occasion on
which any insect troubled me on the voyage,
though several croakers had predicted that in
rivers and marshes there would be hundreds of
wasps, venomous flies, and gnats, not to mention
other residents within doors.

Just as I entered the door of the quiet little
church, an only gentleman about to go in fell
down dead in the path. It was impossible not

14 H.M.S. CORNWALL.

to be much impressed with this sudden death as
a solemn warning, especially to one in vigorous
health.

The " Cornwall " Reformat ory School-ship is
moored at Pur fleet. Some of the boys came
ashore for a walk, neatly clad and very well
behaved. Captain Burton, who commands this
interesting vessel, received me on board very
kindly, and the evening service between decks
was a sight to remember for ever.

About 100 boys sat in rows along the old
frigate's main-deck, with the open ports looking
on the river, now reddened by a setting sun, and
the cool air pleasantly fanning us. The lads
chanted the Psalms to the music of a harmonium,
played with excellent feeling and good taste, and
the Captain read a suitable portion from some
selected book, and then prayer was offered ; and
all this was by and for poor vagrant boys, whose
claim on society is great indeed if measured by
the wrong it has done them in neglect if not in
precept, nay, even in example.

Next morning the canoe was lowered down a
ladder from the hay-loft, where it had been kept
(it had to go up into many far more strange
places in subsequent days), and the Cornwall
boys bid me a pleasant voyage — a wish most
fully realized indeed.

UNDER SAIL. 15

After taking in supplies at Gravesend, I shoved
off into the tide, and lit a cigar, and now I felt
I had fairly started. Then there began a strange
feeling of freedom and novelty which lasted to the
end of the tour.

Something like it is felt when you first march
off with a knapsack ready to walk anywhere, or
when you start alone in a sailing-boat for a long
cruise.

But then in walking you are bounded by every
sea and river, and in a common sailing-boat you
are bounded by every shallow and shore; whereas,
I was in a canoe, which could be paddled or sailed,
hauled, or carried over land or water to Rome, if
I liked, or to Hong-Kong.

The wind was fair again, and up went my sail.
The reaches got wider and the water more salt,
but I knew every part of the course, for I had
once spent a fortnight about the mouth of the
Thames in my pretty little sailing-boat, the Kent,
alone, with only a dog, a chart, a compass, and a
bachelor's kettle.

The new steamer Alexandra, which plies
from London daily, passed me here, its high-
terraced American decks covered with people,
and the crowd gave a fine loud cheer to the
Rob Roy, for the newspapers had mentioned its
departure. Presently the land seemed to fade

16 PORPOISES.

away at each, side in pale distance, and the
water was more sea than river, till near the
Nore we entered a great shoal of porpoises.
Often as I have seen these harmless and agile
playfellows I had never been so close to them
before, and in a boat so small as to be almost
disregarded by them, wily though they be. I
allowed the canoe to rock on the waves, and the
porpoises frequently came near enough to be
struck by my paddle, but I did not wage war,
for a flap of a tail would have soon turned me
upside down.

After a pleasant sail to Southend and along the
beach, the wind changed, and a storm of heavy
rain had to be met in its teeth by taking to the
paddle, until near Shoeburyness, where I meant
to stop a day or two in the camp of the National
Artillery Association, which was assembled here
for its first Prize shooting.

The Royal Artillery received us Yolunteers on
this occasion with the greatest kindness, and as
they had appropriated quarters of officers absent
on leave for the use of members of the Council of
the Association, I was soon comfortably ensconced.
The camp, however, in a wet field was moist
enough ; but the fine tall fellows who had come
from Yorkshire, Somerset, or Aberdeen to handle
the 68-pounders, trudged about in the mud with

A NOREASTER. 17

good humour and thick boots, and sang round
the camp-fire in a drizzle of rain, and then
pounded away at the targets next day, for these
were volunteers of the right sort.

As the wind had then risen to a gale it seemed
a good opportunity for a thorough trial of the
canoe in rough water, so I paddled her to a
corner where she would be least injured by being
thrown ashore after an upset, and where she
would be safe while I might run to change clothes
after a swim.

The buoyancy of the boat astonished me, and
her stability was in every way satisfactory. In
the midst of the waves I even managed to rig up
the mast and sail, and as I had no baggage on
board and so did not mind being perfectly wet
through in the experiments, there was nothing
left untried, and the confidence then gained for
after times was invaluable.

Early next morning I started directly in the
teeth of the wind, and paddled against a very
heavy sea \o Southend, where a nice warm bath
was enjoyed while my clothes were getting dried,
and then the Rob Roy had its first railway
journey in one of the little cars on the Southend
pier to the steamboat.

It was amusing to see how much interest and
curiosity the canoe excited even on the Thames,
c

18 ON A TENDER.

where all kinds of new and old and wonderful
boats may be seen. The reasons for this I never
exactly made out. Some wondered to see so
small a boat at sea, others had never seen a canoe
before, the manner of rowing was new to most,
and the sail made many smile. The graceful
shape of the boat pleased others, the cedar cover-
ing and the jaunty flag, and a good many stared
at the captain's uniform, and they stared more
after they had asked, " Where are you going to? "
and were often told, " I really do not know."

From Sheerness to Dover was the route, and
on the branch line train the Rob Roy had to be
carried on the coals in the engine-tender, with
torrents of rain and plenty of hot sparks driven
into her by the gale; but after some delay at
a junction the canoe was formally introduced to
a baggage-waggon and ticketed like a portman-
teau, the first of a series of transits in this way.

The London Chatham and Dover Railway Com-
pany took this new kind of " box " as passengers'
luggage, so I had nothing to pay, and {he steamer
to Ostend was equally large-hearted, so I say,
" Canoemen, choose this channel."

But before crossing to Belgium I had a day
at Dover, where I bought some stuff and
had a jib made for the boat by deft and fair
fingers, had paddled the Rob Roy on the green

SAILING ON THE SEA.

19

Rollers off the Digue.

waves which toss about off the pier-head most
delectably. The same performance was repeated on
the top of the swell, tumbling and breaking on
the " digue "* at Ostend, where, even with little

* At Ostend I found an English gentleman preparing
for a voyage on the Danube, for which he was to build a
"centre board" boat. Although no doubt a sailing boat
could reach the Danube by the Bamberg canal, yet, after
four tours on that river from its source as far as Pest,
I am convinced that to trust to sailing upon it would
entail much tedious delay, useless trouble, and constant
anxiety. If the wind is ahead you have all the labour of
tacking, and are frequently in slack water near the banks,

c 2

20 ON THE MEUSE.

wind, the rollers ran high on a strong ebb tide.
Fat bathers wallowed in the shallows, and fair
ones, dressed most bizarre, were swimming like
ducks. All of these, and the babies squalling
hysterically at each dip, were duly admired ; and
then I had a quieter run under sail on their wide
and straight canal.

With just a little persuasion the railway people
consented to put the canoe in the baggage-van,
and to charge a franc or two for " extra luggage "
to Brussels. Here she was carried on a cart
through the town to another station, and in the
evening we were at Namur, where the Rob Roy
was housed for the night in the landlord's private
parlour, resting gracefully upon two chairs.

Two porters carried her through the streets
next morning, and I took a paddle on the Sambre,
but very soon turned down stream and smoothly
glided to the Meuse.

Glancing water, brilliant sun, a light boat, and
a light heart, all your baggage on board, and on a
fast current, — who would exchange this for any

and often in channels where the only course would be
dead to windward. If the wind is aft the danger of
" running " is extreme where you have to " broach to " and
stop suddenly near a shallow or a barrier. With a strong
side wind, indeed, you can sail safely, but this must come
from north or south, and the high banks vastly reduce its
effect.

BARRIERS AND SHALLOWS. 21

diligence or railway, or steamboat, or horse?
A pleasant stream was enough to satisfy at this
early period of the voyage, for the excitement of
rocks and rapids had not yet become a charm.

It is good policy, too, that a quiet, easy, re-
spectable sort of river like the Meuse should be
taken in the earlier stage of a water tour, when
there is novelty enough in being on a river at all.
The river-banks one would call tame if seen from
shore are altogether new when you open up the
vista from the middle of the stream. The picture
that is rolled sideways to the common traveller
now pours out from before you, ever enlarging
from a centre, and in the gentle sway of the
stream the landscape seems to swell on this side
and on that with new things ever advancing to
meet you in succession.

How careful I was at the first shallow ! getting
out and wading as I lowered the boat. A month
afterwards I would dash over them with a shove here
and a stroke there in answer to a hoarse croak of the
stones at the bottom grinding against my keel.

And the first barrier — how anxious it made
me, to think by what means shall I get over.
A man appeared just in time (N.B. — They always
do), and twopence made him happy for his share
of carrying the boat round by land, and I jumped
in again as before.

22 HUT.

Sailing was easy, too, in a fine wide river,
strong and deep, and with a favouring breeze,
and when the little steamer passed I drew along-
side and got my penny roll and penny glass of
beer, while the wondering passengers (the first
of many amazed foreigners) smiled, chattered,
and then looked grave — for was it not indecorous
to laugh at an Englishman evidently mad, poor
fellow ?

The voyage was chequered by innumerable
little events, all perfectly different from those
one meets on shore, and when I came to the
forts at Huy and knew the first day's work was
done, the persuasion was complete that quite a
new order of sensations had been set going.

Next morning I found the boat safe in the
coach-house and the sails still drying on the
harness-pegs, where we had left them, but the
ostler and all his folks were nowhere to be seen.
Everybody had gone to join the long funeral
procession of a great musician, who lived fifty
years at Huy, though we never heard of him
before, or of Huy either ; yet you see it is in our
Map at page 291.

The pleasure of meandering with a new river
is very peculiar and fascinating. Each few yards
brings a novelty, or starts an excitement. A
crane jumps up here, a duck flutters there, splash

AWAKE. 23

leaps a gleaming trout by your side, the rushing
sound of rocks warns you round that corner, or
anon you come suddenly upon a millrace. All
these, in addition to the scenery and the people
and the weather, and the determination that you
must get on, over, through, or under every diffi-
culty, and cannot leave your boat in a desolate
wold, and ought to arrive at a house before dark,
and that your luncheon bag is long since empty ;
all these, I say, keep the mind awake, which
would perchance dose away for 100 miles in a
first-class carriage.

It is, as in the voyage of life, that our cares
and hardships are our very Mentors of living.
Our minds would only vegetate if all life were
like a straight canal, and we in a boat being towed
along it. The afflictions that agitate the soul are
as its shallows, rocks, and whirlpools, and the
bark that has not been tossed on billows knows
not half the sweetness of the harbour of rest.

The river soon got fast and lively, and hour
after hour of vigorous work prepared me well
for breakfast. Trees seemed to spring up in
front and grow tall, but it was only because I
came rapidly towards them. Pleasant villages
floated as it were to meet me, gently moving.
All life got to be a smooth and gliding thing,
of dreamy pictures and far-off sounds, without

24 GUN-BARRELS.

fuss and without dust or anything sudden or
loud, till at length the bustle and hammers of
Liege neared the Rob Eoy — for it was always
the objects and not myself that seemed to move.
Here I saw a fast steamer, the Seraing, propelled
by water forced from its sides, and as my boat
hopped and bobbed in the steamer's waves we
entered a dock together, and the canoe was soon
hoisted into a garden for the night.

Gun-barrels are the rage in Liege. Everybody
there makes or carries or sells gun-barrels. Even
women walk about with twenty stocked rifles on
their backs, and each rifle, remember, weighs
10 Ibs. They sell plenty of fruit in the market,
and there are churches well worth a visit here,
but gun-barrels, after all, are the prevailing idea
of the place.

However, it is not my purpose to describe the
towns seen on this tour. I had seen Liege well,
years before, and indeed almost every town men-
tioned in these pages. The charm then of the
voyage was not in going to strange lands, but in
seeing old places in a new way.

Here at length the Earl of Aberdeen met
me, according to our plans arranged long before.
He had got a canoe built for the trip, but a foot
longer and two inches narrower than the Rob
Roy, and, moreover, made of fir instead of strong

EARL OF ABERDEEN. 25

oak. It was sent from London to Liege, and
the "combing " round the edge of the deck was
broken in the journey, so we spent some hours at
a cabinet-maker's, where it was neatly mended.

Launching our boats unobserved on the river,
we soon left Liege in the distance and braved the
hot sun.

The pleasant companionship of two travellers,
each quite free in his own boat, was very enjoy-
able. Sometimes we sailed, then paddled a mile
or two, or joined to help the boats over a weir,
or towed them along while we walked on the
bank for a change.*

Each of us took whichever side of the river
pleased him best, and we talked across long acres
of water between, to the evident surprise of sedate
people on the banks, who often could see only
one of the strange elocutionists, the other being
hidden by bushes or tall sedge. When talking

* Frequent trials afterwards convinced me that towing
is only useful if you feel very cramped from sitting. And
this constraint is felt less and less as you get accustomed
to sit ten or twelve hours at a time. Experience enables
you to make the seat perfectly comfortable, and on the
better rivers you have so frequently to get out that any
additional change is quite needless. Towing is slower
progress than paddling, even when your arms are tired,
though my canoe was so light to tow that for miles 1
have drawn it by my little finger on a canal.

26 A DROWNING BOY.

thus aloud had amplified into somewhat uproarious
singing, the chorus was far more energetic than
harmonious, but then the Briton is at once the
most timid and shy of mortal travellers, and the
most outre and singular when he chooses to be free.

The midday beams on a river in August are
sure to conquer your fresh energies at last, and
so we had to pull up at a village for bread and
wine.

The moment I got into my boat again a shrill
whining cry in the river attracted my attention,
and it came from a poor little boy, who had
somehow fallen into the water, and was now
making his last faint efforts to cling to a great
barge in the stream. Naturally I rushed over to
save him, and my boat went so fast and so straight
that its sharp prow caught the hapless urchin in
the rear, and with such a pointed reminder too
that he screamed and struggled and thus got
safely on the barge, which was beyond his reach,
until thus roughly but fortunately aided.

On most of the Belgian, German, and French
rivers there are excellent floating baths, an ob-
vious convenience which I do not recollect ob-
serving on a single river in Britain, though in
summer we have quite as many bathers as there
are abroad.

The floating baths consist of a wooden frame-

SWIMMERS. 27

work, say 100 feet long, moored in the stream,
and through which the water runs freely, while a
set of strong bars and chains and iron network
forms a false bottom, shallow at one end and
deeper at the other, so that the bather cannot be
carried away by the current.

Round the sides there are bathing boxes and
steps, ladders, and spring boards for the various
degree of aquatic proficiency.

The youths and even the little boys on the
Ehine are very good swimmers, and many of them
dive well. Sometimes there is a ladies' bath of
similar construction, from which a good deal of
very lively noise may be heard when the fair
bathers are in a talkative mood.

The soldiers at military stations near the rivers
are marched down regularly to bathe, and one
day we found a large number of young recruits
assembled for their general dip.

While some were in the water others were
firing at the targets for ball practice. There were
three targets, each made of cardboard sheets,
fastened upon wooden uprights. A marker safely
protected in a ball-proof mantelet was placed so
close to these targets that he could see all three
at once. One man of the firing party opposite
each target having fired, his bullet passed through
the pasteboard and left a clear round hole in it,

28 BALL PRACTICE.

while the ball itself was buried in the earth be-
hind, and so could be recovered again, instead of
being dashed into fragments as on our iron
targets, and then spattered about on all sides,
to the great danger of the marker and everybody
else.

When three men had thus fired, signals were
made by drum, flag, and bugle, and the firing
ceased. The marker then came out and pointed
to the bullet-mark on each target, and having
patched up the holes he returned within his
mantelet, and the firing was resumed. This very
safe and simple method of ball practice is much
better than that used in our military shooting.

Once as we rounded a point there was a large
herd of cattle swimming across the stream in
close column, and I went rjght into the middle of
them to observe how they would welcome a
stranger. In the Nile you see the black oxen
swim over the stream night and morning, re-
minding you of Pharaoh's dream about the
"kine" coming up out of the river, a notion
that used to puzzle in boyhood days, but which
is by no means incongruous when thus explained.
The Bible is a book that bears full light to be
cast upon it, for truth looks more true under
more light.

We had been delayed this morning in our start,

A NIGHT CLIMB. 29

and so the evening fell sombre ere we came near
the resting-place. This was the town of Maas-
tricht, in Holland, and it is stated to be one of
the most strongly fortified places in Europe ;
that is, of the old fashion, with straight high
walls quite impervious to the Armstrong and
Whitworth guns — of a century gone by.

But all we knew as we came near it at night
was, that the stream was good and strong, and
that no lights appeared. Emerging from trees
we were right in the middle of the town, but
where were the houses ? had they no windows,
no lamps, not even a candle ?

Two great high walls bounded the river, but not
a gate or port could we find, though one of us care-
fully scanned the right and the other cautiously
scraped along the left of this very strange place.

It appears that the commerce and boats all turn
into a canal above the old tumble-down fortress,
and so the blank brick sides bounded us thus
inhospitably. Soon we came to a bridge, looming
overhead in the blackness, and our arrival there
was greeted by a shower of stones from some
Dutch lads upon it, pattering pitilessly upon the
delicate cedar-covered canoes.

Turning up stream, and after a closer scrutiny,
we found a place where we could cling to the
wall, which here sloped a little with debris, and

30

now there was nothing for it but to haul the
boats up bodily over the impregnable fortification,
and thus carry them into the sleepy town.
No wonder the octroi guard stared as his lamp-
light fell on two gaunt men in grey, carrying
what seemed to him a pair of long coffins, but
he was a sensible though surprised individual,
and he guided us well, stamping through the
dark deserted streets to an hotel.

Though the canoes in a cart made a decided
impression at the railway-station next day, and
arguments logically proved that the-boats must
go as baggage, the porters were dense to con-
viction, and obdurate to persuasion, until all at
once a sudden change took place ; they rushed
at us, caught up the two neglected "batteaux,"
ran with them to the luggage-van, pushed them
in, and banged the door, piped the whistle, and
as the train went off — " Do you know why they
have yielded so suddenly ? " said a Dutchman,
who could speak English. " Not at all," said we.
" Because I told them one of you was the son of the
Prime Minister, and the other Lord Russell's son."

But a change of railway had to be made at
Aix-la-Chapelle, and after a hard struggle we
had nearly surrendered the boats to the " mer-
chandise train," to limp along the line at night
and to arrive " perhaps to-morrow." Indeed the

NOTHING TO PAY. 31

Superintendent of that department seemed to
clutch the boats as his prize, but as he gloried
a little too loudly, the " Chef" of the passengers'
baggage came, listened, and with calm mien
ordered for us a special covered truck, and on
arriving at Cologne there was "nothing to pay."*
To be quiet we went to the Belle Yue, at Deutz,
which is opposite Cologne, but a great Singing
Society had its gala there, and sang and drank
prodigiously. Next day (Sunday too) this same
quiet Deutz had a " Schutzen Fest," where the

* This is an exceptional case, and I wrote from England
to thank the officer. It would be unreasonable again to
expect any baggage to be thus favoured. A canoe is at best
a clumsy inconvenience in the luggage-van, and no one can
wonder that it is objected to. In France the railway
fourgons are shorter than in other countries, and the officials
there insisted on treating my canoe as merchandise. The in-
stances given above show what occurred in Belgium and
Holland. In Germany little difficulty was made about
the boat as luggage. In Switzerland there was no objec-
tion raised, for was not I an English traveller ? As for
the English railway guards, they have the good sense to
see that a long light article like a canoe can be readily
carried on the top of a passenger carriage. Probably
some distinct rules will be instituted by the railways in
each country, when they are found to be liable to a
nautical incursion, but after all one can very well arrange
to walk or see sights now and then, while the boat travels
slower by a goods-train.

32 FIRE AND SONG.

man who had hit the target best was dragged
about in an open carriage with his wife, both
wearing brass crowns, and bowing royally to
a screaming crowd, while blue lights glared and
rockets shot up in the serene darkness.

At Cologne, while Lord A. went to take our
tickets at the steamer, the boats were put in
a handcart, which I shoved from behind as a
man pulled it in front. In our way to the river
I was assailed by a poor vagrant sort of fellow,
who insisted on being employed as a porter, and
being enraged at a refusal he actually took up
a large stone and ran after the cart in a threaten-
ing passion. I could not take my hands from the
boats, though in fear that his missile would smash
them if he threw it, but I kicked up my legs
behind as we trotted along. One of the sentries
saw the man's conduct, and soon a policeman
brought him to me as a prisoner, but as he
trembled now with fear more than before with
anger, I declined to make any charge, though the
police pressed this course, saying, " Travellers
are sacred here." This incident is mentioned be-
cause it was the sole occasion when any discourtesy
happened to me during this tour.

We took the canoes by steamer to a wide part
of the Rhine at Bin gen. Here the scenery is
good, and we spent an active day on the river,

A DAY'S SAIL. 33

sailing in a splendid breeze, landing on islands,
scudding about in steamers' waves, and, in fact,
enjoying a combination of yacht voyage, pic-nic,
and boat race.

This was a fine long day of pleasure, though in
one of the sudden squalls my canoe happened to
ground on a bank just at the most critical time,
and the bamboo mast broke short. The uncouth
and ridiculous appearance of a sail falling over-
board is like that of an umbrella turned inside out
in a gust of wind. But I got another stronger
mast, and made the broken one into a boom.

Lord Aberdeen went by train to inspect the
river Nahe, but reported unfavourably; and I
paddled up from its mouth, but the water was
very low.

Few arguments were needed to stop me from
going against stream; for I have a profound
respect for the universal principle of gravitation,
and quite allow that in rowing it is well to have
it with you by always going down stream, and
so the good rule was to make steam, horse, or
man take the canoe against the current, and to
let gravity help the boat to carry me down.

Time pressed for my fellow-paddler to return
to England, so we went on to Mayence, and
thence by rail to Asschaffenburg on the Main.
The canoes again travelled in grand state, having

D

34 CANOES AND CANNONS.

a truck to themselves ; but instead of the stately
philosopher superintendent of Aix-la-Chapelle,
who managed this gratuitously, we had a fussy
little person to deal with, and to pay accordingly,
— the only case of decided cheating I can
recollect during the voyage.

A fellow-passenger in the railway was deeply
interested about our tour ; and we had spoken of
its various details for some time to him before we
found that he supposed we were travelling with
" two small cannons," mistaking the word
" canots " for " canons." He had even asked
about their length and weight, and had heard with
perfect placidity that our " canons " were fif-
teen feet long, and weighed eighty pounds, and
that we took them only for " plaisir," not to sell.
Had we carried two pet cameleopards, he probably
would not have been astonished.

The guests at the German inn of this long-
named town amused us much by their respectful
curiosity. Our dress in perfect unison, both alike
in grey flannel, puzzled them exceedingly ; but
this sort of perplexity about costume and whence
why and whither was an everyday occurrence for
months afterwards with me.

A fine breeze enabled us to start on the river
Main under sail, though we lost much time in
forcing the boats to do yachts' work ; and I am

HERON STALKING. 35

inclined to believe that sailing on rivers is
rather a mistake unless with a favourable wind.
The Main is an easy stream to follow, and the
scenery only so-so. A storm of rain at length
made it lunch-time, so we sheltered ourselves in a
bleak sort of arbour attached to an inn, where
they could give us only sour black bread and raw
bacon. Eating this poor cheer in a wet, rustling
breeze and pattering rain, half-chilled in our
macintoshes, was the only time I fared badly,
so little of " roughing it " was there in this
luxurious tour.

Fine weather came soon again and pleasure,
— nay, positive sporting ; for there were wild
ducks quite impudent in their familiarity, and
herons wading about with that look of injured
innocence they put on when you dare to disturb
them. So my friend capped his revolver-pistol,
and I acted as a pointer dog, stealing along the
other side of the river, and indicating the position
of the game with my paddle.

Vast trouble was taken. Lord A. went ashore,
and crawled on the bank a long way to a wily
bird, but, though the sportsman had shown him-
self at Wimbledon to be one of the best shots in
the world, it was evidently not easy to shoot a
heron with a pocket revolver.

As the darker shades fell, even this rather
D 2

36 ON THE MAIN.

stupid river became beautiful; and our evening
bath was in a quiet pool, with pure yellow sand to
rest on if you tired in swimming. At Hanau
we stopped for the night.

The wanderings and turnings of the Main next
day have really left no impression on my memory,
except that we had a pleasant time, and at last
came to a large Schloss, where we observed on
the river a boat evidently English. While we
examined this craft, a man told us it belonged to
the Prince of Wales, " and he is looking at you
now from the balcony."

For this was the Duchess of Cambridge's
Schloss at Rumpenheim, and presently a four-in-
hand crossed the ferry, and the Prince and
Princess of Wales drove in it by the river-side,
while we plied a vigorous paddle against the
powerful west wind until we reached Frankfort,
where our wet jackets were soon dried at the
Russie, one of the best hotels in Europe.

The Frankfort boatmen were much interested
next day to see the two English canoes flitting
about so lightly on their river ; sometimes
skimming the surface with the wind, and despising
the contrary stream; then wheeling about, and
paddling hither and thither in shallows where it
seemed as if the banks were only moist.

On one occasion we both got into my canoe,

THE PRINCE OF WALES. 37

and it supported the additional weight perfectly
well, which seemed to prove that the dimensions
of it were unnecessarily large for the displace-
ment required. However, there was not room
for both of us to use our paddles comfortably in
the same canoe.

On the Sunday, the Royal personages came to
the English church at Frankfort, and, with that
quiet behaviour of good taste which wins more
admiration that any pageantry, they walked from
the place of worship like the rest of the hearers.

There is a true grandeur in simplicity when the
occasion is one of solemn things.

Next day my active and pleasant companion
had to leave me on his return to England. Not
satisfied with a fortnight's rifle practice at Wim-
bledon, where the best prize of the year was won
by his skill, he must return to the moors and
coverts for more deadly sport; and the calls of
more important business, besides, required his
presence at home. He paddled down the Rhine
to Cologne, and on the way several times
performed the difficult feat of hooking on his
canoe to a steamer going at full speed.

Meantime, my boat went along with me by
railway to Freyburg, from whence the new
voyage was really to begin, for as yet the Rob
Roy had not paddled in parts unknown.

CHAPTER III.

Hollenthal Pass — Ladies — Black Forest — Night Music —
Beds — Lake Titisee — Pontius Pilate — Storm — Starers
> — Singers — Source of the Danube.

PLANNING your summer tour is one of the most
agreeable of occupations. It is in June or July
that the Foreign Bradshaw becomes suddenly of
intense interest, and the well-known pages of
" Steamers and Railways " — why, it is worth
while being a bachelor to be able to read each of
these as part of your sketch ed-out plan, and (oh,
selfish thought !) to have only one mind to
consult as to whither away.

All this pleasure is a good deal influenced, how-
ever, by true answers to these questions, — Have
you worked hard in working time, so as to be
entitled to play in these playhours ? Is this to
be a vacation of refreshment, or an idle lounge
and killing of time ? Are you going off to rest,
and to recruit delicate health, or with vigour to
enjoy a summer of active exertion ?

But now the infallible Bradshaw could not
help me with the canoe one iota, and Baedeker was

LADY FRIEXDS. 39

not written for a boat ; so at Freyburg my plans
resolved themselves into the simple direction,
" Go at once to the source of the Danube."

Next morning, therefore, found the Rob Roy
in a cart, and the grey-clothed traveller walking
beside it on the dusty Hollenthal road. The gay,
light-hearted exultation of being strong and well,
and on a right errand, and with unknown things
to do and places to see and people to meet, who
can describe this ? How easy it is at such
times to be glad, and to think this is being
" thankful."

After moralizing for a few miles, a carriage full
of English people overtook me, and soon we
became companions. " The English are so dis-
tant, so silent, such, hauteur, and gloomy distrust,"
forsooth ! A false verdict, say I. The ladies
carried me off through the very pretty glen, and
the canoe on its cart trundled slowly after us
behind, through the Hollenthal Pass, which is too
seldom visited by travellers, who so often admire
the spire of Freyburg (from the railway perhaps),
passing it on their route to Switzerland.

This entrance to the Schwartzwald, or Black
Forest, is a woody, rocky, and grim defile, with
an excellent road, and good inns.

The villages are of wood, and there is a
saw-mill in every other house, giving a busy,
wholesome sound, mellowed by the patter of the

40 HOLLENTHAL PASS.

water-wheel. Further on, where tourists' scenery
stops, it is a grand, dark-coloured ocean of hills.
The houses get larger and larger, and fewer and
fewer, and nearly every one has a little chapel
built alongside, with a wooden saint's image of
life-size nailed on the gable end. One night I
was in one of these huge domiciles, when all the
servants and ploughboys came in, and half said,
half sung, their prayers, in a whining but yet
musical tone, and then retired for a hearty
supper.

Our carriage mounted still among crags, that
bowed from each side to meet across the narrow
gorge, and were crested on high by the grand
trees that will be felled and floated down the
Rhine on one of those huge rafts you meet at
Strasbourg. But everybody must have seen a
Rhine raft, so I need not describe it, with its
acres of wood and its street of cabin dwellings,
and its gay bannerets. A large raft needs 500
men to navigate it, and the timber will sell for
30,000/.

At the top of this pass was the watershed of
this first chain of hills, where my English friends
took leave of me. The Rob Roy was safely housed
in the Baar Inn, and I set off for a long walk to
find if the tiny stream there would possibly be
navigable.

Alone on a hillside in a foreign land, and with

NIGHT MUSIC. 41

an evening sun on the wild mountains, the play-
ful breeze and the bleating sheep around you —
there is a certain sense of independent delight that
possesses the mind then with a buoyant gladness ;
but how can I explain it in words, unless you
have felt this sort of pleasure ?

However, the rivulet was found to be eminently
unsuited for a canoe; so now let me go to bed
in my wooden room, where the washingbasin is
oval, and the partitions are so thin that one
hears all the noises of the place at midnight.
Now, the long-drawn snore of the landlord ; then,
the tittle-tattle of the servants not asleep yet, — a
pussy's plaintive mew, and the scraping of a
mouse ; the cows breathing in soft slumber ; and,
again, the sharp rattle of a horse's chain.

The elaborate construction of that edifice of
housewifery called a " bett " here, and which we
are expected to sleep upon, can only be understood
when you have to undermine and dismantle it
night after night to arrive at a reasonable flat
surface on which to recline.

First you take off a great fluff bag, at least two
feet thick, then a counterpane, and then a brilliant
scarlet blanket; next you extract one enormous
pillow, another enormous pillow, and a huge
wedge-shaped bolster, — all, it appears, requisite
for the Teutonic race, who yet could surely put

42 FOREST MANNERS.

themselves to sleep at an angle of forty-five
degrees, without all this trouble, by merely tilting
up the end of a flat bedstead.

Simple but real courtesy have I found through-
out. Every one says " Gut tag ; " and, even in
a hotel, on getting up from breakfast a guest who
has not spoken a word will wish " Gut morgen "
as he departs, and perhaps " Bon appetit " to
those not satisfied like himself. About eight
o'clock the light repast of tea or coffee, bread,
butter, and honey begins the day; at noon is
" mittagessen," the mid-day meal, leaving all
proper excuse for another dining operation in
the shape of a supper at seven.

No fine manners here ! My driver sat down
to dinner with me, and the waiter along with
him, smoking a cigar between whiles, as he
waited on us both. But all this is just as one
sees in Canada and in Norway, and wherever
there are mountains, woods, and torrent streams,
with a sparse population; and, as in Norway
too, you see at once that all can read, and they do
read. There is more reading in one day in a
common house in Germany than in a month in
the same sort of place in France.

I had hired the cart and driver by the day, but
he by no means admired my first directions next
morning — namely, to take the boat off the main

PONTIUS PILATE. . 43

road, so as to get to the Titisee, a pretty
mountain lake about four miles long, and sur-
rounded by wooded knolls. His arguments and
objections were evidently superficial, and some-
thing deeper than he said was in his mind. In
fact, it appears that, by a superstition long
cherished there, Pontius Pilate is supposed to be
in that deep, still lake, and dark rumours were
told that he would surely drag me down if I
ventured upon it.*

Of course, this decided the matter, and when I
launched the Rob Roy from the pebbly shore in a
fine foggy morning, and in full view of the inhabi-
tants of the region (eight in number at last census),
we had a most pleasant paddle for several miles.

At a distance the boat was invisible being so
low in the water, and they said that " only a man
was seen, whirling a paddle about his head."

There is nothing interesting about this lake,
except that it is 3,000 feet above the sea and very
lonely, in the middle of the Black Forest. Cer-
tainly no English boat has been there before, and
probably no other will visit the deserted water.

After this, the Rob Roy is carted again still

* The legend about Pilate extends over Germany and
Italy. Even on the flanks of Stromboli there is a talus of
the volcano which the people dare not approach, " because
of Pontius Pilate."

44 A SCHWARTZWALD STORM.

further into the forests. Lumbering vehicles
meet us, all carrying wood. Some have joined
three carts together, and have eight horses.
Others have a bullock or two besides, and all the
men are intelligent enough, for they stop and
stare, and my driver deigns to tell them, in a
patois wholly beyond me, as to what a strange
fare he has got with a boat and no other luggage.
However, they invariably conclude that the canoe
is being carried about for sale, and it could ha\e
been well sold frequently already.

About mid-day my sage driver began to mutter
something at intervals, but I could only make out
from his gestures and glances that it had to do
with a storm overhead. The mixture of English,
French, and German on the borders of the Rhine
accustoms one to hear odd words. " Shall have
you pottyto ? " says a waiter, and he is asking
if you will have potatoes. Another hands you
a dish, saying, it is " sweetbone," and you must
know it is " sweetbread."

Yes, the storm came, and as it seldom does
come except in such places. I once heard a
thunder peal while standing on the crater of
Mount Vesuvius, and I have seen the bright
lightning, in cold and grand beauty, playing on
the Falls of Niagara in a sombre night, but the
vividness of the flashes to-day in the Black

STARERS. 45

Forest, and the crashing, rolling, and booming of
the terrible and majestic battery of heaven was
astounding. Once a bolt fell so near and with
such a blaze that the horse albeit tired enough
started off down a hill and made me quite nervous
lest he should overturn the cart and injure my
precious boat, which naturally was more and more
dear to me as it was longer my sole companion.

As we toiled up the Rothenhaus Pass, down
came the rain, whistling and rushing through the
cold, dark forests of larch, and blackening the top
of great Feldberg, the highest mountain here, and
then pouring heavy and fast on the cart and horse,
the man, the canoe, and myself. This was the
last rain my boat got in the tour. All other days
I spent in her were perfectly dry.

People stared out of their windows to see
a cart and a boat in this heavy shower — what !
a boat, up here in the hills ? Where can it be
going, and whose is it ? Then they ran out to
us, and forced the driver to harangue, and he
tried to satisfy their curiosity, but his explanation
never seemed to be quite exhaustive, for they
turned homeward shaking their heads and looking
grave, even though I nodded and laughed at them
through the bars of the cart, lifting up my head
among the wet straw.

The weather dried up its tears at last, and the

46 KTRCHWASSER.

sun glittered on the road, still sparkling with its
rivulets of rain, but the boat was soon dried by a
sponge, while a smart walk warmed its well-soaked
captain.

The horse too had got into a cheerful vein and
actually trotted with excitement, for now it was
down hill, and bright sun — a welcome change in
ten minutes from our labouring up a steep forest
road in a thunder-storm.

The most rigid teetotaller (I am only a tem-
perance man) would probably allow that just a
very small glass of kirchwasser might be pre-
scribed at this moment with advantage, and as
there was no "faculty" there but myself, I
administered the dose medicinally to the driver
and to his employer, and gave a bran-mash and
a rub down to the horse, which made all three
of us better satisfied with ourselves and each
other, and so we jogged on again.

By dusk I marched into Donaueschingen, and
on crossing the little bridge, saw at once I could
begin the Danube from its very source, for there
was at least three inches of water in the middle
of the stream.

In five minutes a crowd assembled round the
boat, evenbeforeit could be loosened from the cart.*

* After trying various modes of securing the canoe in
a springless cart for long journeys on rough and hilly

THE SINGERS. 47

The ordinary idlers came first, then the more
shy townspeople, and then a number of strange
folk, whose exact position I could not make out,
until it was explained that the great singing
meeting for that part of Germany was to be held
next day in the town, and so there were 600
visitors, all men of some means and intelligence,
who were collected from a wide country round
about.

The town was in gala for this meeting of song.
The inns were full, but still the good landlord of
the "Poste" by the bridge gave me an excellent
room, and the canoe was duly borne aloft in pro-
cession to the coachhouse.

What a din these tenors and basses did make
at the table d'hote ! Everything about the boat
had to be told a dozen times over to them, while
my driver had a separate lecture-room on the
subject below.

The town was well worth inspection next
day, for it was in a violent fit of decoration.

roads, I am convinced that the best way is to fasten two
ropes across the top of a long cart and let the boat lie on
these, which will bear it like springs and so modify the
jolts. The painter is then made fast fore and aft, so as to
keep the boat from moving back and forward. All plans
for using trusses of straw, &c., fail after a few miles of
rolling gravel and coarse ruts.

48 DONAUESCHINGEN.

Every house was tidied up, and all the streets
were swept clean. From the humbler windows
hung green boughs and garlands, rugs, quilts,
and blankets ; while banners, Venetian streamers,
arches, mottoes, and wreaths of flowers announced
the wealthier houses. Crowds of gaping peasants
paraded the streets and jostled against bands
drumming and tromboning (if there be such a
word), and marching in a somewhat ricketty
manner over the undoubtedly rough pavement.
Every now and then the bustle had a fresh
paroxysm when four horses rattled along, bring-
ing in new visitors from some distant choir. They
are coming you see in a long four-wheeled cart,
covered with evergreens and bearing four pine
trees in it erect among sacks which are used as
seats — only the inmates do not sit but stand up in
the cart, and shout, and sing, and wave banners
aloft, while the hundreds of on-lookers roar out
the "Hoch," the German Hurrah ! with only one
note.

As every window had its ornament or device, I
made one for mine also, and my sails were fes-
tooned (rather tastefully, I flatter myself ) to
support the little blue silk English jack of the
canoe. This complimentary display was speedily
recognized by the Germans, who greeted it with
cheers, and sung glees below, and improvised

ALLEGRO. 49

Singers' Waggon.

verses about England, and then sang round the
boat itself, laughing, shouting, and hurraing
boisterously with the vigour of youthful lungs.
Never tell me again that the Germans are
phlegmatic !

They had a " banket " in the evening at the
Museum. It was " free for all," and so 400 came
on these cheap terms, and all drank beer
E

50 A BANKET.

from long glass cylinders at a penny a glass, all
smoked cigars at a farthing a piece, and all talked
and all sang, though a splendid brass band was
playing beside them, and whenever it stopped a
glee or chorus commenced.

The whole affair was a scene of bewildering
excitement, very curious to contemplate for one
sitting in the midst. Next me I found a young
bookseller who had sold me a French book in the
morning. He said I must take a ticket for the
Sunday concert; but I told him I was an
Englishman, and had learned in my country that
it was God's will and for man's good to keep
Sunday for far better things, which are too much
forgotten when one day in seven is not saved
from the business, excitement, and giddiness of
every-day life.

And is there not a feeling of dull sameness
about time in those countries and places where
the week is not steadied and centred round a
solid day on which lofty and deep things, pure
and lasting things may have at least some hours
of our attention ?

So I left the merry singers to bang their drums
and hoch ! at each other in the great hall provided
for their use by the Prince of Furstemburg. He
had reared this near his stables, in which are
many good horses, some of the best being Eng-

51

lish, and named on their stalls "Miss," "Pet,"
" Lady," or " Tom," &c.

An English, gentleman whom I met afterwards
had been travelling through Germany with a four-
in-hand drag, and he came to Donaueschingen,
where the Prince soon heard of his arrival. Next
day His Serene Highness was at his stables, and
seeing an English visitor there, he politely con-
ducted the stranger over the whole establishment,
explaining every item with minute care. He
found out afterwards that this visitor was not the
English gentleman, but only his groom !

The intelligence, activity, and good temper of
most of the German waiters in hotels will surely
be observed by travellers whose daily enjoyment
depends so much on that class. Here, for instance,
is a little waiter at the Poste Inn. He is the size
of a boy, but looks twenty years older. His face
is flat, and broad, and brown, and so is his jacket.
His shoulders are high, and he reminds you of
those four everlasting German juveniles, with
thick comforters about their necks, who stand in
London streets blowing brass music, with their
cheeks puffed out, and their cold grey eyes
turning on all the passing objects while the music,
or at any rate a noise, blurts out as if mechanically
from the big, unpolished instruments held by red
benumbed fingers.

E 2

52 A WAITER.

This waiter lad then is all the day at the beck
of all, and never gets a night undisturbed, yet
he is as obliging at ten o'clock in the dark as
for the early coffee at sunrise, and he quite
agrees with each guest, in the belief that his
particular cutlet or cognac is the most important
feature of the hour.

I honour this sort of man. He fills a hard
place well, and Bismarck or Mussurus cannot do
more.

Then again, there is Ulric, the other waiter,
hired only for to-day as an " extra," to meet the
crush of hungry vocalists who will soon fill the
saal. He is timid yet, being young, and only used
to a village inn where "The Poste at Donaues-
chingen" is looked up to with solemn admiration
as the pink of fashion. He was learning French
too, and was sentimental, so I gave him a very
matter-of-fact book, and then he asked me to let
him sit in the canoe while I was to paddle it down
the river to his home ! The naive simplicity of
this request was truly refreshing, and if we had
been sure of shallow water all the way, and
yet not too shallow, it would perhaps have been
amusing to admit such a passenger.

The actual source of the Danube is by no means
agreed upon any more than the source of the Nile.
I had a day's exploration of the country, after

SOURCE OF THE DANUBE. 53

seeking exact information on this point from the
townspeople in vain. The land round Donaues-
chingen is a spongy soil, with numerous rivulets
and a few large streams. I went along one of
these, the Brege, which rises twenty miles away,
near St. Martin, and investigated about ten miles
of another, the Brigach, a brook rising near St.
Georgen, about a mile from the source of the
Neckar, which river runs to the Rhine. These
streams join near Donaueschingen, but in the
town there bubbles up a clear spring of water in
the gardens of the Prince near the church, and
this, the infant Danube, runs into the other
water already wide enough for a boat, but which
then for the first time has the name of Donau.

The name, it is said, is never given to either of
the two larger rivulets, because sometimes both
have been known to fail in dry summers, while
the bubbling spring has been perennial for ages.

The Brege and another confluent are caused to
fill an artificial pond close by the Brigach. This
lake is wooded round, and has a pretty island, and
swans, and gold fish. A waterwheel (in vain
covered for concealment) pumps up water to flow
from an inverted horn amid a group of statuary
in this romantic pond, and the stream flowing
from it also joins the others, now the Danube.*

* The old Roman Ister. The name Donau is pronounced

54 HOCH ! HOCH !

That there might be no mistake however in
this matter about the various rivulets, I went up
each stream until it would not float a canoe.
Then from near the little bridge, on August 28,
while the singers sol-faed excessively at the boat,
and shouted "hocks" and farewells to the English
"flagge," and the landlord bowed (his bill of
thirteen francs for three full days being duly
paid), and the populace stared, the Rob Roy shot
off like an arrow on a river delightfully new.

"Doanou." Hilpert says, "Donau allied to D6n and
Duna (a river)." In Celtic Dune means " river," and Don
means "brown," while " au" in German is "island"
(like the English " eyot ").

The other three rivers mentioned above, and depicted
in the plan on the map with this book, seem to
preserve traces of their Roman names. Thus the
" Brigach" is the stream coming from the north where
" Alt Breisach " now represents the Roman " Mons
Brisiacus," while the " Brege " may be referred to
" Brigantii," the people about the " Brigantinus Lacus,"
now the " Boden See" (Lake Constance), where also Bre-
gentz now represents the Roman " Brigantius." The
river Neckar was " Nicer " of old, and the Black Forest
was " Hercynia Silva."

The reader being now sufficiently confused about the
source of the Danube and its name, let us leave the Latin
in the quagmire and jump nimbly into our canoe.

CHAPTER IV.

The Danube — Singers — Shady nooks — Geisingen — Mill
weirs — Rapids — Morning Crowd — Donkey's stable —
Islands — Monks — Spiders — Concert — Fish — A race.

AT first the river is a few feet broad, but it soon
enlarges, and the streams of a great plain
quickly bring its volume to that of the Thames
at Kingston. The quiet, dark Donau winds
about then in slow serpentine smoothness for
hours in a level mead, with waving sedge on the
banks and silken sleepy weeds in the water.
Here the long-necked, long-winged, long-legged
heron, that seems to have forgotten to get a body,
flocks by scores with ducks of the various wild
breeds, while pretty painted butterflies and fierce-
looking dragon-flies float, as it were, on the
summer sunbeams, and simmer in the air. The
haymakers are at work; and half their work is
hammering the soft edges of their very miserable
scythes, which they then dip in the water.
Now they have a chat ; and as I whiz by round
a corner, there is a row of open mouths and

56

wondering eyes, but an immediate return to
courtesy with a touch of the hat, and "Gut
tag " when presence of mind is restored. Then
they call to their mates, and laugh with rustic
satisfaction — a laugh that is real and true, not
cynical, but the recognition of a strange incon-
gruity, that of a reasonable being pent up in a
boat and hundreds of miles from home, yet
whistling most cheerfully all the time.

Soon the hills on either side have houses and
old castles, and then wood, and, lastly, rock;
and with these, mingling the bold, the wild, and
the sylvan, there begins a grand panorama of river
beauties to be unrolled for days and days. No
river I have seen equals this Upper Danube, and
I have visited many pretty streams. The wood
is so thick, the rocks so quaint and high and
varied, the water so clear, and the grass so green.
Winding here and turning there, and rushing
fast down this reach and paddling slow along
that, with each minute a fresh view, and of
new things, the mind is ever on the gui vive, or
the boat will go bump on a bank, crash on a rock,
or plunge into a tree full of gnats and spiders.
This is veritable travelling, where skill and tact
are needed to bear you along, and where each
exertion of either is rewarded at once. I think,
also, it promotes decision of character, for you must

CANOE PLEASURES. 57

choose, and that promptly, too, between, say, five
channels opened suddenly before you. Three are
probably safe, but which of these three is the
shortest, deepest, and most practicable ? In an
instant, if you hesitate, the boat is on a bank ;
and it is remarkable how speedily the exercise of
this resolution becomes experienced into habit,
but of course only after some severe lessons.

It is exciting to direct a camel over the sandy
desert when you have lost your fellow-travellers,
and to guide a horse in trackless wilds alone;
but the pleasure of paddling a canoe down a
rapid, high-banked, and unknown river, is far
more than these.

Part of this pleasure flows from the mere sense
of rapid motion. In going down a swift reach of
the river there is the same sensation about one's
diaphragm which is felt when one goes forward
smoothly on a lofty rope swing. Now the first
few days of the Danube are upon very fast
waters. Between its source and Ulm the descent
of the river is about 1,500 feet.^ This would
give 300 feet of fall for each of a five days'
journey; and it will be seen from this that the
prospect for the day's voyage is most cheering

* The best geographical books give different estimates
of this, some above and others below the amount here
stated.

58 ALL R-R-R-R-IGHT.

when you launch, in the morning and know you
will have to descend about the height of St.
Paul's Cathedral before halting for the night.

Another part of the pleasure — it is not to be
denied — consists in the satisfaction of overcoming
difficulties. When you have followed a channel
chosen from several, and, after half-a-mile of it,
you see one and another of the rejected channels
emerging from its island to join that you are in,
there is a natural pride in observing that any
other streamlet but the one you had chosen
would certainly have been a mistake.

These reflections are by the way ; and we have
been winding the while through a rich grassy
plain till a bridge over the river made it seem
quite a civilized spot, and, just as I passed under,
there drove along one of the green-boughed
waggons of jovial singers returning from Donau-
eschingen. Of course they recognised the canoe,
and stopped to give her a hearty cheer, ending
with a general chorus made up of the few English
words of their vocabulary, " All r-r-r-r-ight,
Englishmann ! " "All r-r-r-r-ight, English-
mann ! " *

The coincidence of these noisy but good-
humoured people having been assembled in the
morning, when the canoe had started from the
* See sketch, ante, page 49.

FUEL WANTED. 59

source of the Danube, caused the news of its
adventure to be rapidly carried to all the neigh-
bouring towns, so that the Rob Roy was wel-
comed at once, and the newspapers recorded its
progress not only in Germany and France,
but in England, and even in Sweden and in
America.

At the village of Geisingen it was discovered
that the boiler of my engine needed some fuel, or,
in plain terms, I must breakfast. The houses of
the town were not close to the river, but some
workmen were near at hand, and I had to leave
the canoe in the centre of the stream moored to
a plank, with very strict injunctions (in most
distinct English!) to an intelligent boy to take
charge of her until my return; and then I walked
to the principal street, and to the best-looking
house, and knocked, entered, asked for breakfast,
and sat down, and was speedily supplied with an
excellent meal. One after another the people
came in to look at the queer stranger who was
clad so oddly, and had come — aye, how had he
come? that was what they argued about in
whispers till he paid his bill, and then they
followed to see where he would go, and thus was
there always a congregation of inquisitive bu^,
respectful observers as we started anew.

Off again, though the August sun is hot.

60 SHADY TIMES.

But we cannot stop now. The shade will be
better enjoyed when resting in the boat under
a high rock, or in a cool water cave, or beneath a
wooden bridge, or within the longer shadow of
a pine-clad cliff.

Often I tried to rest those midday hours (for
one cannot always work) on shore, in a house, or
on a grassy bank ; but it was never so pleasant as
at full length in the canoe, under a thick grown
oak-tree, with a book to read dreamily, and a
mild cigar at six for a penny, grown in the
fields we passed, and made up at yesterday's

* Two stimulants well known in England are much
used in Germany, — tea and tobacco.

(1) The tobacco plant (sometimes styled a weed, because
it also grows wild) produces leaves, which are dried and
rolled, and then treated with fire, using an appropriate
instrument, by which the fumes are inhaled. The effect
upon many persons is to soothe ; but it impairs the
appetite of others. The use is carried to excess in Turkey.
The leaves contain a deadly poison.

(2) The tea weed (sometimes styled a plant, because it
also grows under cultivation) produces leaves, which are
dried and rolled, and then treated with fire, using an
appropriate instrument, by which the infusion is imbibed.
The effect upon many persons is to cheer ; but it impairs
the sleep of others. The use is carried to excess in
Russia. The leaves contain a deadly poison.

Both these luxuries are cheap and portable, and are

MILL WEIRS. 61

Let it be well understood that this picture only
describes the resting time, and not the active
hours of progress in the cooler part of the day
before and after the bright meridian sun.

In working hours there was no lazy lolling,
the enjoyment was that of delightful exertion,
varied at every reach of the river.
. You start, indeed, quietly enough, but are sure
soon to hear the well-known rushing sound of a
milldam, and this almost every day, five or six
times. On coming to it I usually went straight
along the top edge of the weir, looking over for
a good place to descend by, and surveying the
innumerable little streams below to see my best
course afterwards. By this time the miller and
his family and his men, and all the neighbours,
would run down to see the new sight, but I
always lifted out my little black knapsack and
put my paddle on shore, and then stepped out
and pulled my boat over or round the obstruc-
tion, sometimes through a hayfield or two, or by
a lane, or along a wall, and then launched her
again in deep water. Dams less than four feet

daily enjoyed by millions of persons in all climates. Both
require care and moderation in their use. Both have
advocates and enemies ; and it cannot be settled by
argument whether the plant or the weed is the more
useful or hurtful to mankind.

62 RAPIDS.

high one can " shoot " with a headlong plunge
into the little billows at the foot, but this
wrenches the boot if it strikes against a stone,
and it is better to get out and ease her through,
lift her over, or drag her round.

In other' places I had to sit astride on the
stern of the conoe, with both legs in the water,
fending her off from big stones on either side,
and cautiously steering.*

But with these amusements, and a little
wading, you sit quite dry, and, leaning against
the backboard, smoothly glide past every danger,
lolling at ease where the current is excessive, and
where it would not be safe to add impetus, for the
shock of a collision there would break the
strongest boat.

If incidents like these, and the scenery and the
people ashore, were not enough to satisfy the ever
greedy mind, some louder plashing, with a deeper
roar, would announce the rapids. This sound
was sure to waken up any sleepiness, and once
in the middle of rough water all had to be
energy and life.

I never had a positive upset, but of course I

* The invention of this method was made here, but its
invaluable advantages were more apparent in passing the
second rapid of Rheinfelden. See post, page 186, where
described, with a sketch.

THE BOYS. 03

had to jump out frequently to save the boat, for
the first care was the canoe, and the second was
my luggage, to keep it all dry, the sketch-book
in particular, while the third object was to get on
comfortably and fast.

After hours of these pleasures of work and rest,
and a vast deal seen and heard and felt that would
take too long to tell, the waning sun, and the
cravings within for dinner, warned me truly that
I had come near the stopping-place for the night.

The town of Tuttlingen is built on both sides
of the river, and almost every house is a dyer's
shop or a tannery, with men beating, scraping,
and washing hides in the water. As I allowed
the boat to drift among these the boys soon found
her out — a new object — and therefore to boys
(and may it always be so) well worth a shout
and a run ; so a whole posse of little Germans
scampered along beside me, but I could not see
any feasible-looking inn.

It is one of the privileges of this water tour
that you can survey calmly all the where-
abouts; and being out of reach of the touters
and porters who harass the' wretched traveller
delivered to their grasp from an omnibus or a
steamboat, you can philosophize on the whole
morale of a town, and if so inclined can pass it,
and simply go on. In fact, on several occasions

64 WHERE SHALL WE STOP.

I did not fancy a town, so we went on to another.
However, I was fairly nonplussed now. It would
not do to go further, for it was not a thickly-
peopled country; but I went nearly to the end
of the place in search of a good landing, till I
turned into a millrace and stepped ashore.

The crowd pressed so closely that I had to fix
on a boy who had a toy barrow with four little
wheels, and amid much laughter I persuaded the
boy to lend it (of course as a great honour to him),
and so I pulled the boat on this to the hotel.
The boy's sixpence of reward was a fact that
brought all the juvenile population together, and
though we hoisted the canoe into a hayloft and
gave very positive injunction to the ostler to keep
her safe, there was soon a string of older sight-
seers admitted one by one; and even at night they
were mounting the ladder with lanterns, women as
well as men, to examine the " schiff."

A total change of garments usually enabled me
to stroll through the villages in the evening
without being recognised, but here I was instantly
known as I emerged for a walk, and it was evident
that an unusual attendance must be expected in
the morning.

Tuttlingen is a very curious old town, with a
good inn and bad pavement, tall houses, all
leaning here and there, and big, clumsy, honest-

TUTTLINGEN. 65

looking men lounging after their work, and
wonderfully satisfied to chat in groups amid the
signal darkness of unlighted streets; very fat
horses and pleasant-looking women, a bridge,
and numerous schoolboys ; these are my impres-
sions of Tuttlingen.

Even at six o'clock next morning these boys
had begun to assemble for the sight they ex-
pected, and those of them who had satchels on
their backs seemed grievously disappointed to
find the start would not come off before their
hour for early school.

However, the grown-up people came instead,
and flocked to the bridge and its approaches.
While I was endeavouring to answer all the
usual questions as to the boat, a man respectfully
asked me to delay the start five minutes, as his
aged father, who was bedridden, wished exceed-
ingly just to see the canoe. In all such cases it
is a pleasure to give pleasure, and to sympathize
with the boundless delight of the boys, remem-
bering how as a boy a boat delighted me; and
then, again, these worthy, mother-like, whole-
some-faced dames, how could one object to their
prying gaze, mingled as it was with friendly
smile and genuine interest ?

The stream on which I started here was not the
main channel of the Danube, but a narrow arm

66 THE MORNING CROWD.

of the river conducted through the town, while
the other part fell over the mill-weir. The wood-
cut shows the scene at starting, and there were
crowds as large as this at other towns ; but a
picture never can repeat the shouts and bustle,
or the sound of guns firing and bells ringing,
which on more than one occasion celebrated the
Rob Roy's morning paddle.

The lovely scenery of this day's voyage often
reminded me of that upon the Wye,* in its best
parts between Ross and Chepstow. There were
the white rocks and dark trees, and caverns,
crags, and jutting peaks you meet near Tintern ;
but then the Wye has no islands, and its muddy
water at full tide has a worse substitute in
muddier banks when the sea has ebbed.

The islands on beauteous Donau were of all
sizes and shapes. Some low and flat, and
thickly covered with shrubs ; others of stal-
wart rock, stretching up at a sharp angle, under
which the glassy water bubbled all fresh and
clear.

Almost each minute there was a new scene,

* Murray says : "The Meuse has been compared to the
Wye ; but is even more romantic than the English river."
I would rank the Wye as much above the Meuse as below
the Danube for romance in scenery.

A DONKEY'S STABLE. 67

and often I backed against the current to hold
my post in the best view of some grand picture.
Magnificent crags reached high up on both sides,
and impenetrable forests rung with echoes when
I shouted in the glee of health, freedom, and
exquisite enjoyment.

But scenes and sentiments will not feed the
hungry paddler, so I decided to stop at Fried-
ingen, a village on the bank. There was a
difficulty now as to where the canoe could be left,
for no inn seemed near enough to let me guard
her while I breakfasted. At length a mason
helped me to carry the Rob Roy into a donkey's
stable, and a boy volunteered to guide the stranger
to the best inn. The first, and the second, and
the third he led me to were all beerhouses, where
only drink could be had; and as the crowd
augmented at every stage, I dismissed the ragged
cicerone, and trusted myself instead to the sure
leading of that unnamed instinct which guides a
hungry man to food. Even the place found at
last, was soon filled with wondering spectators.
A piece of a German and English dictionary from
my baggage excited universal attention, and was
several times carried outside to those who had not
secured reserved seats within.

The magnificent scenery culminated at Beuron,
where a great convent on a rich mound of grass is
F 2

68 WITH THE MONKS.

nearly surrounded by the Danube, amid a spacious
amphitheatre of magnificent white cliffs perfectly
upright, and clad with the heaviest wood.

The place looks so lonely, though fair, that you
could scarcely believe you might stop there for
the night, and so I had nearly swept by it again
into perfect solitude, but at last pulled up
under a tree, and walked through well ploughed
fields to the little hamlet in this sequestered
spot.

The field labourers were of course surprised at
the apparition of a man in flannel, who must have
come out of the river; but the people at the
Kloster had already heard of the " schiff," and
the Rob Roy was soon mounted on two men's
shoulders, and borne in triumph to the excellent
hotel. The Prince who founded the monastery is,
I believe, himself a monk.

Now tolls the bell for " even song," while my
dinner is spread in an arbour looking out on this
grand scene, made grander still by dark clouds
gathering on the mountains, and a loud and long
thunder peal, with torrents of rain.

This deluge of wet came opportunely when I
had such good shelter, as it cooled the air, and
would strengthen the stream of the river ; so I
admired the venerable monks with complacent
satisfaction, a feeling never so complete as when

CONCERT AT BETJRON. 69

you are inside, and you look at people who are
out in the rain.

A young girl on a visit to her friends here
could talk bad French rapidly, so she was sent to
gossip with me as I dined ; and then the whole
family inspected my sketch-.book, a proceeding
which happened at least twice every day for many
weeks of the voyage. This emboldened me to
ask for some music, and we adjourned to a
great hall, where a concert was soon in progress
with a guitar, a piano, and a violin, all well
played ; and the Germans are never at a loss for
a song.

My young visitor, Melanie, then became the
interpreter in a curious conversation with the
others, who could speak only German ; and I
ventured to turn our thoughts on some of the
nobler things which ought not to be long absent
from the mind — I mean, what is lov^d, and feared,
enjoyed, and derided, as " religion."

In my very limited baggage I had brought
some selected pieces and Scripture anecdotes
and other papers in French and German, and
these were used on appropriate occasions, and
were always well received, often with exceed-
ingly great interest and sincere gratitude.

Some people are shy about giving tracts, or are
even afraid of them. But then some people are shy

70 GIVING TRACTS.

of speaking at all, or even dislike to ride, or
skate, or row. One need not laugh at another
for this.

The practice of carrying a few printed pages to
convey in clear language what one cannot accu-
rately speak in a foreign tongue is surely allow-
able, to say the least. But I invariably find it
to be very useful and interesting to myself and
to others ; and, as it hurts nobody, and has
nothing in it of which to be proud or ashamed,
and as hundreds of men do it, and as I have done
it for years, and will do it again, I am far too
old a traveller to be laughed out of it now.

The Kloster at Beuron is a favourite place for
excursionists from the towns in the neighbour-
hood, and no doubt some day soon it will be a
regular "place to see" for English travellers
rowing down the Danube ; for it is thus, and
only thus, you can approach it with full effect.
The moon had come forth as I leaned out of my
bedroom window, and it whitened the ample circus
of beetling crags, and darkened the trees, while a
fainter and redder light glimmered from the
monks' chapel, as the low tones of midnight
chanting now and then reached the ear. Perhaps
it is better to wear a monk's cowl than to wear
consistently a layman's common coat in the work-
day throng of life ; and it may be better to fast

REVERIE AMONG SPIDERS. 71

and chant and kneel at shrines than to be tempe-
rate and thankful and prayerful in the busy
world. But I doubt.

After leaving Beuron, with the firing of guns
and the usual pleasant good wishes from the shore,
the Danube carried us between two lofty rocks,
and down calm reaches for hours. The water was
unspeakably clear ; you could see right into deep
caverns far below. I used to gaze downwards for
so long a time at the fish moving about, and to
strike at them with my long paddle (never once
hitting any), that I forgot the boat was swinging
along all the time, till bump she went on a bank,
or crash against a rocky isle, or rumbling into
some thick trees, when a shower of leaves, spiders,
and rubbish wakened up my reverie. Then,
warned by the shock, I return to the plain duty
of looking ahead, until, perhaps, after an hour's
active rushing through narrow " guts," and over
little falls, and getting out and hauling the boat
down larger ones, my eyes are wandering again,
gazing at the peaks overhead, and at the eagles
soaring above them, and at the clear blue sky
above all; till again the Rob Roy heels over
on a sunken stone, and I have to jump out nimbly
to save her from utter destruction. For days
together I had my feet bare, and my trousers
tucked up, ready to wade at any moment, and

72 MILES PADDLED.

perfectly comfortable all the time, for a fiery
sun dried every thing in a few minutes.

The physical enjoyment of such a life to one in
good health and good spirits, with a good boat
and good scenery, is only to be appreciated after
experience ; for these little reminders that one
must not actually sleep on a rushing river
never resulted in any disaster, and I came home
without a cold or a scratch, or a hole in the boat,
or one single day regretted. May this be so for
many a John Bull let loose on the Continent to
" paddle his own canoe."

On the rivers where there is no navigation and
no towing paths it was impossible to estimate the
distances traversed each day, except by the num-
ber of hours I was at work, the average speed,
the strength of the wind and current, and the
number of stoppages for food or rest, or mill-
weirs, waterfalls, or barriers. Thirty miles was
reckoned to be a good day's work, and I have
sometimes gone forty miles in a day ; but twenty
was quite enough when the scenery and incidents
on the way filled up every moment of time with
varied sensations of new pleasures.

It will generally be found, I think, that for
walking in a pleasant country twenty miles a day
is enough for mind and body to be active and
observant all the time. But the events that

BOAT versus RIVER. 73

occur in river work are far more frequent and
interesting than those on the road, for you have
all the circumstances of your boat in addition to
what fills the pedestrian's journal, and after a little
time your canoe becomes so much a companion
(friend, shall I say ?) that every turn it takes and
every knock and grate on its side is felt as if it
were your own. The boat gets to be individualized,
and so does the river, till at last there is a pleasant
rivalry set up, for it is " man and boat " versus
the river and all it can place in your way.

After a few tours on the Continent your first
hour in a railway or diligence may be new and en-
joyable, but you soon begin to wish for the end of
the road, and after a short stay in the town you
have come to you begin to talk (or think) of
when you are to leave. Now a feature of the
boating tour is that quiet progress can be enjoyed
all the time, because you have personal exertion
or engagement for every moment, and your ob-
servation of the scenery around is now most
minute and interesting, because every bend and
slope of it tells at once what you have to do.

Certainly the pleasure of a day is not to be
measured by the number of miles you have gone
over. The voyage yesterday, for instance, was
one of the very best for enjoyment of scenery,
incident, and exercise, yet it was the shortest

74 BOAT versus RIVER.

day I had. The guide-book says, " Tuttlingen is
twelve miles" — by river, say eighteen — "from
Kloster Beuron, where the fine scenery begins.
This part of the Danube is not navigable."

I will not say that on some occasions I did not
wish for the end of the day's work, when arms
were weary, and the sun was low, and yearnings
of the inner man grumbling for dinner, especially
when no one could tell how far it was to any
house, or whether you could stop there all night
if you reached it.

CHAPTER V.

Sigmaringen — Treacherous trees — Congress of herons —
Flying Dutchman— Tub and shovel — Bottle race —
Snags — Bridge perils — Ya Vol — Ferry rope — Be-
nighted.

THE sides of the river were now less precipitous,
and the road came within a field or two of the
water, and made it seem quite homely for a time.
I had heard a loud jingling sound on this road
for at least half-an-hour, and observed a long cart
with two horses trotting fast, and evidently
daring to race with the Bob Hoy. But at length
such earnest signals were made from it that I
stopped, and the cart at once pulled up, and from
it there ran across the field a man breathless and hot,
without his hat, and followed by two young ladies,
equally hurried. He was a German, resident for
a short time in London, and now at home for a
month's holiday, and he was prodigal of thanks
for my " great courtesy " in having stopped that
the ladies might see the canoe which they had
followed thus for some miles, having heard of its
Fame at their village. On another occasion three

76 RUNNING TO SEE.

youths voluntarily ran alongside the boat and
panted in the sun, and tumbled over stocks and
stones at such a rate, that after a mile of the
supererogatory exercise, I asked what it was all
about. Excellent villagers ! they had taken all
this trouble to arrive at a point further down the
stream where they knew there was a hard place,
and they thought they might help me in passing it.

Such exertions on behalf of a stranger were
really most kind, and when I allowed them to
give a nominal help, where in reality it was easy
enough to get on unaided, they were much de-
lighted and more than rewarded, and went back
prattling their purest Suabian in a highly satisfied
frame of mind.

Many are the bends and currents, but at last
we arrive at the town of Sigmaringen. It has
certainly an aristocratic air, though there are only
3,000 inhabitants ; but then it has a Principality,
though the whole population of this is only
52,000. Fancy a parish in London with a
Prince all to themselves, and — bearing such a fine
grand name too — " His Royal Serene Highness
the Hereditary Prince of Hohenzollern Sigmarin-
gen." But though I have often laughed at this
petty kingdom in the Geography books, I shall
never do so again, for it contains some of the
most beautiful river scenery in the world, and I

IN THE WOOD. 77

never had more unalloyed pleasure in passing
through a foreign dominion.

There are pretty gardens here, and a handsome
Protestant church, and a few good shops, schlosses
on the hills, and older castles perched on high rocks
in the usual picturesque and uncomfortable places
where our ancestors built their nests.

The Deutscher Hof is the hotel just opened
three weeks ago, and all its inmates are in a flutter
when their first English guest marches up to the
door with a boat and a great company of gazers.
The waiter too, all fresh from a year in London
at the Palace Hotel, Buckingham Gate, how glad
he is that his English is now in requisition, sitting
by me at dinner and talking most sensibly all the
time.

The weather still continued superb as we
paddled away. Deep green woods dipped their
lower branches in the water, but I found that the
stream had sometimes a fashion of carrying the
boat under these, and it is especially needful to
guard against this when a sharp bend with a
fast current hurries you into a wooded corner.
Indeed, strange as it may seem, there was more
danger to the boat from these trees than from
rocks or banks, and far more trouble. For
when the boat gets under their low branches your
paddle is quite powerless, because you cannot

78 CONGRESS OF HERONS.

lower one end to hold the water without raising
the other and so catching it in the trees. Then
if you put your head down forward you cannot
see, and the boughs are generally as hard as an
ordinary skull when the two are in collision.
Finally, if you lean backwards the twigs scrape
your face and catch upon a nose even of ordinary
length, and if you take your hand from the paddle
to protect the face away goes the paddle into the
river. Therefore, although my hat was never
knocked off, and my skull was always the hardest,
and my paddle was never lost, and my nose was
never de-Romanized by the branches, I set it down
as a maxim, to keep clear of trees in a stream.

Still it was tempting to go under shady groves
when I tried to surprise a flock of herons or a
family of wild ducks.

Once we came upon twenty-four herons all
together. As my boat advanced silently, steadily
gliding, it was curious to watch these birds, who
had certainly never been disturbed before by any
boat in such a place.

They stared eagerly at me and then looked at
each other, and evidently took a vote of the
assembly as to what all this could mean. If
birds' faces can give any expression of their
opinions, it is certain that one of these herons
was saying then to the others " Did you ever ? "

FLYING DUTCHMAN. 79

and an indignant sneer was on another's beak
that plainly answered, " Such impudence indeed! "
while a third added, with a sarcastic chirp, " And
a foreigner too ! " But, after consultation, they
always got up and circled round, flew down
stream, and then settled all again together in an
adjourned meeting. A few minutes brought me
to their new retreat, and so we went on for miles,
they always flying down stream, and always
assembling, though over and over again dis-
turbed, until an amendment on the plan was
moved and they bent their way aside.

A pleasant and favourable breeze springing up,
which soon freshened into a gale, I now set my
sails, and the boat went with very great speed ;
dashing over rocks and bounding past the hay-
makers so fast that when one who caught sight
of her had shouted to the rest of his "mates,"
the sight was departed for ever before they came,
and I heard them behind me arguing, probably
about the ghost.

But it was a shame to be a phantom ship too
often, and it was far more amusing to go right
into the middle of these people, who knew nothing
about the canoe, who had never seen a boat, and
never met a foreigner in their lives. Thus, when
a waterfall was found too high to " shoot/' or a
wide barrier made it advisable to take the boat

80

MOWERS AMAZED.

" In the Hayfields.'-

by land, I used to walk straight into the hayfields,
pushing the boat point foremost through a hedge,
or dragging her steadily over the wet newly-
mown grass in literal imitation of the American
craft which could go " wherever there was a heavy
dew." On such occasions the amazement of the
untaught clowns, beholding suddenly such an
apparition, was beyond all description. Some
even ran away, very often children cried outright,
and when I looked gravely on the ground as I
marched and dragged the boat, and then suddenly
stopped in their midst with a hearty laugh and an

TUB AND SHOVEL. 81

address in English, the whole proceeding may
have appeared to them at least as strange as it
did to me.

The water of the river all at once became here
of a pale white colour, and I was mourning that
my pretty scenes below were clouded ; but in about
thirty miles the pebbly deeps appeared again, and
the stream resumed its charming limpid clearness.
This matter of dark or bright water is of some
importance, because, when it is clear you can
easily estimate after a little experience the general
depth, even at some distance, by the shades and
hues of the water, while the sunk rocks, b*g stones,
and other particular obstacles are of course more
visible then.

Usually I got well enough fed at some village,
or at least at a house, but in this lonely part of
the river it seemed wise to take provender with
me in the boat, and to picnic in some quiet pool,
with a shady tree above. One of the very few
boats I saw on the river appeared as I was thus
engaged, and a little boy was in it. His specimen
of naval architecture (no doubt the only one he
had ever seen) was an odd contrast to the beauti-
fully finished canoe made by Searle. He had a
pole and a shovel ; the latter article he used as a
paddle, and his boat was of enormous thickness
and clumsiness, made of three planks, abundantly

82 KINGFISHER.

clamped with iron. I gave him some bread, and
we had a chat ; then some butter, and then some
cheese. He would not take wine, but he produced
a cigar from his wet jacket, and also two matches,
which he lighted with great skill. We soon got to
be friends, as people do who are together alone, and
in the same mode of travelling, riding, or sailing,
or on camels* backs. So we smiled in sympathy,
and I asked him if he could read, and gave him a
neat little page prettily printed in German, with
a red border. This he read very nicely and was
glad to put in his ragged pocket; but he could
scarcely part from me, and struggled vainly to
urge his tub along with the shovel till we came to
a run of dashing waves, and then of course I had
to leave him behind, looking and yearning, with a
low, murmuring sound, and a sorrowful, earnest
gaze I shall never forget. '

Shoals of large and small fish are in this river,
and very few fishermen. I did not see ten men
fishing in ten days. But the pretty little King-
fisher does not neglect his proper duties, and
ever and anon his round blue back shines in the
sun as he hurries away with a note of protest
against the stranger who has invaded his pre-
serves. Bees are buzzing while the sun is hot,
and when it sinks, out gush the endless mazes of
gnats to hop and flit their tangled dances, the

ROCKS AND FALLS. 83

creatures of a day — born since the morning, and
to die at night.

Before the Danube parted with the rocks that
had been on each side for days together, it played
some strange pranks among them, and they
with it.

Often they rose at each side a hundred feet
without a bend, and then behind these were
broken cliifs heaved this way and that, or tossed
upside down, or as bridges hanging over chasms.

Here and there a huge splinted tooth-like spire
of stone stuck out of the water, leaning at an
angle. Sometimes in front there was a veritable
upright wall, as smooth as if it were chiselled,
and entirely cutting off the middle of the stream.
In advancing steadily to such a place it was really
impossible to determine on which side the stream
could by any means find an exit, and once indeed
I was persuaded that it must descend below.

In other cases the river, which had splayed out
its width to that of the Thames at Hungerford,
would suddenly narrow its size to a six-foot
passage, and rush down that with a " whishhh ! "
The Rob Boy cheerily sped through these, but
I landed to scan the course before attempting
the most difficult cuts. — Oh how lonely it was !
A more difficult vagary to cope with was when
in a dozen petty streams the water tumbled over
G 2

84 BOTTLE RACE.

as many little cascades, and only one was passable
— sometimes not one. The interest of finding
these, examining, trying, failing, and succeeding,
was a continuous delight, and filled up every mile
with a series of exciting incidents, till at length
the rocks were done.

And now we enter a vast plain, with the stream
bending round on itself, and hurrying swiftly
on through the innumerable islands, eddies, and
" snags," or trees uprooted, sticking in the water.
At the most critical part of this labyrinth we were
going a tremendous pace, when suddenly we came
to a fork in the river, with the volumes of water
going down both channels nearly equal. "We
could not descend by one of these because a tree
would catch the mast, so I instantly turned
into the other, when up started a man and
shouted impetuously that no boat could pass by
that course. It was a moment of danger, but
I lowered the sails in that moment, took down
my mast, and, despite stream and gale, I managed
to paddle back to the proper channel. As no man
had been seen for hours before, the arrival
of this warning note was opportune.

A new amusement was invented to-day — it was
to pitch out my empty wine-bottle and to watch
its curious bobbings and whirlings as the current
carried it along, while I floated near and com-

INVISIBLE SONG. 85

pared the natural course taken by the bottle with
the selected route which intelligence gave to the
Rob Roy. Soon the bottle became impersonated,
and we were racing together, and then a sym-
pathy began for its well-known cork as it plumped
down when its bottom struck a stone — for the
bottle drew more water than my canoe — and
every time it grounded there came a loud and
melancholy clink of the glass, and down it went.

The thick bushes near the river skirted it now
for miles, and at one place I could see above
me, through the upper branches, about 20 hay-
makers, men and women, who were honestly
working away, and therefore had not observed
my approach.

I resolved to have a bit of fun here, so we closed
in to the bank, but still so as to see the indus-
trious group. Then suddenly I began in a very
loud voice with —

11 Rule, Britannia,
Britannia rules the waves."

Long before I got to the word "slaves" the
whole party were like statues, silent and fixed
in amazement. Then they looked right, left,
before, behind, and upwards in all directions,
except, of course, into the river, for why should
they look there ? nothing had ever come up from

86 BRIDGE PERILS.

the river to disturb their quiet mead. I next
whistled a lively air, and then dashing out of
my hiding-place stood up in my boat, and made
a brief (but, we trust, brilliant) speech to them
in the best English I could muster, and in a
moment afterwards we had vanished from their
sight.

A little further on there was some road-making
in progress, and I pulled up my boat under a
tree and walked up to the " barraque," or work-
man's canteen, and entered among 30 or 40
German " navvies," who were sitting at their
midday beer. I ordered a glass and drank their
health standing, paid, bowed, and departed, but
a general rush ensued to see where on earth this
flannel-clad being had come from, and they stood
on the bank in a row as I waded, shoved, hauled,
paddled, and carried my boat through a trouble-
some labyrinth of channels and embankments,
with which their engineering had begun to spoil
the river.

But the bridges one had now more frequently
to meet were far worse encroachments of civiliza-
tion, for most of them were so low that my mast
would not pass under without heeling the boat
over to one side, so as to make the mast lean down
obliquely. In one case of this kind she was very
nearly shipwrecked, for the wind was so good that

FERRY ROPE. 87

I would not lower the sail, and this and a swift
current took us (me and my boat — she is now,
you see, installed as a " person ") rapidly to the
centre arch, when just as we entered I noticed a
fierce-looking snag with a sharp point exactly in
my course. To swerve to the side would be to strike
the wooden pier, but even this would be better
(for I might ward off the violence of a blow near
my hands) than to run on the snag, which would
be certain to cut a hole.

With a heavy thump on the pier the canoe
began to capsize, and only by the nearest escape
was she saved from foundering. What I thought
was a snag turned out to be the point of an iron
stake or railing, carelessly thrown into the water
from the bridge above.

It may be here remarked that many hidden
dangers occur near bridges, for there are wooden
or iron bars fixed under water, or rough sharp
stones lying about, which, being left there when
the bridge was building, are never removed from
a river not navigable or used by boats.

Another kind of obstruction is the thin wire
rope suspended across the rivers, where a ferry
is established by running a flat boat over the
stream with cords attached to the wire rope.
The rope is black in colour, and therefore is not
noticed till you approach it too near to lower the

88 A STORM.

mast, but this sort of danger is easily avoided by
the somewhat sharp " look-out " which a week
or two on the water makes quite instinctive and
habitual. Perhaps one of the many advantages
of a river tour is the increased acuteness of ob-
servation which it requires and fosters.

I stopped next at a clumsy sort of town called
Riedlingen, where an Englishman is a very rare
visitor. The excitement here about the boat
became almost ridiculous, and one German, who
had been in America and could jabber a little
in English, was deputed to ask questions, while
the rest heard the answers interpreted.

Next morning at eight o'clock at least a thou-
sand people gathered on the bridge and its ap-
proaches to see the boat start, and shoals of
schoolboys ran in, each with his little knapsack
of books.*

The scenery after this became of only ordinary
interest compared with what I had passed through,
but there would have been little spare time to look
at it had it been ever so picturesque, for the wind

* Knapsack, from " schnap," " sach," provision bag,
for ll bits and bats," as we should say ; havresack is from
" hafer," " forage Dag." Query. — Does this youthful car-
riage of the knapsack adapt boys for military service,
and does it account for the high shoulders of many
Germans ?

NO FOOD. 89

was quite a gale,* and right in my favour, and
the stream was fast and tortuous with banks,
eddies, and innumerable islands and cross channels,
so that the navigation occupied all one's energy,
especially as it was a point of honour not to haul
down the sail in a fair wind.

Midday came, and yet I could find no place
to breakfast, though the excitement and exertion
of thus sailing was really hard work. But still
we hurried on, for dark clouds were gathering
behind, and thunder and rain seemed very near.

" Ah," said I inwardly, " had I only listened
to that worthy dame's entreaties this morning
to take good provision for the day ! " She had
smiled like the best of mothers, and timidly
asked to be allowed to touch my watch-chain, " it
was so schon" so beautiful to see. But, oddly
enough, we had taken no solid food on board to-
day, being so impatient to get off when the wind
was strong and fair. The rapid pace then brought
us to Ehingen, the village I had marked on the
map for this night's rest. But now we came there
it was found to be too soon — I could not stop for
the day with such a splendid breeze inviting pro-
gress ; nor would it do to leave the boat on the

* In the newspaper accounts of the weather it was
stated that at this time a storm swept over Central
Europe.

90 CHASING A CHURCH.

bank and go to the village to eat, for it was too
far from the river, and so the current and sails
must hurry us on as before.

Now and then I asked some gazing agriculturist
on the bank where the nearest houses were, but
he never could understand that I meant nearest,
and also close to the river ; so the end of every
discussion was that he said, " Ya vol," which
means in Yankee tongue, " That's so " ; in
Scottish, " Hoot, aye " ; in Irish, " Troth, an'
it is " ; and in French, " C'est vrai " ; but
then none of this helps one a bit.

I therefore got first ravenous and then faint,
and after mounting the bank to see the turns of
the river in advance, I actually fell asleep under
a tree. The wind had quite subsided when I
awoke, and then quaffed deep draughts of water and
paddled on.

The banks were now of yellow mud, and
about eight or ten feet high, quite straight up
from the water, just like those on the Nile, and
several affluent streams ran from the plain to join
the river. Often, indeed, I saw a church tower
right ahead, and laboured along to get there, but
after half-a-mile the stream would turn sharp
round to one side, and still more and more round,
and at last the tower once in front was directly
behind us. The explanation of this tormenting

SNAGS. 91

peculiarity was simply this, — that the villages were
carefully built away from the river bank because
it is a bad foundation, and is washed away as new
channels are formed by the flood.

When the light began to fail I took a good
look at the map, and serpentine bends were marked
on it plain enough indeed, but only in one-half
of their actual number ; and, moreover, I saw that
in the forest we had now entered there would be no
suitable villages at all. The overhanging trees
made a short twilight soon deepen into night;
and to add to the interest the snags suddenly
became numerous, and some of them waved
about in the current, as they do on the Upper
Mississippi, when the tenacious mud holds
down the roots merely by its weight. All this
made it necessary to paddle slowly and with great
caution, and to cross always to the slack side of
the stream instead of by one's usual course, which,
in descending, is to keep with the rapid current.

Sometimes I had to back out of shallows which
were invisible in the dark, and often I stopped a
long time before a glance of some ripple obscurely
told me the probable course. The necessity for
this caution will be evident when it is remembered
that in case of an upset here both sets of clothes
would have been wet together, and without any
house at hand to dry them.

92 GROPING TO BED.

All at once I heard a bell toll quite near me in
the thick wood, and I came to the bank, but it
was impossible to get ashore on it, so I passed
that place too, and finally made up my mind to
sleep in the boat, and soon had all sorts of plans
in course of devising.

Just then two drops of rain came on my nose,
and I resolved at once to stop, for if my clothes
got wet before I was snug in the canoe there
would be little comfort all night, without any-
thing solid to eat since morning, and all my cigars
already puffed away.

As I now cautiously searched for some root pro-
jecting from the bank to make fast to, a light
appeared straight in front, and I dashed forward
with the boat to reach it, and speedily ran her
into a strange sort of lake or pond, where the
stream ceased, and a noise on the boat's side told
of weeds, which proved to be large round leaves
on the surface, like those of the Victoria Regia
lily.

I drew up the boat on shore, and mounted the
high bank through a thicket, carrying my long
paddle as a protection against the large dogs
which farmhouses sport here, and which might
be troublesome to quarrel with in the dark. The
house I came to on the top of the precipice had
its window lighted, and several people were talk-

BRITISH CASUAL.

93

ing inside, so I knocked
loudly, and all was silence.
Then I knocked again, and
whined out that I was a poor
benighted "Englander," and
hoped they would let me in,
at which melancholy tale they
burst out laughing, and so

didl! After an argument be-
tween us, which was equally
intelligible on both sides, a
fat farmer cautiously took
the light upstairs, and, open-
ing a window, thrust the
candle forward, and gazed
out upon me standing erect
as a true Briton, and with
my paddle, too, but in reality
a humiliated vagrant begging
for a night's lodging.

94 ROUGHING IT EASY.

After due scrutiny he pulled in his head and
his candle, shut the window, and fell to laughing
immoderately. At this I was glad, for I never
found it difficult to get on with a man who
begins in good humour.

Presently the others went up, and I stood
their gaze unflinchingly, and, besides, made an
eloquent appeal in the vernacular — mine, not
theirs, be it clearly understood.

Finally they were satisfied that I was alone,
and, though probably mad, yet not quite a match
for all of them, so they came down gallantly;
but then there was the difficulty of persuading
the man to grope down to the river on this dark
night to carry up a boat.

With some exertion we got it up by a better
way, and safely locked it in the cowhouse of
another establishment, and there I was made
thoroughly comfortable. They said they had
nothing to eat but kirchwasser, bread, and eggs,
and how many eggs would I like ? so I said,
"To begin with, ten," and I ate them every one.
By this time the priest had come; they often
used to send for the prester to do the talk. The
large room soon got full, and the sketch-book
was passed round, and an India-rubber band made
endless merriment for the smaller fry, all in the
old routine, the very mention of which it may be

BILLS. 95

tedious to hear of so often, as indeed it was to me
to perform.

But then in each case it was their first time of
going through the performance, and they were so
kind and courteous one could not refuse to please
such people. The 'priest was very communicative,
and we tried to converse in Latin, for my German
was not good enough for him nor his French for
me. But we soon agreed that it was a long time
since our schoolboy Latin days, though I recollect
having had long conversations in Latin with a
monk at Nazareth, but there we had ten days
together, and so had time to practise.

Thus ended the 1st of September, the only
occasion on which I had to "rough it" at all
during the voyage; and even then, it may be
seen, the very small discomforts were all the
results of gross want of prudence on my own
part, and ended merely by a hard day's work with
breakfast and dinner merged into a late supper.
My bill here was 3s. 6^., the day before, 4s. 6d.,
including always wine and luxuries.

CHAPTER VI.

Day-dream— Kiver Iller — Ulm —A stiff king — Lake Con-
stance— Seeing in the dark— Switzerland — Coloured
Canvas— Sign talk — Synagogue— Amelia — Gibberish.

THE threatening rain had not come during the
night, and it was a lovely morning next day, like
all the rest before and after it ; and as we were
leaving this place I found it was called Gegglin-
gen,* and was only nine miles from Ulm.

The lofty tower of the Cathedral of this town
soon came in view, but I noticed it without any
pleasure, for this was to end my week on the
Danube ; and in my ship's log it is entered
as " one of the most pleasant weeks of my life
for scenery, health, weather, exercise, and varied
adventure."

In a pensive mood, therefore, I landed at a

* It will be noticed how the termination "ing en" is
common here. Thus in our water route we have passed
Donaueschingen, Geisingen, Mehringen, Tuttliugen,
Friedingen, Sigmaringen, Kiedlingen, Ehingen, Dischingen,
and Gegglingen, the least and last. In England we have
the " ing" in Dorking, Kettering, &c.

DAY-DREAM. 97

garden, and reclined on a warm mossy bank
to have a rest and a day-dream, but very soon
the loud booming of artillery aroused the hill
echoes, and then sharp rattling of infantry firing.
The heights around were crested with fringes
of blue-coated soldiers and glistening bayonets,
amid the soft round, cotton-like volumes of smoke
from the great guns spurting out fire long before
the sound comes. It was a review of troops and
a sham attack on a fort surmounting the hill,
near the battlefield of long years ago at Ulm.
If they fought in heat and fury, let them now rest
in peace.

Come back, my thoughts, to the river at my
feet.

I had been' with this river from its infancy,
nay, even from its birth in the Schwartzwald. I
had followed it right and left, as it seemed to
toddle in zigzag turnings like a child ; and I had
wound with it hither and thither as it roamed
away further like free boyhood. Then it giew in
size by feeding on the oozy plain, and was still
my companion when it got the strength of youth,
dashing over the rocks, and bounding through the
forests ; and I had come at last to feel its powerful
stream stronger than my strength, and compelling
my respect. And now, at Ulm, I found it a noble
river, steady and swift, as if in the flower of age ;

H

98 RIVER ILLER.

but its romance was gone. It had boats on it,
and navigation, and bridges, and railways, like
other great waters ; and so I would let it go on
alone, tumbling, rushing, swelling, till its broad
bosom bears whole fleets at Ofen, and at length
as a great water giant it leaps down headlong into
the Black Sea.

Having seen Ulm in a former tour, I was in no
mood to "go over" the sights again, nor need
they be related here, for it is only river travel
and lake sailing that we are concerned with ;
while reference may be made to the Guide-books
if you wish to hear this sort of thing : " Ulm,
lat. 97°, an old Cathedral (a) town, on two (§)
hills (see Appx.). Pop. '9763; situated ff on the
Danube." At that I stop, and look into the
water once more.

The river is discoloured here, — what is called
in Scotland "drumly;" and this seems partly
owing to the tributary liter, which rises in the
Tyrol, and falls into the Danube, a little way
above the town. The Iller has a peculiar air of
wild, forlorn bleakness, with its wide channel
half occupied by cold white gravel, and its banks
scored and torn, with weird, broken roots, gnarled
trees, barkless and fallen, all lying dishevelled;
surely in flood times, and of dark wintry nights, a
very deluge boils and seethes along there.

STEAMERS AND RAFTS. 99

Then, at last, there are the barges on the
Danube, and very rudimental they are ; huge in
size, with flat bottoms, and bows and stems
cocked up, and a roofed house in the middle of
their sprawling length. The German boys must
have these models before them when they make
the Noah's Arks for English nurseries ; and
Murray well says of these barges, they are
"nothing better than wooden sheds floating in
flat trays."

In 1839 a steamer was tried here, but it got on
a bank, and the effort was abandoned ; so you
have to go on to Donauwerth before this mode of
travelling is reached, but from thence you can
steam down to the Black Sea, and the passage
boats below Yienna are very fast and well
appointed.

Rafts there are at Ulm, but we suppose the
timber for them comes by the Hler, for I did not
notice any logs descending the upper part of the
Danube.

Again, there are the public washhouses in the
river, each of them a large floating establishment,
with overhanging eaves, under which you can see,
say, fifty women all in a row, half kneeling or
leaning over the low bulwarks, and all slapping
your best shirts mercilessly.
H 2

100 A STIFF KING.

I made straight over to these ladies, and asked
how the Rob Hoy could get up so steep a bank,
and how far it was to the railway ; and so their
senior matron kindly got a man and a hand-cart
for the boat, and, as the company of women
heard it was from England, they all talked
louder and more together, and pounded and
smacked the unfortunate linen with additional
emphasis.

The bustle at the railway-station was only half
about the canoe ; the other half was for the King
of Wurtemburg, who was getting into his special
train to go to his palace at Fredrickshafen.

Behold me, then, fresh from Gegglingen and
snags, in the immediate presence of Royalty !
But this King was not at all kingly, though
decidedly stiff. He is, however, rather amusing
sometimes ; as when by his order, issued lately,
he compels sentries to salute even empty Royal
carriages.

I got a newspaper here, and had twelve days to
overtake of the world's doings while we had roamed
in hill, forest, and waves. Yet I had been always
asked there to " give the news," and chiefly on
two points, — the Great Eastern, with its electric
cable, and the catastrophe on the Matterhorn
glacier, the two being at times vaguely associated,

A REST. 101

as if the breaking of the cable in the one had
something to do with the loss of mountaineers in
the other.

So, while I read, the train bore us southwards to
Fredrickshafen, the canoe being charged as baggage
three shillings, and patiently submitting to have a
numbered label pasted on its pretty brown face.

This lively port, on the north side of the Lake
of Constance, has a charming view in front of it
well worth stopping to enjoy. It is not fair to
treat it as only a half-hour's town, to be seen
while you are waiting for the lake steamer to take
you across to Switzerland.

But now I come to it for a Sunday's rest (if
you wish to travel fast and far, rest every
Sunday), and, as the hotel faced the station,
and the lake faced the hotel, this is the very
place to stop in with a canoe.

So we took the boat upstairs into a loft, where
the washerwoman not only gave room for the
well worked timbers of the Rob Roy to be safe
and still, but kindly mended my sails, and sundry
other odds and ends of a wardrobe, somewhat
disorganized by rough times.

Next day there was service in the Protestant
church, a fine building, well filled, and duly
guarded by a beadle in bright array.

The service began by a woman singing " Com-

102 GERMAN SERVICE.

fort ye" from Handel, in exquisite taste and
simple style, with a voice that made one forget
that this solemn melody is usually sung by a
man. Then a large number of school children
were ranged in the chancel, round a crucifix, and
sang a very beautiful hymn, and next the whole
congregation joined in chanting the psalms in
unison, with tasteful feeling and devoutness.
A young German preacher gave us an eloquent
sermon, and then the people were dismissed.

The afternoon was drummed away by two noisy
bands, evidently rivals, and each determined to
excel the other in loudness, while both combined
to persecute the poor visitors who do wish for
quietness, at any rate once a week. I could
scarcely escape from this din in a long walk
by the lake, and on coming back found a man
bathing by moonlight, while rockets, squibs, and
Catherine wheels were let off in his boat. Better
indeed was it to look with entranced eyes on the
far off snowy range, now lit up by the full harvest
moon, and on the sheen of "each particular star,"
bright above, and bright again below, in the
mirror of the lake.

The Lake of Constance is forty-four miles long,
and about nine miles wide. I could not see a
ripple there when the Bob Roy Avas launched at
early morn, with my mind, and body, and soul

ON LAKE CONSTANCE. 103

refreshed, and an eager longing to begin the
tour of Switzerland once more, but now in so
new a fashion. Soon we were far from the shore,
and in that middle distance of the lake where all
sides seem equally near, and where the " other
side" appears never to get any nearer as you go
on. Here, in the middle, I rested for a while,
and the sensation then was certainly new. Beauty
was everywhere around, and there was full
freedom to see it. There was no cut-and-dry
route to be followed, no road, not even a track on
the water, no hours, or time to constrain. I
could go right or left by a stroke of the paddle,
and I was utterly my own master of whither to
steer, and where to stop.

The "pat-a-pat" of a steamer's wheels was the
only sound, and that was very distant, and when
the boat came near, the passengers cheered the
canoe, and smiles of (was it not ?) envy told of how
pleasant and pretty she looked. After a little
wavering in my plans, I settled it was best to go
to the Swiss side, and, after coasting by the villages,
I selected a little inn in a retired bay, and moored
my boat, and ordered breakfast. Here was an old
man of eighty-six, landlord and waiter in one, a
venerable man, and I respect age more while
growing older.

He talked with me for five hours while I ate,

104 CARPENTERING.

read, and sketched, and feasted my eyes on moun-
tain views, and answered vaguely to his remarks,
said in a sleepy way, and in a hot, quiet, basking
sun. There are peaceful and almost dreamy hours
of rest in this water tour, and they are sweet too
after hard toil. It is not all rapids and struggles
when you journey with a canoe.

Close to the inn was the idiot asylum, an old
castle with poor demented women in it. The
little flag of my boat attracted their attention,
and all the inmates were allowed to come out
and see it, with many smiles of pleasure, and
many odd remarks and gestures.

Disentangling myself from this strange group,
I landed again further down, and, under a splendid
tree, spent an hour or two in carpenter's work
(for I had a few tools on board), to repair the
boat's damages and to brighten her up a bit
for the English eyes I must expect in the next
part of the voyage.

Not a wave had energy to rise on the lake in
the hot sun. A sheep-bell tinkled now and then,
but in a tired, listless, and irregular way. A
gossamer spider had spun his web from my mast
to the tree above, and wagtails hopped near me
on the stones, and turned an inquiring little
eye to the boat half in the water, and its master
reclining on the grass. It was an easy paddle

SEEING IN THE DARK. 105

from this to the town of Constance, at the end of
the lake.

Here a douanier made a descent upon me and
was inexorable. "You must have the boat ex-
amined." " Very well, pray examine it." His
Chief was absent, and I must put the canoe in
the Custom-house till to-morrow morning. An
hour was wasted in palaver about -this, and at
first I protested vigorously against such absurdity
in " free Switzerland." But Constance is not in
Switzerland, it is in the Grand Duchy of Baden,
and so to keep it "grand," they must do very
little things, and at any rate can trouble tra-
vellers. At length an obliging native, ashamed
of the proceeding, remonstrated with the douanier,
and persuaded him at least to search the boat
and let it pass.

He took as much time to inspect as if she were
a brig of 300 tons, and, when he came to look at
the stern, I gravely pointed to a round hole cut in
the partition for this very purpose ! Into this
hole he peered, while the crowd was hushed in
silence, and as he saw nothing but darkness, ex-
tremely dark, for (nothing else was there), he
solemnly pronounced the canoe "free," and she
was duly borne to the hotel.

But Constance once had a man in it who was
really " grand," John Huss, the noble martyr
for the truth. In the Council Hall you see the

106 THE RHINE AGAIN.

veritable cell in which he was imprisoned some
hundreds of years ago, and on a former visit I
had seen, from the tower, through a telescope,
the field where the faggots burned him, and from
whence his great soul leaped up to heaven out of
the blazing pile.

" Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints, whose bones
Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold ;
E'en them who kept thy truth so pure of old
When all our fathers worshipped stocks and stones."

— Milton.

Does not a thought or two on such great things
make other common things look small ?

True and good — but we may not stop always in
the lake to ponder thus, for the current is moving
again, so let us launch the Rob Roy on our old
friend, the Rhine.

It is a change to cross a quiet lake after being
hurried on a rapid stream like the Danube, and
now it is another change to paddle from the lake
into a wide river like the Rhine, which speeds fast
and steady among lively scenes. The water is
deep, and of a faint blue, but clear enough to show
what is below. The pebbly bottom seems to roll
towards you from underneath, and village churches
appear to spin quietly round on the banks, for the
land and its things seem to move, not the water,
so glassy its surface steadily flowing.

Here are the fishers again, slowly paying out

COLOURED CANVAS. 107

their fine-spun nets, and there is a target-hut
built on four piles in the river.

The target itself is a great cube of wood, say
six feet on each side. It is fired at from another
hut perched also on post in the water, and a
"marker" safely placed behind the great block of
wood turns it round on a vertical pivot, and so
patches up the bullet-hole, and indicates its posi-
tion to those who have fired.

The Rhine suddenly narrows soon after leaving
the Boden See, or Lake Constance as we call it,
but the banks again open out till it is a mile or
two in breadth. Here and there are grassy islands,
and you may notice, by long stakes stuck on the
shallows, which tremble as the water presses them,
that the channel for steamers is very roundabout,
though the canoe will skim over any part of it
comfortably. Behind each islet of tall reeds there
is a fishing-boat held fast by two poles stuck in the
bottom of the river ; or it is noiselessly moving to a
more lucky pool, sculled by the boatman, with his
oar at only one side, — rather a novel plan, — while
he pays out the net with his other hand. Rudely-
made barges are afloat, and seem to turn round
helplessly in the current of the deeper parts, or
hoist their great square sails in the dead calm —
perhaps for the appearance of the thing — a very
picturesque appearance, as the sail has two broad

108 SIGN TALK.

bands of dark blue cloth for its centre stripes.
But the pointed lateen sail of Geneva is certainly
a more graceful rig than the lug, especially when
there are two masts, and the white sails swell to-
wards you, goosewinged, before a flowing breeze.

The river has probably a very uneven bottom
in this part, for the water sometimes rushes
round in great whirlpools, and strange overturn-
ings of itself, as if it were boiling from below in
exuberant volume with a gushing upwards ; and
then again, it wheels about in a circle with a
sweep far around, before it settles to go onward.*

On the borders of Switzerland the German and
French tongues are both generally known at the
hotels, and by the people accustomed to do busi-
ness with foreigners travelling among them.

But in your course along a river these con-
venient waiters and polyglot commissionaires are
not found exactly in attendance at every village,

* These maelstroms seem at first to demand extra caution
as you approach, but they are harmless enough, for the
water is deep, and it only twists the boat round ; and you
need not mind this except when the sail is up, but have a
care then that you are not taken aback. In crossing one
of these whirlpools at full speed it will be found needless
to try to counteract the sudden action on your bow by
paddling against it, for it is better to hold on as if there
were no interference, and presently the action in the
reverse direction puts all quite straight.

LANDING. 109

and it is, therefore, to the bystanders or casual
loungers your observations must be addressed.

Frequent intercourse with natives of strange
countries, where there is no common language
between them and the tourist, will gradually
teach him a "sign language" which suits all
people alike.

Thus, in any place, no matter what was their
dialect, it was always easy to induce one or two
men to aid in carrying the canoe. The formula
for this was something in the following style.

I first got the boat on shore, and a crowd
of course soon collected, while I arranged its
interior, and sponged out the splashed water,
and fastened the cover down. Then, tightening
my belt for a walk, I looked round with a kind
smile, and selecting a likely man, would address
him in English deliberately as follows — suiting
each action to the word, for I have always found
that sign language is made more natural when
you speak your own tongue all the time you
are acting : — " Well now, I think as you have
looked on enough and have seen all you want,
it's about time to go to an hotel, a gasthaus.
Here ! you — yes, you ! — just take that end of the
boat up, so, — gently, i langsam ! ' ' langsatu ! '-
all right, yes, under your arm, like this, — now
march off to the best hotel, gasthaus."

110

PROCESSION.

"Langsam."

Then the procession naturally formed itself.
The most humorous boys of course took pre-
cedence, because of services or mischief willing
to be performed ; and, meanwhile, they gra-
tuitously danced about and under the canoe like
Fauns around Silenus. Women only came near
and waited modestly till the throng had passed.
The seniors of the place kept on the safer confines
of the movement, where dignity of gait might
comport with close observation.

In a case of sign talking like the foregoing
you can be helped by one substantive and one

ARABS AND SIGNS. Ill

adverb ; and if you pronounce these clearly, and
use them correctly, while all the other expressions
are evidently your language and not theirs, they
will understand it much better than if you try
signs in dumb show or say the whole in bad
German, and so give rise to all possible mis-
takes of your meaning.

But it is quite another matter when you have
forgotten (or have never acquired) the foreign
word for the noun you wish to name, though, even
then, by well chosen signs, and among an intelli-
gent people, a good deal can be conveyed, as may
be shown in the following cases.

Once I was riding among the Arabs along
the Algerian coast, on my way from Carthage, and
my guide, a dense Kabyle, was evidently taking me
past a place I wished to visit, and which had been
duly entered in the list when he was engaged.

I could not make him understand this, for my
limited Arabic had been acquired under a different
pronunciation in Syria ; but one night, it hap-
pened that a clever chief had me in a tent, or
rather a hut, just like the top of a gipsy cart. I
explained to him by signs (and talking English)
that the muleteer was taking me past the place it
was desired to see. Then I tried to pronounce
the name of that place, but was always wrong, or
he could not make it out ; it was Maskutayn, or

112 TALKING TO CHINESE.

" bewitched waters," a wonderful volcanic valley,
full of boiling streams and little volcanoes of salt.

At length, sitting in the moonlight, signs were
tried even for this difficult occasion. I put my
chibouque (pipe) under the sand and took water
in my hand, and as he looked on intently— for
the Arabs love this speaking action — I put water
on the fire in the pipe-bowl, and blew it up
through the sand, talking English all the time.
This was done again, and suddenly the black
lustrous eyes of the Ishmaelite glistened brighter.
He slapped his forehead. He jumped up. You
could almost be sure he said " I know it now ; "
and then he roused the unfortunate muleteer
from his snorings to give him an energetic
lecture, by means of which we were directed next
day straight to the very place I desired to find.

In a few cases of this international talking
it becomes necessary to sketch pictures, which are
even better than signs, but not among Arabs.
During a visit to the fair of Nijni Novgorod, in the
middle of Russia, I passed many hours in the
"Chinese street" there, and found it was very
difficult to communicate with Ching Loo, and
even signs were useless. But they had some red
wax about the tea-chests, and there was a white
wall beside us, so upon this I put the whole
story in large pictures, with an explanatory lecture

EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH. 113

in English, all the time, which proceeding attracted
an audience of several scores of Chinamen and
Kalmuks and other outlandish people, and the
particular group I meant to enlighten seemed
perfectly to understand all that was desired.

And so we suppose that if you can work your
paddle well, and learn the general sign language,
and a little of the pencil tongue, you can go very
far in a canoe without being starved or homeless ;
while you are sure to have a wide field in which
to study the various degrees of intelligence among
those you meet.

To come back, however, from the Volga to the
Rhine.

The current flows more and more gently as we
enter the Zeller See, or Unter See, a lake which
would be called pretty if our taste has not been
sated for a while by having a snowy range for the
background to the views on Constance.

But the Lake of Constance sadly wants islands,
and here in the Zeller See are several, one of them
being of great size. The Emperor of the French
had passed two days at his chateau on this lake,
just before we arrived. No doubt he would have
waited a week had he known the Rob Roy was
coming.1*

However, as we were too late to breakfast with

* His Majesty has not forgotten the canoe, as will be
I

114 LUXURIOUS.

his Majesty, I pulled in at the village of Steck-
born, where an inn is built on the actual edge of
the water, a state of things most convenient for
the aquatic tourist, and which you find often
along this part of the Rhine. In a case of this
sort you can tap at the door with the paddle,
and order a repast before you debark, so that it
is boiling and fizzing, and the table is all ready,
while you put things to rights on board, and come
leisurely ashore, and then tie the boat to the
window balcony, or, at any rate, in some place
where it can be seen all the time you breakfast
or dine, and rest, and read, and draw.

Experience proved that very few boys, even of
the most mischievous species, will meddle with a

seen by the following extract from the Paris intelligence
in the "Globe" of April 20 (His Majesty's birthday) :—

" By an edict, dated April 6, 1866, issued this morning, the
Ministre d'Etat institutes a special committee for the organisation
of a special exhibition, at the Exposition TJniverselle of 1867, of
all objects connected with the arts and industry attached to
pleasure boats and river navigation. This measure is thought
to display the importance which amateur navigation has assumed
during the last few years— to display the honour in which is
held this sport nouveau, as it is denominated in the report, and to
be successful in abolishing the old and absurd prejudices which
have so long prevented its development in France. The Emperor,
whose fancy for imitating everything English leads him to
patronise with alacrity all imitation of English sports in par-
ticular, is said to have suggested the present exhibition after
reading MacGregor's 'Cruise of the Rob Roy,' which developes
many new ideas of the purposes besides mere pleasure to which
pleasure boats may be applied, and would be glad to encourage
a taste for the exploration of solitary streams and lonely currents
amongst the youth of France."

A STRANGE SAIL. 115

boat which is floating, but that very few men, even
of the most amiable order, will refrain from pulling
it about when the little craft is left on shore.

To have your boat not only moored afloat but in
your sight too, — that is perfection, and it is worth
additional trouble to arrange this, because then
and for hours of the midday stoppage, you will
be wholly at ease, or at any rate, you will have
one care the less, the weary resting traveller
will not then be anxious about his absent boat,
as if it were a valuable horse in a strange stable.

The landlord was much interested in the story
of my voyage as depicted in the sketch-book, so
he brought a friend to see me who could speak
French, and who had himself constructed a boat
of two tin tubes,* on which a stage or frame is
supported, with a seat and rowlocks, the oddest
looking thing in nautical existence. I persuaded
him to put this institution into the water, and we
started for a cruise ; the double-tube metal boat,
with its spider-like gear aloft, and the oak canoe,
so low and rakish, with its varnished cedar deck,
and jaunty flag, now racing side by side, each of
them a rare sight, but the two together quite
unprecedented.

* Each of these was in shape like the cigar ship which
I had sailed past on the Thames, and which has since been
launched.

i 2

116 PARTING WITH AMELIA.

The river here is like parts of the Clyde and
the Kyles of Bute, with French villages let in,
and an Italian sky stretched overhead. "We rowed
across to a village where a number of Jews live,
for I wished to visit their Synagogue ; but, lo !
this was the Grand Duchy of Baden land, and a
heavily-armed sentry found us invading the
dominion, so he deployed and formed square to
force us to land somewhere else. The man was
civil, but his orders were unreasonable, so we
merely embarked again and went over to Switzer-
land, and ran our little fleet into a bramble bush,
to hide it while we mounted to an auberge on
the hill for a sixpenny bottle of wine.

The pretty Swiss lass in charge said she once
knew an Englishman — but " it was a pity they were
all so proud." He had sent her a letter in Eng-
lish, which I asked her to let me read for her. It
began, " My dear little girl, I love you ; " and
this did not sound so very proud for a beginning.
My boating friend promised to make her a tin
cqfetiere, and so it may be divined that he was
the tinman of the village, and a most agreeable
tinman too.

She came to see us on board, and her father
arrived just in time to witness a triangular
parting, which must have puzzled him a good
deal, Amelia waving farewell to a " proud" Eng-

GIBBERISH. 117

lishman and a nautical whitesmith, who both took
leave also of each other, the last sailing away
with huge square yards and coloured canvas, and
the Rob Roy drifting with the stream in the
opposite direction.

Every day for weeks past had been as a pic-
nic to me, but I prolonged this one into night,
the air was so balmy and the red sun setting was
so soon replaced by the white moon rising, and
besides, the navigation here had no dangers, and
there were villages every few miles.

When I had enough of it, cruising here and
there by moonlight, I drew up to the town of Stein,
but all was now lonely by the water-side. This
is -to be expected when you arrive late ; however,
a slap or two on the water with the paddle, and
a loud verse of a song, Italian, Dutch, a pibroch,
any noise in fact, soon draws the idlers to you,
and it is precisely the idlers you want.

One of them readily helped me with the boat
to an inn, where an excellent landlady greeted
the strange guest. From this moment all was
bustle there, and very much it was increased by
a German guest, who insisted on talking to me
in English, which I am sure I did not understand
a bit better than the Germans who came- to listen
and look on.

CHAPTER VII.

Fog — Fancy pictures — Boy soldiers — Boat's billet —
Eating— Lake Zurich— Crinoline — Hot walk — Staring
— Lake Zug — Swiss shots — Fishing Britons — Talk-
book.

IN the morning there was a most curious change
of air ; all around was in a dense white fog. ' Truly
it was now to be "sensation rowing;" so we
hastened to get off into this milky atmosphere. I
have an idea that we passed under a bridge ; at least
the usual cheers sounded this time as if they
were above me, but the mist was as thick as our
best November Cheshire-cheese fogs, and quite
as interesting. On several occasions I positively
could not see the bow of my boat, only a few
feet from my nose. The whole arrangement was
so unexpected and entirely novel, — paddling on a
fast invisible stream — that I had the liveliest
emotions of pleasure without seeing anything
at all.

But then fancy had free play all the time, and
the pictures it drew were vivid and full of colour,

FANCY PICTURES. 119

and, after all, our impressions of external objects are
only pictures, so say the philosophers; and why
not then enjoy a tour in a fog, with a good album
of pictures making the while in the brain ?

Sounds too there were, but like those of witches
and fairies — though perhaps it was only the
cackling of some antique washerwomen on the
banks. However, I addressed the unseen com-
pany in both prose and poetry, and was full of
emphasis, which now and again was increased by
my boat running straight into the shore.

The clearing away of the fog was one of the most
interesting evolutions of nature to be seen. In
one sort or other every traveller has enjoyed the
quick or gradual tearing up of a fog curtain on
mountain or moor, but here it was on a beauteous
river.

I wish to describe this process, but I cannot.
It was a series of " Turner pictures," with glimpses
right and left, and far overhead, of trees, sky,
castles, each lightened and shown for a moment,
and then gauzed over again and completely hidden ;
while the mind had to imagine all the context
of the scenery, and it was sure to be quite wrong
when another gleam of sun disclosed what was
there in reality. For it cleared away at last,
and Father Sol avenged himself by an extra
hot ray, for thus trifling with his beams.

120 A NEW CLAN.

The Rhine banks here were sloping but steep,
with pleasant meadows, vineyards, and woods,
mingled with tolerable fairness to all three. In
short, though I appreciate scenery with an eager
admiration, any scenery seemed good when the
genial exercise of the canoe was the medium for
enjoying it.

Soon afterwards the woods thickened, the moun-
tains rose behind them, the current got faster and
faster, the houses, at first dotted on the knolls,
got closer and more suburb like, and at last a
grand sweep of the stream opened up Schaff hausen
to the eye, while a sullen sound on the water
warned of " rapids ahead." As I intended to
keep them always in front, some caution was
needed in steering, though there is no difficulty
here, for steamboats navigate thus far, and of
course it is easy for a canoe.

But when I glided down to the bridge there
was the " Goldenen Schiff " hotel, and I resolved
to patronise it on account of its name, and because
there was a gigantic picture of a Briton on the
adjoining wall. He was in full Highland costume,
though the peculiar tartan of his kilt showed that
there is still one clan we have not yet recognised.

Here began a novel kind of astonishment among
the people ; for when, on my arrival, they asked,
" Where have you come from ? " and were told,

BOY SOLDIERS. 121

" From England," they could not understand
how my course seemed as if in reality from
Germany.

The short morning's work being soon over,
there was all the day before me to wander about.

Drums and a band presently led me to a corps
of little boys in full uniform, about 200 of them,
all with real guns and with boy officers, most
martial to behold, albeit they were munching
apples between the words of command, and pulling
wry faces at urchins of eight years old, who strove
in vain to take long steps with short legs.

They had some skirmishing drill, and used
small goats' horns to give the orders instead
of bugles. These horns are used on the railways
too, and the note is very clear, and may be heard
well a long way off. Indeed I think much might
be done in our drill at home by something of
this sort.

It is a short three miles to the Belle Yue, built
above the falls of Schaffhausen, and in full view
of this noble scene. These great falls of the
Rhine looked much finer than I had recollected
them some twelve years before ; it is pleasant,
but unusual, for one's second visit to such sights
to be more striking than the first. At night the
river was splendidly illuminated by Bengal lights
of different colours, and the effect of this on the

122 BOAT'S BILLET.

tossing foam and rich, full body of ever pouring
water — or fire as it then seemed to be — was
to present a spectacle of magical beauty and
grandeur, well seen from the balcony of the hotel,
by many travellers from various lands. On one
side of me was a Russian, and a Brazilian on the
other.

Next day, at the railway-station, I put the
sharp bow of the Rob Roy in at the window of
the " baggages " office, and asked for the " boat's
ticket." The clerk did not seem at all surprised,
for he knew I was an Englishman, and nothing
is too odd, queer, mad in short, for Englishmen
to do.

But the porters, guards, and engine-drivers
made a good deal of talk before the canoe was
safely stowed among the trunks in the van ; and
I now and then visited her there, just for com-
pany's sake, and to see that the sharp-cornered,
iron-bound boxes of the American tourists had
not broken holes in her oaken skin. One could not
but survey, with some anxiety, the lumbering
casks on the platform, waiting to be rolled in
beside the canoe ; and the fish baskets, iron bars,
crates, and clumsy gear of all sorts, which at
every stoppage is tumbled in or roughly shovelled
out of the luggage- van of a train.

This care and sympathy for a mere boat may

EATING. 123

be called enthusiasm by those who have not felt
the like towards inanimate objects linked to our
pleasures or pains by hourly ties of interest ; but
others will understand how a friendship for the
boat was felt more every day I journeyed with
her : her strong points were better known as they
were more tried, but the weak points, too, of the
frail traveller became now more apparent, and
the desire to bring her safely to England was
rapidly increased when we had made the home-
ward turn.

The mere cost of the railway ticket for the
boat's carriage to Zurich was two or three shillings,
— not so much as the expense of taking it be-
tween the stations and the hotels.

Submitting, then, to be borne again on wheels
and through tunnels in the good old railway style,
we soon arrive among the regular Swiss moun-
tains, and where gather the Swiss tourists, for
whom arise the Swiss hotels, those huge estab-
lishments founded and managed so as best to
fatten on the wandering Englishman, and to give
him homoeopathic feeding while his purse is bled.

For suffer me again to have a little gossip
about eating. Yes, it is a mundane subject, and
undoubtedly physical ; but when the traveller has
to move his body and baggage along a route by
his own muscles, by climbing or by rowing, or

124 BACHELOR'S FARE.

by whipping a mule, it is a matter of high
moment, to him at least, that fibrine should be
easily procurable.

If you wish, then, to live well in Switzerland
and Germany go to German hotels, and avoid the
grand barracks reared on every view-point for
the English tourist.

See how the omnibus, from the train or the
steamer, pours down its victims into the land-
lords' arms. Papa and Mamma, and three
daughters and a maid : well, of course they
will be attended to. Here is another timid lady
with an alpenstock, a long white cane people
get when they arrive in Switzerland, and which
they never know what on earth to do with.
Next there will issue from the same vehicle a
dozen newly-fledged Londoners ; and the whole
party, men and women, are so demure, so afraid
of themselves, that the hotel-keeper does just
what he likes with them, every one.

Without a courier, a wife, heavy baggage, or
young ladies, I enter too, and dare to order a
cutlet and potatoes. After half-an-hour two
chops come and spinach, each just one bite, and
cold. I ask for fruit, and some pears are presented
that grate on the knife, with a minute bunch of
grapes, good ones let us acknowledge. For this
we pay 2s.

LAKE OF ZURICH. 125

Next day I row three miles down the lake, and
order, just as before, a cutlet, potatoes, and fruit,
but this time at a second-rate German inn. Pre-
sently behold two luscious veal cutlets, with
splendid potatoes, and famous hot plates; and
a fruit-basket teeming gracefully with large
clusters of magnificent grapes, peaches, pears all
gushing with juice, and mellow apples, and rosy
plums. For this I pay Is. Qd. The secret is
that the Germans won't pay the prices which the
English fear to grumble at, and won't put up
with the articles the English fear to refuse.

Nor may we blame the hotel-keepers for their
part in this business. They try to make as
much money as they can, and most people who
are making money try to do the same.

In the twilight the Rob Roy launched on the
Lake of Zurich, so lovely by evening, cool and
calm, with its pretty villages painted again on the
water below, and soft voices singing, and slow
music floating in the air, as the moon looked
down, and the crests of snow were silvered on
far-off hills.

The canoe was now put up in a boathouse
where all seemed to be secure. It was the only
time I had found a boathouse for my boat,
and the only time when she was badly treated ;
for, next morning, though the man in charge
appeared to be a solid, honest fellow, I saw at

126 FREE.

once that the canoe had been sadly tumbled
about and filled with water, the seat cast off
and floating outside, the covering deranged, the
sails untied, and the sacred paddle defiled by
clumsy hands.

The man who suffered this to be perpetrated
will not soon forget the Anglo-German-French
set-down he received (with a half- franc), and I
shall not forget in future to observe the time-
honoured practice of carrying the canoe invariably
into the hotel.

Another piece of experience gained here was
this, that to send your luggage on by a steamer,
intending to regain it on your arrival, adds far
less of convenience than it does of anxiety and
trouble^ seeing that in this sort of travel you
can readily take the baggage with you always
and everywhere in your boat.

Much of the charm of next day's paddle on
the lake consisted in its perfect independence of
all previous arrangements, and in the absence
of such thraldom as, " You must be here by
ten o'clock;" or, "You have to sleep there at
night." So now, let the wind blow as it likes,
I could run before it, and breakfast at this
village ; or cross to that point to bathe ; or row
round that bay, and lunch on the other side of
the lake, or anywhere else on the shore, or in the
boat itself, as I pleased. I felt as a dog must

HAPPY FACES. 127

feel on Ms travels who lias no luggage and no
collar, and has only one coat, which, always fits
him, and is always getting new.

When quite sated with the water, I fixed on
Horgen to stop at for a rest, to the intense delight
of all the Horgen boys. How they did jump and
caper about the canoe, and scream with the glee
of young hearts stirred by a new sight !

It was one of the great treats of this voyage to
find it gave such hours of pleasure to the juve-
nile population in each place. Along the vista of
my recollection as I think over the past days
of this excursion, many thousand childish faces
brimming with happiness range their chubby or
not chubby cheeks.

These young friends were still more joyous
when the boat was put into a cart, and the driver
got up beside it, and the captain of the canoe
began his hot walk behind.

A number of their mammas came out to smile
on the performance, and some asked to have a
passage to England in the boat, to which there
was the stock reply, given day by day, " Not much
room for the crinoline." Only once was there
the rejoinder, that the lady would willingly leave
her expansion at home ; though on another occa-
sion (and that in France, too) they answered,
" We poor folks don't wear crinoline."

128 HOT WALK.

In every group there were various forms of
inquisitiveness about the canoe. First, those who
examined it without putting questions ; and then
those who questioned about it without examining.
Some lifted it to feel the weight; others passed
their hands along its smooth deck to feel the
polished cedar; others looked underneath to see
if there was a keel, or bent the rope to feel how
flexible it was, or poised the paddle (when I let
them), and said, "How light!" and then more
critical inquirers measured the boat's dimensions,
tapped its sides with their knuckles, and looked
wise ; sketched its form, scrutinized its copper nails,
or gently touched the silken flag, with its frayed
hem and colour fading now; in all places this
last item, as an object of interest, was always the
first exclaimed about by the lady portion of the
crowd.

It is with such little but pleasant trivialities
that a traveller's day may be filled in this en-
chanting atmosphere where simply to exist, to
breathe, to gaze, and to listen, are enough to pass
the sunny hours, if not to engage the nobler
powers of the mind.

The Lakes of Zurich and Zug are not far sepa-
rate. About three hours of steady road walking
takes you from one to the other, over a high neck
of forest land, and a hot walk this was from

STARING. 129

twelve to three o'clock, in the brightest hours of
the day. The heat and the dust made me eager
again to be afloat. By the map, indeed, it seemed
as if one could row part of this way on a river
which runs into Zug, but maps are no guidance as
to the fitness of streams for a boat. They make a
black line wriggling about on the paper do for
all rivers alike, and this tells you nothing as to the
depth or force of the current, nor can the drivers
or innkeepers tell much more, since they have
no particular reason for observing how a river
comports itself; their business is on the road.

The driver was proud of his unusual fare, a
boat with an English flag, and he gave a short
account of it to every friend he met,- an account
no doubt frightfully exaggerated, but always
accepted as sufficient by the gratified listener. The
worthy carter, however, was quite annoyed that
I stopped him outside the town of Zug (paying
thirteen francs for the cart), for I wished to
get the canoe into the water unobserved, as the
morning's work had left me yet no rest, and
sweet repose could best be had by floating in my
boat. However, there was no evading the towns-
people's desire to see "the schiff in a cart from
England." We took her behind a clump of stones,
but they climbed upon the stones and stood. I
sat down in a moody silence, but they sat down
K

130 LAKE OF ZUG.

too in respectful patience. I tried then another
plan, turned the canoe bottom upward, and began
lining a seam of the planks with red putty. They
looked on till it was done, and I began the same
seam again, and told them that all the other se"ams
must be thus lined. This, at last, was too much
for some of the wiser ones, who turned away and
murmured about my slowness, but others at once
took their places in the front row. It seemed
unfriendly to go on thus any longer, and as it
was cooler now, I pushed the boat into the lake,
shipped my luggage on board, and after the usual
English speech to them all from the water, bid
every one "adieu."*

New vigour came when once the paddle was
grasped again, and the soft yielding water and
gentle heaving on its bosom had fresh pleasure now
after the dusty road. It seems as if one must
be for ever spoiled for land travel by this smooth
liquid journeying.

Zug is a little lake, and the mountains are over
it only at one end, but then there are glorious
hills, the Rigi and a hundred more, each behind
another, or raising a peak in the gaps between.
I must resolutely abstain from describing these
here. The sight of them is well known to the

* This word, like other expressive French words, is
commonly used in Germany and Switzerland.

SWISS SHOTS. 131

traveller. The painted pictures of them in every
shop window are faithful enough for those who
have not been nearer, and words can tell very little
to others of what is seen and felt when you fill the
delighted eye by looking on the snowy range.

Near one end of the lake I visited the line of
targets where the Switzers were popping away
their little bullets at their short ranges, with
all sorts of gimcrack instruments to aid them,
lenses, crooks, and straps for the arms, hair-trig-
gers, and everything done under cover too. Very
skilful indeed are they in the use of these con-
trivances ; but the weapons look like toy-guns
after all, and are only one step removed from the
crossbows you see in Belgium and France, where
men meet to shoot at stuffed cockrobins fixed on a
pole, and do not hit them, and then adjourn for
beer.

The Swiss are good shots and brave men, and
woe be to their invaders. Still, in this matter of
rifle shooting their dilettanti practice through a
window, at the short range of 200 yards, seems
really childish when compared with that of the
manly groups at Wimbledon, where, on the open
heath, in sun or drifting hail, the burly York-
shireman meets with the hardy Scot, and sends
his heavier deadly bullet on its swift errand right
away for a thousand yards in the storm.
K 2

132 ADVANCE OF THE SQUADRON.

Leaving the shooters to their bulls' eyes, I
paddled in front of the town to scan the hotels,
and to judge of the best by appearances. Out
came the boats of Zug to examine the floating
stranger. They went round and round, in a
criticising mood, just as local dogs strut slowly
in circles about a new-come cur who is not known
to their street, and besides is of ambiguous breed.
These boats were all larger than mine, and most
of them were brighter with plenty of paint, and
universally they were encumbered with most
awkward oars.

A courteous Frenchman in one of the boats
told me all the Zug news in a breath, besides
asking numerous questions, and giving a hasty
commentary on the fishing in the lake. Finally,
he pointed out the best hotel, and so the naval
squadron advanced to the pier, led by the canoe.
A gracious landlady here put my boat safe in the
hotel coachhouse, and offered to give me the key
of the padlock, to make sure. In the salle a
manger were some English friends from London,
so now I felt that here was an end of lone wan-
derings among foreigners, for the summer stream
of tourists from England was encountered at this
point.

An early start next morning found the mists
on the mountains, but they were quickly furled

SAILING ON ZUG. 133

up out of the way in festoons like muslin
curtains.

We skirted the pretty villas on the verge of the
lake, and hauled in by some apple-trees to rig up
the sails. This could be done more easily when
the boat was drawn ashore than when it was
afloat; though, after practice, I could not only
set the mast and hoist the sails " at sea," but
could even stand up and change my coat, or
tie the flag on the masthead, or survey a difficult
channel, while the boat was rocking on the waves
of a rapid.*

Sailing on a lake in Switzerland is a full reward
for carrying your mast and sails unused for many
a long mile. Sometimes, indeed, the sails seemed
to be after all an encumbrance, but this was when
they were not available. Every time they came
into use again the satisfaction of having brought
them was reassured.

In sailing while the wind is light you need not
always sit, as must be done for paddling. Wafted
by the breeze you can now recline, lie down, or lie
up, put your legs anyhow and anywhere, in the
water if you like, and the peak of the sail is a shade

* This is so very useful ill extending the horizon of
view, and in enabling you to examine a whole ledge of
sunken rocks at once, that it is well worth the trouble of
a week or two's practice.

134

IMYN.

"Sailing on Lake Zug." '

between the sun and your eyes, while the ripples
seem to tinkle cheerfully against the bow, and the
wavelets seethe by smoothly near the stern. When
you are under sail the hill tops look higher than
before, for now you see how far they are above
your "lofty" masthead, and the black rocks on

THREE TROUT. 135

the shore look blacker when seen in contrast with
a sail like cream.

After a cruise that left nothing more to see of
Zug, we put into port at Imyn, and though it is a
little place, only a few houses, the boys there
were as troublesome as gnats buzzing about ; so
the canoe had to be locked in the stable out of
sight.

Three Britons were waiting here for the steamer.
They had come to fish in Switzerland. Now fish-
ing and travelling kill each other, so far as my
experience goes, unless one of them is used as a
passetemps because you cannot go on with the
other. Thus I recollect once at the town of
Yossevangen, in Norway, when we had to wait
some hours for horses, it was capital fun to catch
three trout with a pin for a hook fastened on the
lash of a gig- whip, while a fellow-traveller shot
with a pistol at my Glengarry cap on a stone.

The true fisherman fishes for the fishing, not
for the fishes. He himself is pleased even if he
catches nothing, though he is more pleased to
bring back a full basket, for that will justify him
to his friends.

Now when you stop your travelling that you
may angle, if you catch nothing you grudge the
day spent, and keep thinking how much you

136 FISHING BRITONS.

might have seen in it on the road. On the other
hand, if you do happen to catch one or two fish,
you don't like to leave the place where more
might be taken, and your first ten miles after
departure from it is a stage of reflection about
pools, stones, bites, and rises, instead of what
is going on all around. "Worst of all, if you
have hooked a fish and lost him, it is a sad
confession of defeat then to give up the sport and
moodily resume the tour.

As for the three visitors at Imyn, they had just
twenty minutes sure, so they breakfasted in five
minutes, and in the next three minutes had got
their rods ready, and were out in the garden
casting as fast as possible, and flogging the water
as if the fish also ought to be in a hurry to get
taken. The hot sun blazed upon the bald head
of one of these excited anglers, for he had not
time to put on his hat. The other had got his
line entangled in a bush, and of course was hors
de combat. The third was a sort of light skir-
misher, rushing about with advice, and pointing
out shoals of minnows everywhere else but where
his companions were engaged. However, they
managed to capture a few monsters of the deep,
that is to say, a couple of misguided gudgeons,
probably dissipated members of their tribe, and

ODD QUESTIONS. 137

late risers, who had missed their proper break-
fasts. Ardent as I am with the rod I could not
enjoy fishing after this sort.

To be in this tide of wandering Britons, and
yet to look at them and listen to them as if you
were distinct — this is a post full of interest and
amusement ; and if you can, even for one day,
try to be (at least in thought) a Swiss resident or
a Parisian, and so to regard the English around
you from the point they are seen from by the
foreigners whom they visit, the examination
becomes far more curious. But this has been
done by many clever tourists, who have written
their notes with more or less humour, and
with more rather than less severity; so I shall
not attempt to analyse the strange atoms of
the flood from our islands which overflows the
Continent every year.

It is the fashion to decry three-fourths of this
motley company as " snobs," " spendthrifts," or
" greenhorns." With humble but firm voice I
protest against this unfairness ; nor can I help
thinking that much of the hard criticism pub-
lished by travellers against their » fellows is a
crooked way of saying, what it does not do to
assert directly, that the writer has at any rate
met some travellers inferior to himself.

Of course, among the Englishmen whom I met

138 TALK-BOOKS.

now and then in the course of this voyage there
were some strange specimens, and their remarks
were odd enough, when alluding to the canoe.
One said, for example, " Don't you think it would
have been more commodious to have had an
attendant with you to look after your luggage
and things ? " The most obvious answer to this
was probably that which I gave, " Not for me, if
he was to be in the boat ; and not for him, if he
had to run on the bank."

Another Englishman at home asked me in all
seriousness about the canoe voyage, " Was it not
a great waste of time ? " And when I inquired
how he had spent his vacation, he said, " Oh, I
was all the time at Brighton I "

In returning once more to English conversa-
tion, one is reminded how very useless and un-
practical are all the "Talk-books" published to
facilitate the traveller's conversation in foreign
languages. Whether they are meant to help you
in French, German, Italian, or Spanish, these
little books, with their well-known double columns
of words and phrases, and their " Polite Letter-
writer " at %e end, all seem to be equally deter-
mined to force words upon you which you never
will need to use ; while the things you are always
wanting to say in the new tongue are either care-
fully buried among colloquies on botany or pre-

TALK-BOOKS. 139

cious stones, or among philosophical discussions
about metaphysics, or else the desirable phrases
are not in the book at all.

This need of a brief and good " Talk-book "
struck me particularly when I had carefully
marked in my German one all the pages which
would never be required in the tour, so that I
could cut them out as an unnecessary addition to
the weight of my ship's library. Why, the little
book, when thus expurgated, got so lamentably
thin that the few pages left of it, as just possible
to be useful, formed only a wretched skeleton of
the original volume.

Another fault of these books is that half the
matter in them is made up of what the imaginary
chatting foreigner says to you, the unhappy
Englishman, and this often in long phrases, or
even in set speeches.

But when, in actual life, the real foreigner
speaks to you, he somehow says quite a different
set of words from any particular phrases you see
in the book, and you cannot make out his mean-
ing, because it does not correspond with anything
you have learned.

It is evident that a dictionary is required to get
at the English meaning of what is said to you
by another ; while a talk-book will suffice for
what you wish to say to him; because you

140 MODEL PHRASE 'BOOK.

select in it and compose from it before you utter
any particular phrase.

The Danish phrase-book for Norway and Sweden
is a tolerably good one, and it holds in a short
compass all the traveller wants; but I think a
book of this kind for each of the other principal
languages might well be constructed on the follow-
ing basis.

First, let us have the expression " I want," and
then the English substantives most used in travel
talk, arranged in alphabetical order, and with
their foreign equivalents. Next, put the request
"Will you," and after it place each of the verbs
of action generally required by travellers. Then
set forth the question, "Does the," with a
column of events formed by a noun, verb, and
preposition in each, such as "coach stop at,"
" road lead to," " steamer start from," &c. ;
and, lastly, give us the comprehensive " Is
it," with a long alphabetical list of adjectives
likely to be employed. Under these four heads,
with two pages of adverbs and numerals, I think
that the primary communications with a foreigner
can be comprised ; and as for conversations with
him on special subjects, such as politics, or art,
or scenery, these are practically not likely to be
attempted unless you learn his language, and not
merely some of its most necessary words ; but this

MODEL PHRASE BOOK. 141

study of language is not the purpose for which
you get a talk-book.

Having now delivered a homily on international
talking, it is time to be on the move again.

CHAPTER VIII.

Sailing on Lucerne — Seeburg — River scenes —Night and
snow — The Reuss — A dear dinner — Seeing a rope —
Passing a fall — Bremgarten rapids.

WHEN the steamer at Imyn had embarked the
three sportsmen, and the little pier was quiet, we
got a cart out for the Rob Roy, and bargained to
have it rumbled over the hill to the Lake of Lucerne
for the sum of five francs — it is only half-an-
hour's walk. The landlord himself came as driver,
for he was fully interested about the canoe, and
he did not omit to let people know his sentiments
on the subject all along the way, even calling out
to the men plucking fruit in the apple-trees,
who had perhaps failed to notice the phenomenon
which was passing on the road beneath them.
There was a permanent joke on such occasions,
and, oddly enough, it was used by the drivers in
Germany as well as in Switzerland, and was of
course original and spontaneous with each of
them as they called out, " Going to America ! "
and then chuckled at the brilliant remark.

The village we came to on Lucerne was the

ON LAKE LUCERNE. 143

well-known Kussnacht, that is, one of the well-
known Kussnachts, for there are plenty of these
honeymoon towns in Central Europe ; and with
the customary assembly of quidnuncs, eloquently
addressed this time by the landlord-driver, the
canoe was launched on another lake, perhaps the
prettiest lake in the world.

Like other people, and at other times, I had
traversed this beautiful water of the Four Cantons,
but those only who have seen it well by steamer
and by walking, so as to know how it juts in and
winds round in intricate geography, can imagine
how much better you may follow and grasp its
beauties by searching them out alone and in a canoe.

For thus I could penetrate all the wooded
nooks, and dwell on each view-point, and visit the
rocky islets, and wait long, longer — as long as I
pleased before some lofty berg, while the ground-
swell gently undulated, and the passing cloud
shaded the hill with grey, and the red flag of a
steamer fluttered in a distant sunbeam, and the
plash of a barge's oar broke on the boatman's
song; everything around changing just a little,
and the stream of inward thought and admiration
changing too as it flowed, but, all the time, and
when the eye came back to it again, there was the
grand mountain still the same,

" Like Teneriffe or Atlas unremoved."

144 STEAMER'S SWELL.

How cool the snow looked up there aloft even in
the heat of summer ! and, to come down again to
one's level on the water, how lively the steamer
was with the music of its band and the quick
beat of its wheels curling up white foam. Let us
speed to meet it and to get a tossing in the swell,
while Jones and Smith, under the awning, cry
out, "Why, to be sure, that's the Rob Roy
canoe/' and Mrs. Jones and the three Miss
Smiths all lift up their heads from their " Mur-
ray s," where they have been diligently reading
the history of Switzerland from A.D. 1682, and
then the description in words of all the scenery
around, although they have suffered its speaking
realities in mountain, wood, and lake to pass
unnoticed.

As I was quite fresh (having worked chiefly the
sails on Zug) and now in good " training," so as
to get on very comfortably with ten or twelve
hours' rowing in the day, I spent it all in seeing
this inexhaustible Lake of Lucerne, and yet felt
that at least a dozen new pictures had been left
unseen in this rich volume of the book of
nature.

But as this book had no page in it about quarters
for the night it was time to consider these
homely affairs, and to look out for an hotel;
not one of the big barracks for Englishmen

BATH AND MUSIC. 145

spoken of before, but some quiet place where
one could stop for Sunday. Coming suddenly
then round a shady point, behold the very
place ! But can it be an hotel ? Yes, there is the
name, " Seeburg." Is it quiet ? Observe the
shady walks. Bathing ? Why, there is a bath
in the lake at the end of the garden. Fishing
At least four rods are stretched over the reeds by
hopeful hands, and with earnest looks behind,
watching for the faintest nibble.

Let us run boldly in. Ten minutes, and the
boat is safely in a shed, and its captain well
housed in an excellent room ; and, having ordered
dinner, it was delicious to jump into the lake for
a swim, all hot with the hot day's work, and to
stretch away out to the deep, and circle round
and round in these limpid waters, with a nice
little bath-room to come back to, and fresh dry
clothes to put on. In the evening we had very
pretty English music, a family party improvised
in an hour, and broken up for a moonlight walk,
while, all this time (one fancied), in the big hotel
of the town the guests were in stiflp coteries, or
each set retired to its sitting-room, and lamenting
how unsociable everybody else had become.

I never was more comfortable than here, with
a few English families " en pension/' luxuriating
for the sum of six francs per day, and an old
L

146 RIVER REUSS.

Russian General, most warlike and courteous,
who would chat with you by the hour, on the seat
under the shady chestnut, and smiled at the four
persevering fishermen whose bag consisted, I
believe, of three bites, one of them allowed on all
hands to have been bond fide.

Then on Sunday we went to Lucerne, to church,
where a large congregation listened to a very
good sermon from the well-known Secretary of the
Society for Colonial and Continental Churches.
At least every traveller, if not every home-stayed
Englishman, ought to support this Association,
because it many times supplies just that food and
rest which the soul needs s6 much on a Sunday
abroad, when the pleasures of foreign travel are
apt to make only the mind and body constitute the
man.

I determined to paddle from Lucerne by the
river Reuss, which flows out of the lake and
through the town. This river is one of four — the
Rhine, Rhone, Reuss, and Ticino, which all rise
near together in the neighbourhood of the St.
Gothard ; and yet, while one flows into the German
ocean, another falls into the Mediterranean, both
between them having first made nearly the compass
of Switzerland.

The walking tourist comes often upon .the rapid
Reuss as it staggers and tumbles among the Swiss

NIGHT AND SNOW. 147

mountains. To me it had a special interest, for I
once ascended the Galenhorn over the glaciers it
starts from, and with only a useless guide, who lost
his head and then lost his way, and then lost his
temper and began to cry. We groped about
in a fog until snow began to fall, and the
snowstorm lasted for six hours — a weary time
spent by us wandering in the dark and without
food. At length we were discovered by some
people sent out with lights to search for the
benighted pleasure-seeker.

The Reuss has many cascades and torrent gorges
as it runs among the rough crags, and it falls
nearly 6,000 feet before it reaches the Lake of
Lucerne, this lake itself being still 1,400 feet
above the sea.

A gradual current towards the end of the lake
entices you under the bridge where the river starts
again on its course, at first gently enough, and
as if it never could get fierce and hoarse-voiced
when it has taken you miles away into the woods
and can deal with you all alone.

The map showed the Heuss flowing into the
Aar, but I could learn nothing more about either
of these rivers, except that an intelligent man
said, "The Reuss is a mere torrent," while
another recounted how a man some years ago
went on the Aar in a boat, and was taken up
L 2

148 SINGING WATER.

by the police and punished for thus perilling
his life.

Deducting from these statements the usual 50
per cent, for exaggeration, everything appeared
satisfactory, so I yielded my boat to the current,
and, at parting, waved my yellow paddle to certain
fair friends who had honoured me with their
countenance, and who were now assembled on
the bridge. After this a few judicious strokes
took the Rob Hoy through the town and past the
pleasant environs, and we were now again upon
running water.

The current, after a quiet beginning, soon put
on a sort of " business air," as if it did not mean to
dally, and rapidly got into quick time, threading
a devious course among the woods, hayfields, and
vineyards, and it seemed not to murmur (as
streams always do), but to sing with buoyant
exhilaration in the fresh brightness of the morn.

It certainly was a change, from the sluggish
feeling of dead water in the lakes to the lively
tremulous thrilling of a rapid river like the Reuss,
which, in many places, is as wide as the Rhine
at Schaffhausen. It is a wild stream, too fast
for navigation, and therefore the villages are not
built on the banks, and there are no boats, and
the lonely, pathless, forest-covered banks are some-
times bleak enough when seen from the water.

AM I RIGHT ? 149

For some miles it was easy travelling, the
water being seldom less than two feet deep, and
with rocks readily visible by the eddy bubbling
about them, because they were sharp and jagged.
It is the long smooth and round-topped rock
which is most treacherous in a fast river, for the
spray which the current throws round such a rock
is often not different from an ordinary wave.

Now and then the stream was so swift that
I was afraid of losing my straw hat, simply from
the breeze created by great speed — for it was
a day without wind.

It cannot be concealed that continuous physical
enjoyment such as this tour presented is a danger-
ous luxury if it be not properly used. When
I thought of the hospitals of London, of the herds
of squalid poor in foetid alleys, of the pale-faced
ragged boys, and the vice, sadness, pain, and
poverty we are sent to do battle with if we be
Christian soldiers, I could not help asking, " Am
I right in thus enjoying such comfort, such
scenery, such health?" Certainly not right,
unless to get vigour of thought and hand, and
freshened energy of mind, and larger thankfulness
and wider love, and so, with all the powers re-
cruited, to enter the field again more eager and
able to be useful.

In the more lonely parts of the Eeuss the trees

150 A DEAR DINNER.

were in dense thickets to the water's edge, and
the wild ducks fluttered out from them with a
splash, and some larger birds like bustards often
hovered over the canoe. I think among the flying
companions I noticed also the bunting, or "ammer "
(from which German word comes our English
" yellow hammer "), wood-pigeons, and very beau-
tiful hawks. The herons and kingfishers were
here as well, but not so many of them as on the
Danube.

Nothing particular occurred, although it was
a pleasant morning's work, until we got through
the bridge at Imyl, where an inn was high up
on the bank. The ostler helped me to carry the
boat into the stable, and the landlady audaciously
charged me 4s. 6d. for my first dinner (I always
had two dinners on full working days), being
pretty sure that she need not expect her customer
to stop there again.

The navigation after this began to be more
interesting, with gravel banks and big stones to
avoid, and a channel to be chosen from among
several, and the wire ropes of the ferries stretched
tightly across the river requiring to be noticed
with proper respect.

You may have observed how difficult it is, some-
times, to see a rope when it is stretched and quite
horizontal, or at any rate how hard it is to

INVISIBLE ROPE. 151

judge correctly of its distance from your eye.
This can be well noticed in walking by the sea-
shore among fishing-boats moored on the beach,
when you will sometimes even knock your nose
against a taut hawser before you are aware that
it is so close.

This is caused by the fact that the mind
estimates the distance of an object partly by
comparing the two views of its surface obtained
by the two eyes respectively, and which views
are not quite the same, but differ, just as the two
pictures prepared for the stereoscope. Each eye
sees a little round one side of the object, and the
solid look of the object and its distance are
thus before the mind.

Now when the rope is horizontal the eyes do
not see round the two sides in this manner, though
if the head is leant sideways it will be found that
the illusion referred to no longer appears.

Nor is it out of place to inquire thus at length
into this matter, for I can assure you that one
or two blunt slaps on the head from these ropes
across a river make it at least interesting if not
pleasant to examine " the reason why." And
now we have got the philosophy of the thing, let
us leave the ropes behind.

The actual number of miles in a day's work is
much influenced by the number of waterfalls or

152

SHIRKING A FALL.

Shirking a Fall."

artificial barriers which are too dry or too high
to allow the canoe to float over them.

In all such cases, of course, I had to get out
and to drag the boat round by the fields, as has
been already described (p. 80) ; or to lower her
carefully among the rocks, as is shown in the
accompanying sketch, which represents the usual
appearance of this part of the day's proceedings.

STEEPS. 153

Although this sort of work was a change of
posture, and brought into play new muscular
action, yet the strain sometimes put on the limbs
by the weight of the boat, and the great caution
required where there was only slippery footing,
made these barriers to be regarded on the whole
as bores.

Full soon however we were to forget such
trifling troubles, for more serious work impended.

The river banks suddenly assumed a new cha-
racter. They were steep and high, and their
height increased as we advanced between the two
upright walls of stratified gravel and boulders.

A full body of water ran here, the current being
of only ordinary force at its edges, where it was
interrupted by rocks, stones, and shingle, and
was thus twisted into eddies innumerable.

To avoid these entanglements at the sides, it
seemed best, on the whole, to keep the boat
in mid-channel, though the breakers were far
more dangerous there, in the full force of the
stream.

I began to think that this must be the " hard
place coming/' which a wise man farther up
the river had warned me was quite too much for
so small a boat, unless in flood times, when fewer
rocks would be in the way. In reply, I had told
him that when we got near such a place I would

154 GRIM NOISES.

pull out my boat and drag it along the bank, if
requisite. To this he said, " Ah ! but the banks
are a hundred feet high." So I had mentally
resolved (but entirely forgot) to stop in good
time and to climb up the rocks and investigate
matters ahead before going into an unknown run
of broken water.

Such plans are very well in theory, but some-
how the approach to these rapids was so gradual,
and the mind was so much occupied in overcoming
the particular difficulty of each moment, that
no opportunity occurred for* rest or reflection.
The dull heavy roar round the corner got louder
as the Rob Roy neared the great bend. For
here the river makes a turn round the whole
of a letter S, in fact very nearly in a complete
figure of 8, and in wheeling thus it glides
over a sloping ledge of flat rocks, spread
obliquely athwart the stream for a hundred feet
on either hand, and just a few inches below the
surface.

The canoe was swept over this singular place
by the current, its keel and sides grinding and
bumping on the stones, and sliding on the soft
moss which here made the rock so slippery and
black.

The progress was aided by sundry pushes and
jerks at proper times, but we advanced altogether

RAPIDS OF THE REUSS. 155

in a clumsy, helpless style, until at length there
came in sight the great white ridge of tossing
foam where the din was great, and a sense of
excitement and confusion filled the mind.

I was quite conscious that the sight before me
was made to look worse because of the noise
around, and by the feeling of the loneliness and
powerlessness of a puny man struggling in a
waste of breakers, where to strike a single one
was sure to upset the boat.

From the nature of the place, too, it was
evident that it would be difficult to save the
canoe by swimming alongside it when capsized
or foundered, and yet it was utterly impossible
now to stop.

Right in front, and in the middle, I saw the
well-known wave which is always raised when a
main stream converges, as it rushes down a
narrow neck. The depression or trough of this
was about two feet below, and the crest four
feet above the level, so the height of the wave
was about six feet.

Though rather tall it was very thin and sharp-
featured, and always stationary in position, though
the water composing it was going at a tremen-
dous pace. After this wave there was another
smaller one, as frequently happens.

It was not the height of the wave that gave

156 THE CENTRAL WAVE.

any concern ; had it been at sea the boat would
rise over any lofty billow, but here the wave
stood still, and the canoe was to be impelled
against it with all the force of a mighty stream,
and so it must go through the body of water,
for it could not have time to rise.

And so the question remained, " What is behind
that wave ?" for if it is a rock then this is the
last hour of the Rob Roy.*

The boat plunged headlong into the shining
mound of water as I clenched my teeth and
clutched my paddle. We saw her sharp prow
deeply buried, and then (I confess) my eyes
were shut involuntarily, and before she could rise
the mass of solid water struck me with a heavy
blow full in the breast, closing round my neck as
if cold hands gripped me, and quite taking away
my breath. f

Vivid thoughts coursed through the brain in

* I had not then acquired the knowledge of a valuable
fact, that a sharp wave of this kind never has a rock
behind it. A sharp wave requires free water at its rear,
and it is therefore in the safest part of the river so far as
concealed dangers are concerned. This at least was the
conclusion come to after frequent observation afterwards
of many such places.

+ See a faithful representation of this incident, so far
as relates to the water, in the Frontispiece.

DRENCHED. 157

this exciting moment, but another slap from the
lesser wave, and a whirl round in the eddy below,
told that the battle was over soon, and the little
boat slowly rose from under a load of water,
which still covered my arms, and then, trembling,
and as if stunned by the heavy shock, she staggered
to the shore. The river too had done its worst,
and it seemed now to draw off from hindering us,
and so I clung to a rock to rest for some minutes,
panting with a tired thrilling of nervousness and
gladness strangely mingled.

Although the weight of water had been so
heavy on my body and legs, very little of it had
got inside under the waterproof covering, for the
whole affair was done in a few seconds, and
though everything in front was completely
drenched up to my necktie, the back of my coat
was scarcely wet. Most fortunately I had re-
moved the flag from its usual place about an hour
before, and thus it was preserved from being
swept away.

Well, now it is over, and we are rested, and
begin with a fresh start ; for there is still some
work to do in threading a way among the breakers.
The main point, however, has been passed, and
the difficulties after it look small, though at other
times they might receive attention.

Here is our resting-place, the old Roman town

158 BREMGARTEN.

of Bremgarten, which is built in a hollow of this
very remarkable serpent bend of the rapid Reuss.
The houses are stuck on the rocks, and abut on
the river itself, and as the stream bore me past
these I clung to the doorstep of a washerwoman's
house, and pulled my boat out of the water into
her very kitchen, to the great amusement and
surprise of the worthy lady, who wondered still
more when I hauled the canoe again through the
other side of her room until it fairly came out to
the street behind !

It must have astonished the people to see a
canoe thus suddenly appearing on their quiet
pavement. They soon crowded round and bore
her to the hotel, which was a moderately bad one.
Next morning the bill was twelve francs, nearly
double its proper amount ; and thus we en-
countered in one day the only two extortionate
innkeepers met with at all.*

This quaint old place, with high walls and a
foss, and several antiquities, was well worth the
inspection of my early morning walk next day,
and then the Eob Eoy was ordered to the door.

* However, I made the landlord here take eight francs
as a compromise.

CHAPTER IX.

Hunger — Music at the mill — Sentiment and chops— Eiver
Limmat — Fixed on a fall — On the river Aar — The
Ehine again — Douaniers — Falls of Lauffenburg— The
cow cart.

THE wetting and excitement of yesterday made
me rather stiff in beginning again; and anon,
when a rushing sound was heard in front I was
aware of a new anxiety as to whether this might
not mean the same sort of rough work as yester-
day's over again, whereas hitherto this sound
of breakers to come had always promised nothing
but pleasure. However, things very soon came
back to their old way, a continuous and varied
enjoyment from morning to night.

The river was rapid again, but with no really
difficult places. I saw one raft in course of pre-
paration, though there were not many boats, for
as the men there said, " How could we get boats
up that stream ? "

The villages near the river were often so high
up on lofty cliffs, or otherwise unsuitable, that I
went on for some miles trying in vain to fix on

160 HUNGER.

one for my (No. 1) dinner. Each bend of the
winding water held out hopes that down there at
last, or round that bluff cape at farthest, there
must be a proper place to breakfast. But when it
was now long past the usual hour, and the shores
got less inhabited and hunger more imperative,
we determined to land at a mill which overhung
the stream in a picturesque spot.

I landed unobserved. This was a blunder in
diplomacy, for the canoe was always good as
credentials ; but I climbed up the bank and
through the garden, and found the hall door
open ; so I walked timidly into a large, comfort-
able house, leaving my paddle outside lest it
might be regarded as a bludgeon. I had come as
a beggar, not a burglar.

The chords of a piano, well struck and by firm
fingers, led me towards the drawing-room ; for
to hear music is almost to make sure of welcome
in a house, and it was so now.

My bows and reverences scarcely softened the
exceedingly strange appearance I must have made
as an intruder, clothed in universal flannel, and
offering ten thousand apologies in French, Ger-
man, and English for thus dropping down from
the clouds, that is to say, climbing up from the
water.

The young miller rose from the piano, and

MAIDS OF THE MILL. 161

bowed. His fair sister stopped her sweet song, and
blushed. For my part, being only a sort of
" casual," I modestly asked for bread and wine,
and got hopelessly involved in an effort to ex-
plain how I had come by the river unperceived.
The excessive courtesy of my new friends was
embarrassing, and was further complicated by the
arrival of another young lady, even more sur-
prised and hospitable.

Quickly the refreshments were set on the table,
and the miller sealed the intimacy by lighting his
ample pipe. Our conversation was of the most
lively and unintelligible character, and soon
lapsed into music, when Beethoven and Goss
told all we had to say in chants and symphonies.

The inevitable sketch-book whiled away a good
hour, till the ladies were joined by a third damsel,
and the adventures of Ulysses had to be told to
three Penelopes at once. The miller's party
became humorous to a degree, and they resisted
all my efforts to get away, even when the family
dinner was set on the board, and the domestic
servants and farm-labourers came in to seat them-
selves at a lower table. This was a picture of
rural life not soon to be forgotten.

The stately grandmamma of the mansion now
advanced, prim and stiff, and with dignity and
matronly grace entreated the stranger to join their
M

162 GRANDMAMMA.

company. The old oak furniture was lightened
by a hundred little trifles worked by the women,
or collected by the tasteful diligence of their
brother ; and the sun shone, and the mill went
round, and the river rolled by, and all was kind-
ness, "because you are an Englishman."

The power of the Cims Romamis is far better
shown when it draws forth kindness, than when
it compels fear. But as respects the formal in-
vitation it would not do to stop and eat, and it
would not do to stop and not eat, or to make the
potatoes get cold, or the granddames' dinner too
late ; so I must go, even though the girls had
playfully hidden my luggage to keep the guest
among them.

The whole party, therefore, adjourned to the
little nook where my boat had been left concealed ;
and when they caught sight of its tiny form, and
its little fluttering flag, the young ladies screamed
with delight and surprise, clapping their hands
and waving adieux as we paddled away.

I left this happy, pleasant scene with mingled
feelings, and tried to think out what was the
daily life in this sequestered mill; and if my
paddling did for a time become a little sentimental,
it may be pardoned by travellers who have come
among kind friends where they expected perhaps
a cold rebuif.

SENTIMENTAL. 163

The romantic effect of all this was to make me
desperately hungry, for be it known that bread
and wine and Beethoven will not do to dine upon
if you are rowing forty miles in the sun. So it
must be confessed that when an hour afterwards
I saw an auberge by the water's edge it became
necessary to stifle my feelings by ordering an
omelette and two chops.

The table was soon spread under a shady pear-
tree just by the water, and the Rob Roy rested
gently on the ripples at my feet.

The pleasures of this sunny hour of well-earned
repose, freshened by a bunch of grapes and a pear
plucked from above my head, were just a little
troubled by a slight apprehension that some day
the miller's sister might come by and hear how
had been comforted my lacerated heart.

Again " to boat," and down by the shady trees,
under the towering rocks, over the nimble rapids,
and winding among orchards, vineyards, and
wholesome scented hay, the same old story of
constant varied pleasure.

The hills were in front now, and their contour
showed that some rivers were to join company
with the Reuss, which here rolled on a fine broad
stream, like the Thames at Putney. Presently
the Limmat flowed in at one side, and at the
other the river Aar, which last then gives the
M 2

164 THE LIMMAT AND THE AAR.

name to all the three, though it did not appear to
be the largest.

This is not the only Aar among the rivers, but
it is the "old original Aar," which Swiss travellers
regard as an acquaintance after they have seen it
dash headlong over the rocks at Handek.

It takes its rise from two glaciers, one of them
the Finster Aar glacier, not far from Grimsel;
and to me this gave it a special interest, for I had
been hard pushed once in the wilds near that
homely Hospice.

It was on an afternoon some years ago, when I
came from the Furca, by the Rhone glacier to
the foot of the valley,- walking with two Germans ;
and as they were rather "muffs," and meant to
stop there, I thoughtlessly set off alone to climb
the rocks and to get to the Grimsel by myself.

This is easy enough in daylight, but it was nearly
six o'clock when I started, and late in September ;
so after a short half-hour of mounting, the snow
began to fall, and the darkness was not made less
by the white flakes drifting across it. By some
happy conjuncture I managed to scale the path-
less mountain, and struck on a little stream which
had often to be forded in the dark, but was
always leading to the desired valley.

At length the light of the Hospice shone wel-
come as a haven to steer for, and I soon joined

HARD QUESTIONS. 165

the pleasant English guests inside, .and bought
a pair of trousers from, the waiter at 3s. 6d. for
a change in the wet.

But paddling on the Aar had no great danger
where we met it now, for the noisy, brawling tor-
rent was sobered by age, and after much knocking
about in the world it had settled into a steady and
respectable river.

A few of my friends, the snags, were however
lodged in the water hereabouts, and as they
bobbed their heads in uneasy beds, and the river
was much discoloured, it became worth while to
keep a sharp lookout for them.

The " river tongue," explained already as
consisting of sign language with a parallel -com-
ment in loud English, was put to a severe test on
a wide stream like this. Consider, for example,
how you could best ask the following question
(speaking by signs and English only) from a man
who is on the bank over there a hundred yards
distant.

" Is it better for me to go over to those rocks,
and keep on the left of that island, or to pull my
boat out at these stumps, and drag her on land
into this channel ? "

One comfort is the man made out my meaning,
for did he not answer, " Ya vol"? He could not
have done more had we both learned the same

166 MILL WEIRS.

language, unless indeed lie had heard what I
said.

Mills occurred here and there. Some of
these had the waterwheel simply built on the
river; others had it so arranged as to allow
the shaft to be raised or lowered to suit the
varying height of water in floods and droughts.
Others had it floating on barges. Others, again,
had a half weir built diagonally across part of the
river ; and it was important to look carefully at
this wall so as to see on which side it ought to be
kept in selecting the best course. In a few cases
there was another construction ; two half weirs,
converged gradually towards the middle of the
river, forming a letter Y, with its sharp end
turned up the stream, and leaving a narrow
opening there, through which a torrent flowed,
with rough waves dancing merrily in the pool
below. 9

I had to " shoot" several of these, and at other
times to get out and lower the boat down them,
in the manner explained before.

On one occasion I was in an unaccountably
careless fit, and instead of first examining the
depth of the water on the edge of the little fall, I
resolved to go straight at it and take my chance.

It must be stated that while a depth of three
inches is enough for the canoe to float in when all

FIXED FOR FIVE MINUTES. 167

its length is in the water, the same depth will by
no means suffice at the upper edge of a fall. For
when the boat arrives there the fore part, say
six or seven feet of it, projects for a time over the
fall and out of the water, and is merely in the air,
without support, so that the centre of the keel
will sink at least six or seven inches ; and if there
be not more water than this the keel catches the
crest of the weir, and the boat will then stop, and
perhaps swing round, after which it must fall over
sideways, unless considerable dexterity is used in
the management.

Although a case of this sort had occurred to me
before, I got again into the same predicament,
which was made far more puzzling as the fore
end of the boat went under a rock at thr * °ttom
of the fall, and thus the canoe hung upon the t^ge,
and would go neither one way nor another.*" It
would also have been very difficult to get out of
the boat in this position ; for to jump feet fore-
most would have broken the boat — to plunge in
head first might have broken my head on the
rocks below.

* This ad venture was the result of temporary carelessness,
while that at the rapids was the result of impatience, for the
passage of these latter could probably have been effected
without encountering the central wave had an hour or two
been spent in examining the place. Let not any tourist,
then, be deterred from a paddle on the Beuss, which is a
perfectly suitable river, with no unavoidable dangers.

168

RIVEft AAR.

" Pixed on the fall."

The canoe was much wrenched in my struggles,
which ended, however, by man and boat tumbling
down sideways, and, marvellous to say, quite
safely to the bottom.

This performance was not one to be proud of.
Surely it was like ingratitude to treat the Rob
Roy thus, exposing it to needless risk when it
had carried me so far and so well.

The Aar soon flows into the Rhine, and here is
our canoe on old Rhenus once more, with the
town of Waldshut (" end of the forest ") leaning
over the high bank to welcome us near.

There is a lower path and a row of little houses

DOUANIERS. 169

at the bottom of the cliff, past which the Rhine
courses with rapid eddies deep and strong. Here
an old fisherman soon spied me, and roared out his
biography at the top of his voice; how he had
been a courier in Lord Somebody's family ; how
he had journeyed seven years in Italy, and could
fish with artificial flies, and was seventy years
old, with various other reasons why I should put
my boat into his house.

He was just the man for the moment ; but first
those two uniformed douaniers must be dealt with,
and I had to satisfy their dignity by paddling up
the strong current to their lair ; for the fly had
touched the spiders' web and the spiders were too
grand to come out and seize it. Good humour,
and smiles, and a little judicious irony as to the
absurd notion of overhauling a canoe which could
be carried on your back, soon made them release
me, if only to uphold their own dignity, and I
left the boat in the best drawing-room of the
ex-courier, and ascended the hill to the hotel
aloft.

But the man came too, and he had found time
to prepare an amended report of the boat's journey
for the worthy landlord, so, as usual, there was
soon everything ready for comfort and good
cheer.

"Walclshut is made up of one wide street almost

170 A POCKET CANOE.

closed at the end, and with, pretty gardens about
it, and a fine prospect from its high position;
but an hour's walk appeared to exhaust all the
town could show, though the scenery round such
a place is not to be done with in this brief
manner.

The visitors soon came to hear and see more
nearly what the newspapers had told them of the
canoe. One gentleman, indeed, seemed to expect
me to unfold the boat frosn my pocket, for a
French paper had spoken about a man going over
the country "with a canoe under his arm." The
evening was enlivened by some signals, burned
at my bedroom-window to lighten up the street,
which little entertainment was evidently entirely
new — to the "Waldshutians at least.

Before we start homewards on the Hhine with
our faces due West, it may be well very briefly
to give the log bearings and direction of the
canoe's voyage up to this point.

First, by the Thames, July 29, E. (East), to
Shoeburyness, thence to Sheerness, S. From
that by rail to Dover^ and by steamer to Ostend,
and rail again, Aug.:7, to the Meuse, along which
the course was nearly E., until its turn into
Holland, N.E. Then, Aug. 11, to the Rhine,
S.E., and ascending it nearly S., until at Frank-
fort, Aug. 17, we go N.E. by rail to Asschafien-

DANGERS AHEAD. 171

burg, and by the river wind back again to Frank-
fort in wide curves. Farther up the Rhine,
Aug. 24, our course is due S., till from Frey-
burg the boat is carted E. to the Titisee, and
to Donaueschingen, and, Aug. 28, descends the
Danube, which there flows nearly E., but with
great bends to ]$". and S. until, Sept. 2, we are at
Ulm. The rail next carries us S. to the Lake
of Constance, which is sailed along in a course
S.W., and through the Zeller See to Schaffhausen,
Sept. 7, about due "W. Thence turning S. to
Zurich, and over the lake and the neck of land,
and veering to the W. by Zug, we arrive on
Lucerne, Sept. 10, where the southernmost point
of the voyage is reached, and then our prow
points to N., till, Sept. 12, we land at Waldshut.

This devious course had taken the boat to
several diiferent kingdoms and states — Holland,
Belgium, France, Wurtemburg, Bavaria, and
the Grand Duchy of Baden, Rhenish Prussia,
the Palatinate, Switzerland, and the pretty Hollen-
zollern Sigmaringen. Now we had come back
again to the very Grand Duchy again, a land
where all travellers must mind their p's and q's.

The ex-courier took the canoe from his wife's
washing-tubs and put her on the Rhine, and then
he spirited my start by recounting the lively things
we must expect soon to meet. I must take care to

172 LITLLE HURRICANE.

" keep to the right," near the falls of Lauffenburg,
for an English lord had been carried over them
and drowned ; * and I must beware of Rheinfelden
rapids, because an Englishman had tried to de-
scend them in a boat with a fisherman, and their
craft was capsized and the fisherman was drowned ;
and I must do this here, and that there, and so
many other things everywhere else, that all the
directions were jumbled up together. But it
seemed to relieve the man to tell his tale, and
doubtless he sat down to his breakfast comfort-
able in mind and body, and cut his meat into little
bits, and then changed the fork to the right hand
to eat them every one, as they all do hereabouts,
with every appearance of content.

Up with the sails ! for the East wind freshens,
and the fair wide river hurries along. This was a
splendid scene to sail in, with lofty banks of rock,
and rich meads, or terraces laden with grapes.
After a good morning's pleasure here the wind
suddenly rose to a gale, and I took in my jib just
in time, for a sort of minor hurricane came on,
raising tall columns of dust on the road along-
side, blowing oif men's hats, and whisking up
the hay and leaves and branches high into the air.

* This was Lord Montague, the last of his line, and on
the same day his family mansion of Cowdray, in Sussex,
was burned to the ground.

THE FALLS. 173

Still I kept the lug-sail set; and with wind and
current in the same direction I scudded faster
than I ever sailed before in my life. Great exer-
tion was required to manage a light skiif safely
with such a whirlwind above and a whirlwater
below ; one's nerves were kept in extreme tension,
and it was a half-hour of pleasant excitement.

For this reason it was that I did not for some
time notice a youth who had been running after
the boat, yelling and shrieking, and waving his
coat in the air.

We drew nearer to him, and "luffed up," hailing
him with, " What's the matter ? " and he could
only pant out "Wasserfall, Wasserfall, funf
minuten ! " — the breeze had brought me within
a hundred yards of the falls of Lauffenburg, —
the whistle of the wind had drowned the roar of
the water.

I crossed to the right bank (as the ex-courier
had directed), but the youth's loud cries to come
to the "links," or left side, at last prevailed, and
he was right in this. The sail was soon lowered,
and the boat was hauled on a raft, and then this
fine young fellow explained that five minutes
more would have turned the corner and drawn me
into the horrid current sweeping over the falls.

While he set off in search of a cart to convey
the boat, I had time to pull her up the high bank
and make all snug for a drive, and anon he re-

174 COW CART.

turned with a very grotesque carter and a most
crazy vehicle, actually drawn by a milch cow !
All three of us laughed as we hoisted the Rob
Roy on this cart, and the cow kicked vehe-
mently, either at the cart, or the boat, or the
laughing.

Our procession soon entered the little town,
but it was difficult to be dignified. As the cart
with a screeching wheel rattled slowly over the
big round stones of the street, vacant at midday,
the windows were soon full of heads, and after
one peep at us, down they rushed to see the fun.*
A cow drawing a boat to the door of a great
hotel is certainly a quaint proceeding; although
in justice to the worthy quadruped I should men-
tion that she now behaved in a proper and lady-
like manner.

Here the public hit upon every possible way
but the right one to pronounce the boat's name,
painted in blue letters on its bow. Sometimes it
was "Roab Ro," at others " Rubree," but at
length a man in spectacles called out, " Ah ! ah !
Valtarescote ! " The mild Sir Walter's novels
had not been written in vain.

The falls of Lauffenburg f can be seen well from

* A sketch of this cow-cart will be found, post, page 213.

+ " Lauffenburg" means the " town of the falls," from
" laufen," to run ; and the Yankee term " loafer " may
come from this "herurn laufer," one running about.

SMASHED. 175

the bridge which spans the river, much narrowed
at this spot.

A raft is coming down as we look at the
thundering foam — of course without the men upon
it ; see the great solid frame that seems to resent
the quickening of its quiet pace, and to hold back
with a presentiment of evil as every moment
draws it nearer to the plunge.

Crash go all the bindings, and the huge, sturdy
logs are hurled topsy-turvy into the gorge, boun-
cing about like chips of firewood, and rattling
among the foam. Nor was it easy to look calmly
on this without thinking how the frail canoe
would "have fared in such a cauldron of cold water
boiling.

The salmon drawn into this place get terribly
puzzled by it, and so are caught by hundreds in
great iron cages lowered from the rocks for this
purpose. Fishing stations of the same kind are
found at several points on the river, where a stage
is built on piles, and a beam supports a strong
net below. In a little house, like a sentry-box,
you notice a man seated, silent and lonely, while
he holds tenderly in his hand a dozen strings,
which are fastened to the edges of the net. When
a fish is beguiled into the snare, or is borne in by
the swift current bewildering, the slightest vibra-
tions of the net are thrilled along the cords to the

176 ENGLISH FOUR-OAR.

watcher's hand, and then he raises the great beam
and secures the prize.

My young friend, who had so kindly warned
me, and hired the cow, and shown the salmon, I
now invited to breakfast, and he became the hero
of the hour, being repeatedly addressed by the
other inquirers in an unpronouncable German
title, which signifies, in short, "Man preserver."

Here we heard again of a certain four-oared boat,
with five Englishmen in it, which had been sent
out from London overland to Schaffhausen, and
then descended the Rhine rowing swiftly. This,
the people said, had come to Lauffenburg about
six weeks before, and I fully sympathised with
the crew in their charming pull, especially if the
weather was such as we had enjoyed; that is to
say, not one shower in the boat from the source
of the Danube to the Palace of Westminster.

CHAPTER X.

Field of Foam — Precipice — Puzzled — Philosophy — Rhein-
felden Rapids — Dazzled — Astride — Fate of the Four-
oar — Very Salt — The Ladies — Whirlpool — Funny
English— A baby- The bride.

THE canoe was now fixed on a hand-cart and
dragged once more through the streets to a
point below the falls, and the Rob Roy became
very lively on the water after its few hours of
rest. All was brilliant around, and deep under-
neath, and azure above, and happy within, till
the dull distant sound of breakers began and got
louder, and at last could not be ignored ; we have
come to the rapids of Rheinfelden.

The exaggeration with which judicious friends
at each place describe the dangers to be encoun-
tered is so general in these latitudes, that one
learns to receive it calmly, but the scene itself
when I came to the place was certainly puzzling
and grand.

Imagine some hundreds of acres all of water in
white crested waves, varied only by black rocks
resisting a struggling torrent, and a loud, thun-
dering roar, mingled with a strange hissing, as
N

178 A FIELD OF FOAM.

the spray from ten thousand sharp-pointed billows
is tossed into the air.

And then you are alone, too, and the banks are
high, and you have a precious boat to guard.

While there was time to do it I stood up in my
boat to survey, but it was a mere horizon of
waves, and nothing could be learned from looking.
Then I coasted towards one side where the shrubs
and trees hanging in the water brushed the paddle,
and seemed so safe because they were on shore.

The rapids of Bremgarten could probably be
passed most easily by keeping to the edge, though
with much delay and numerous "getting outs,"
but an attempt now to go along the side in this way
was soon shown to be useless, for presently I came
to a lofty rock jutting out into the stream, and the
very loud roar behind it fortunately attracted so
much attention that I pulled into the bank, made
the boat fast, and mounted through the thicket
to the top of the cliff.

I saw at once that to try to pass by this rock
in any boat would be madness, for the swiftest
part of the current ran right under the projecting
crag, and then wheeled round and plunged over
a height of some feet into a pool of foam, broken
fragments, and powerful waves.

Next, would it be just possible to float the
boat past the rock while I might hold the painter

PUZZLED BY A PRECIPICE. 179

from above ? The rock on careful measurement
was found too high for this.

To see well over the cliff I had to lie down on
my face, and the pleasant curiosity felt at first,
as to how I should have to act, now gradually
sickened into the sad conviction, " Impossible ! "
Then was the time to turn with earnest eyes to
the wide expanse of the river, and see if haply,
somewhere at least, even in the middle, a channel
might be traced. Yes, there certainly was a
channel, only one, very far out, and very difficult
to hit upon when you sit in a boat quite near the
level of the water ; but the attempt must be made,
or stay, — might I not get the boat carried round
by land ? Under the trees far off were men who
might be called to help, labourers quietly working,
and never minding me. I was tempted, but did
not yield.

For a philosophical thought had come upmost,
that, after all, the boat had not to meet every wave
and rock now visible, and the thousand breakers
dashing around, but only a certain few which would
be on each side in my crooked and untried way ;
of the rocks in any one line — say fifty of them be-
tween me and any point — only two would become
a new danger in crossing that line.

Then again, rapids look worse from the shore
than they really are, because you see all their
N 2

180 PHILOSOPHIZING.

difficulties at once, and you hear the general din.
On the other hand, waves look much smaller from
the bank (being half hidden by others) than you
find them to be when the boat is in the trough
between two. The hidden rocks may make a
channel which looks good enough from the land,
to be quite impractiable when you attempt it in
the water.

Lastly, the current is seen to be swifter from
the shore where you can observe its speed from
a fixed point, than it seems when you are in the
water where you notice only its velocity in re-
lation to the stream on each side, which is itself
all the time running at four or five miles an hour.
But it is the positive speed of the current that
ought really to be considered, for it is by this the
boat will be urged against a breaker stationary
in the river.

To get to this middle channel at once from
the place where I had left my boat was not
possible. We must enter it higher up the river,
so I had to pull the canoe up stream, over shal-
lows, and along the bristly margin, wading, tow-
ing, and struggling, for about half a mile, till
at length it seemed we must be high enough up
stream to let me paddle out swiftly across, while
the current would take the boat sideways to the
rough water,

INTO THE WAVES. 181

And now in a little quiet bay I rested half an
hour to recover strength after this exertion, and to
prepare fully for a " spurt/' which might indeed
be delayed in starting, but which, once begun,
must be vigorous and all watchful to the end.

Here various thoughts blended and tumbled
about in the mind most disorderly. To leave
this quiet bank and willingly rush out, in cold
blood, into a field of white breakers ; to tarnish
the fair journey with a foolhardy prank; to risk
the Rob Hoy where the touch of one rock was
utter destruction. Will it be pleasant ? Can it
be wise ? Is it right ?

The answer was, to sponge out every drop of
water from the boat, to fasten the luggage inside,
that it might not fall out in an upset, to brace the
waterproof cover all tight around, and to get its edge
in my teeth ready to let go in capsizing, and then
to pull one gentle stroke which put the boat's
nose out of the quiet water into the fast stream,
and hurrah ! we are off at a swinging pace.

The sun, now shining exactly up stream, was
an exceedingly uncomfortable addition to the
difficulties ; for its glancing beams confounded
all the horizon in one general band of light, so
that rocks, waves, solid water, and the most
flimsy foam were all the same at a little distance.
This, the sole disadvantage of a cloudless sky,

182 DAZZLED.

was so much felt in my homeward route that I
sometimes prolonged the morning's work by three
or four hours (with sun behind or on one side),
so as to shorten the evening's quota where it was
dead in the eye of the sun. On the present occa-
sion, when it was of great moment to hit the
channel exactly, I could not see it at all, even
with my blue spectacles on. They seemed to be
utterly powerless against such a fiery blaze ; and,
what was almost worse, my eyes were thereby so
dazzled that on looking to nearer objects I could
scarcely see them either.

This unexpected difficulty was so serious that I
thought for a moment of keeping on in my
present course (directed straight across the river),
so as to attain the opposite side, and there to wait
for the sun to go down.

But it was already too late to adopt this plan,
for the current had been swiftly bearing me
down stream, and an instant decision must be
made. "Now," thought I, "judging by the
number of paddle-strokes, we must surely be
opposite the channel in the middle, and now
I must turn to it."

By a happy hit, the speed and the direction of
the canoe were both well fitted, so that when the
current had borne us to the breakers the boat's
bow was just turned exactly down stream, and I

THE UPPER RAPIDS. 183

entered the channel whistling for very loneliness,
like a boy in the dark.

But it was soon seen to be " all right, English-
man ; " so in ten minutes more the canoe had
passed the rapids, and we floated along pleasantly
on that confused "bobbery" of little billows
always found below broken water, — a sort of mob
of waves, which for a time seem to be elbowing
and jostling in all directions to find their proper
places.

I saw here two fishermen by one of the salmon
traps described above, and at once pulled over to
them, to land on a little white bank of sand, that
I might rest, and bale out, and hear the news.

The men asked if I had come down the rapids
in that boat. "Yes." " By the middle channel ?"
"Yes." They smiled to each other, and then
both at once commenced a most voluble and loud-
spoken address in the vilest of patois. Their
eagerness and energy rose to such a pitch that I
began to suppose they were angry ; but the
upshot of all this eloquence (always louder when
you are seen not to understand one word of it)
was this, " There are other rapids to come. You
will get there in half an hour. They are far
worse than what you have passed. Your boat
must be carried round them on land."

To see if this was said to induce me to employ

184 CONFUSION WORSE CONFOUNDED.

them as porters, I asked the men to come along
in their boat, so as to be ready to help me ; but
they consulted together, and did not by any
means agree in admiring this proposal. Then I
asked them to explain the best route through
the next rapids, when they drew such confused
diagrams on the sand, and gave such complicated
directions, that it was impossible to make head or
tail of their atrocious jargon ; so I quietly bowed,
wiped out the sand pictures with my foot, and
started again happy and free ; for it is really the
case that in these things "ignorance is bliss."
The excitement of finding your way, and the
satisfaction when you have found it yourself, is
well worth all the trouble. Just so in mountain
travel. If you go merely to work the muscles,
and to see the view, it will do to be tied by a rope
to three guides, and to follow behind them ; but
then theirs is all the mental exertion, and tact,
and judgment, while yours is only the merit of
keeping up with the leaders, treading in their
steps. And therefore I have observed that there
is less of this particular pleasure of the discoverer
when one is ascending Mont Blanc, where by
traditional rule one must be tied to the guides,
than in making out a path over a mountain
pass undirected, though the heights thus climbed
up are not so great.

SCANNING THE LOWER RAPIDS. 185

When the boat got near the lower rapids, I
went ashore and walked for half a mile down the
bank, and so was able to examine the bearings
well. It appeared practicable to get along by the
shallower parts of one side, so this was resolved
upon as my course.

It is surely quite fair to go by the easiest way,
provided there is no carrying overland adopted,
or other plan for shirking the water. The
method accordingly used in this case was rather
a novel mode of locomotion, and it was quite
successful, as well as highly amusing.

In the wide plain of breakers here, the central
district seemed radically bad, so we cautiously kept
out of the main current, and went where the
stream ran fast enough nevertheless. I sat
stridelegs on the deck of the boat near its stern,
and was thus floated down until the bow, pro-
jecting out of the water, went above a ridge of
rocks, and the boat grounded. Thus I received
the shock against my legs (hanging in the water),
so that the violence of its blow was eased off from
the boat.

Then I immediately fixed both feet on the
rock, and stood up, and -the canoe went free from
between my knees, and could be lowered down or
pushed forward until the water got deeper, and
when it got too deep to wade after her I pulled

186

AMPHIBIOUS PLAX.

"Astride the Stern."

the boat back between my knees, and sat down
again on it as before.

The chief difficulty in this proceeding was to be
equally attentive at once to keep hold of the boat,
to guide it between rocks, to keep hold of the
paddle, and to manage not to tumble on loose
stones, or to get into the water above the
waist.

Thus by successive riding and ferrying over
the deep pools, and walking and wading in the
shallows, by pushing the boat here, and by being

HOW THE FOUR-OAR PASSED. 187

carried upon it there, the lower rapids of Rhein-
felden were most successfully passed without any
damage.

It will be seen from the description already
given of the rapids at Bremgarten, and now of
these two rapids on the Rhine, that the main
difficulties are only for him who goes there un-
informed, and that these can be avoided by
examining them on the spot at the cost of a walk
and a short delay. But the pleasure is so much
enhanced by the whole thing being novel, that,
unless for a man who wishes simply to get past,
it is better to seek a channel for oneself, even if
a much easier one has been found out by other
people.

The town of Rheinfelden was now in view, and
I began to wonder how the English four-oar boat
we had traced as far as Lauifenburg could have
managed to descend the rapids just now passed.
But I learned afterwards that the four-oar had
come there in a time of flood, when rocks would
be covered, and probably with only such eddies
as I have already noticed higher up the river
where it was deep. So they pulled on bravely
to Bale, where the hotel folks mentioned that
when the five moist Britons arrived their clothes
and baggage were all drenched, and the waiter
said, with a malicious grin, that thereby his friend

188 VERY SALT.

the washerwoman had earned twenty-seven francs
in one night.

On the left bank of the river was a large
building with a smooth gravel shore in front,
to which I steered at once. This was the great
salt-water baths of Rheinfelden — a favourite resort
for crippled invalids. The salt rock in the earth
beneath impregnates the springs with such an
intensity of brine that eighty per cent, of fresh
water has to be added before the saline mixture
can be medicinally employed as a bath. If you
take a glass of the water as it proceeds from the
spring, and put a little salt in it, the salt will not
dissolve, the water is already saturated. A drop
of it put on your coat speedily dries up and leaves
a white stain of minute crystals. In fact, this
water seemed to me to be far more saline than
even the water of the Dead Sea, which is in all
conscience salt enough, as every one knows who
has rubbed it on his face in that reeking-hot
death-stricken valley of Jericho.

Though the shore was pleasant here and the
water was calm, I found no one to welcome me
now, and yet this was the only time I had reason
to expect somebody to greet the arrival of the
canoe. For in the morning a worthy German
had told me he was going by train to Rheinfelden,
and he would keep a look out for the canoe, and

WAITING IN VAIN. 189

would surely meet me on the beach if I " ever got
through the rapids." But I found afterwards
that he had come there, and with his friends, too,
and they had waited and waited till at last they
gave up the E/ob Roy as a "missing ship."
Excellent man, he must have had some novel
excuses to comfort his friends with as they retired,
disappointed, after waiting in vain !

There was however, not far off, a poor woman
washing clothes by the river, and thumping and
bullying them with a wooden bludgeon as if her
sole object was to smash up the bachelor's shirt-
buttons. A fine boy of eight years old was with
her, a most intelligent little fellow, whose quick
eye at once caught sight of the Hob Roy as it
dashed round the point into the smooth water of
the bay, and landed me there a tired, tanned
traveller, wet and warm.

This juvenile helped me more than any man
ever did, and with such alacrity, too, and intelli-
gence, and good humour, that I felt grateful to
the boy. We spread out the sails to dry, and my
socks and shoes in the siin, and sponged out the
boat, and then dragged her up the high bank.
Here, by good luck, we found two wheels on an
axle left alone, for what purpose I cannot imagine ;
but we got a stick and fastened it to them as a pole,
and then put the boat on this extemporized vehicle,

190 A NEW CARRIAGE.

and with the boy (having duly got permission
from his mamma) soon pulled the canoe to the
gates of the old town, and then rattling through
the streets, even to the door of the hotel. A
bright franc in the lad's hand made him start
with amaze, but he instantly rose to the dignity
of the occasion, and some dozens of other urchins
formed an attentive audience as he narrated over
and over the events of the last half-hour, and
ended always by showing the treasure in his hand,
" and the Herr gave me this ! "

The Krone hotel here is very prettily situated.
It is a large house, with balconies overlooking the
water, and a babbling jet d'eau in its garden,
which is close by the river.

The stream flows fast in front, and retains
evidence of having passed through troublous times
higher up ; therefore it makes no small noise as it
rushes under the arches of the covered wooden
bridge, but though there are rocks and a few eddies
the passage is easy enough if you look at it for five
minutes to form a mental chart of your course.
My German friend having found out that the
canoe had arrived after all, his excitement and
pleasure abounded. Now he was proved right.
Now his promises, broken as it seemed all day,
were all fulfilled.

He was a very short, very fat, and very hilarious

OX THE ISLAND. 191

personage, with, a minute smattering of English,
which he had to speak loudly, so as to magnify its
value among his Allemand friends, envious of his
accomplishment.

His explanations of the contents of my sketch-
book were truly ludicrous as he dilated on it page
by page, but he well deserved all gratitude for
ordering my hotel bedroom and its comforts, which
were never more acceptable than now after a hard
day's work. Music finished the evening, and then
the hum of the distant rapids sung me a lullaby
breathing soft slumber.

Next morning, as there was but a short row to
Bale, I took a good long rest in bed, and then
carried the canoe half way across the bridge where
a picturesque island is formed into a terraced
garden, and here we launched the boat on the
water. Although, the knocks and strains of the
last few days were very numerous, and many of
them of portentous force, judging by the sounds
they made, the Rob Roy was still hale and hearty,
and the carpenter's mate had no damages to
report to the captain. It was not until harder
times came, in the remainder of the voyage, that
her timbers suffered and her planks were tortured
by rough usage.

A number of ladies patronized the start on this
occasion, and as they waved their parasols and the

192 WHIRLPOOL.

men shouted Hoch ! and Bravo ! we glided down
stream, the yellow paddle being waved round my
head in an original mode of "salute," which I
invented specially for returning friendly gratula-
tions of this kind.

Speaking about Hheinfelden, Baedeker says,
"Below the town another rapid of the Rhine
forms a sort of whirlpool called the Hollenhaken,"
a formidable announcement, and a terrible name;
but what is called here a " whirlpool " is not
worth notice.

The sound of a railway train beside the river
reminds you that this is not quite a strange, wild,
unseen country. Reminds you I say, because
really when you are -in the river bed, you easily
forget al>that is beyond it on each side.

Let a landscape be ever so well known from the
road, it becomes new again when you view it from
the level of the water. For before the scene was
bounded by a semicircle with the diameter on the
horizon, and the arch of sky for its circumference.
But when you are seated in the canoe, the picture
changes to the form of a great sector, with its
point on the clear water, and each radius inclining
aloft through rocks, trees, and mossy banks, on
this side and on that. And this holds good even
on a well worn river like the Thames. The land-
scenes between Oxford and London get pretty

FUNNY ENGLISH. 193

well known and admired by travellers, but the
views will seem both fresh and fair if you row down
the river through them. Nay, there are few
rivers which have such lovely scenery as the
Thames can show in its windings along that route.

But our canoe is now getting back to civiliza-
tion, and away from that pleasant simplicity where
everything done in the streets or the hotel is
strange to a stranger. Here we have composite
candles and therefore no snuffers ; here the waiter
insists on speaking English, and sitting down by
me, and clutching my arm, he confidentially in-
forms me that there are no " bean green," trans-
lating " haricots verts," but that perhaps I might
like a " flower caul," so we assent to a cauliflower.

This is funny enough, but far more amusing is
it when the woman waiter of some inland German
village shouts louder German to you, because that
she rattles out at first is not understood. She
gazes with a new sensation at a guest who actually
cannot comprehend her voluble words, and then
guest and waiter burst into laughter.

Here too I saw a boat towed along the Rhine
— a painful evidence of being near commerce, even
though it was in a primitive style ; not that there
was any towing-path, but men walked among the
bushes, pulling the boat with a rope, and often
wading to do so. This sight told me at once that
o

194 A BABY AT BALE.

I had left the fine free forests where you might
land anywhere, and it was sure to be lonely and
charming.

After a few bends westward we come in sight
of the two towers of Bale, but the setting sun
makes it almost impossible to see anything in its
brightness, so we must only paddle on.

The bridge at Bale was speedily covered by the
idle and the curious as the canoe pulled up at an
hotel a few yards from the water on Sept. 14th.

It was here that the four-oared boat had arrived
some weeks ago with its moist crew. The pro-
prietor of the house was therefore much pleased
to see another English boat come in, so little and
so lonely, but still so comfortable and so dry. I
walked about the town and entered a church (Pro-
testant here of course), where a number of people
had assembled at a baptism. The baby was fixed
on a sort of frame, so as to be easily handed about
from mother to father, and from clerk to minister ;
I hereby protest against this mechanical arrange-
ment as a flagrant indignity to the little darling.
I have a great respect for babies, sometimes a
certain awe.

The instant the christening was done, a happy
couple came forward to be married, an exceed-
ingly clumsy dolt of a bridegroom and a fair
bride, not very young, that is to say, about fifty-

ODD MARRIAGE. 195

five years old. There were no bridesmaids or
other perplexing appurtenances, and after the
simple ceremony the couple just walked away,
amid the titters of a numerous crowd of women.
The bridegroom did not seem to know exactly
what to do next. He walked before his wife, then
behind her, and then on one side, but it did not
somehow feel quite comfortable, so he assumed a
sort of diagonal position, and kept nudging her on
till they disappeared in some house. Altogether,
I never eaw a more unromantic commencement
of married life, but there was this redeeming point,
that they were not bored by that dread infliction —
a marriage breakfast — the first meeting of two
jealous sets of new relations, who are all expected
to be made friends at once by eating when they
are not hungry, and listening when there is no-
thing to say. But, come, it is not proper for
me to criticise these mysteries, so let us go back
to the inn.

In the coffee-room a Frenchman, who had been
in London, has just been instructing two Mexicans,
who are going there, as to hotels, and it is exces-
sively amusing to hear his description of the
London "Caffy Hous," and the hotels in "Lyces-
ter-squar." " It is pronounced squar," he said,
" in England."

CHAPTER XI.

Private concert — Thunderer — La Hardt Forest — Mul-
house Canal — Eiver 111 — Beading stories — Madame
Nico — Night noises — Pets — Ducking — Vosges — Ad-
mirers— Boat on wheels — New wine.

BALE is, in every sense, a turning-point on the
Rhine. The course of the river here bends
abruptly from west to north, and the character of
the scenery beside it alters at once from high
sloping banks to a widespread network of streams,
all entangled in countless islands, and yet ever
tending forward, northward, seaward through the
great rich valley of the Rhine with mountain chains
reared on each side like two everlasting barriers.

Here then we could start anew almost in any
direction, and I had not settled yet what route to
take, whether by the Saone and Doubs to paddle
to the Rhone, and so descend to Marseilles, and
coast by the Cornici road, and sell the boat at
Genoa ; or — and this second plan must be surely
a better alternative, if by it we can avoid a

A LADY IN THE BUSH. 197

sale of the Rob Roy — I could not part with her
now — so let us at once decide to go back through
France.

We were yet on the river slowly paddling when
this decision was arrived at, and the river carried
me still, for I determined not to leave its pleasant
easy current for a slow canal, until the last possible
opportunity. A diligent study of new maps
procured at Bale, showed that a canal ran north-
ward nearly parallel to the Rhine, and approached
very near to the river at one particular spot,
which indeed looked hard enough to find even on
the map, but was far more dubious when we got
into a maze of streamlets and little rivers circling
among high osiers, so thick and close that even
on shore it was impossible to see a few yards.

But the line of tall poplars along the canal
was visible now and then, so I made a guesswork
turn, and it was not far wrong, or at any rate
we got so near the canal that by winding about
for a little in a pretty limpid stream, I brought
the Rob Roy at last within carrying distance.

A song or two (without words) and a variation
of the music by whistling on the fingers would
be sure to bring anybody out of the osiers who
was within reach of the outlandish concert, and
so it proved, for a woman's head soon peered over
a break in the dense cover. She wished to help

198 BYRON AND THE RHINE.

to carry the boat herself, but the skipper's gal-
lantry had scruples as to this proposal, so she
disappeared and soon fetched a man, and we bore
the canoe with some trouble through hedges and
bushes, and over dykes and ditches, and at last
through deep grassy fields, till she was safely
placed on the canal.

The man was delighted by a two-franc piece.
He had been well paid for listening to bad music.
As for the boat she lay still and resigned, awaiting
my next move, and as for me I sighed to give a
last look backward, and to say with Byron —

<( Adieu to thee, fair Rhine ! How long delighted
The stranger fain would linger on his way !
Thine is a scene alike where souls united
Or lonely contemplation thus might stray ;
And could the ceaseless vultures cease to prey
On self -condemning bosoms, it were here,
Where Nature, nor too sombre nor too gay,
Wild but not rude, awful yet not austere,

Is to the mellow earth as autumn to the year.

Adieu to thee again ! a vain adieu !
There can be no farewell to scene like thine ;
The mind is colour'd by thy every hue ;
And if reluctantly the eyes resign
Their cherish' d gaze upon thee, lovely Rhine !
'Tis with the thankful glance of parting praise ;
More mighty spots may rise, more glaring shine,
But none unite in one attaching maze
The brilliant, fair, and soft- -the glories of old days.

CURIOUS BRIDGES. 199

The negligently grand, the fruitful bloom
Of coming ripeness, the white city's sheen,
The rolling stream, the precipice's gloom,
The forest's growth, and gothic walls between,
The wild rocks shaped as they had turrets been
In mockery of man's art ; and these withal
A race of faces happy as the scene,
Whose fertile bounties here extend to all,
Still springing o'er thy banks, though empires near them fall.

But these recede. Above me are the Alps,
The palaces of nature, whose vast walls
Have pinnacled in clouds their snowy scalps,
And throned eternity in icy halls
Of cold sublimity, where forms and falls
The avalanche — the thunderbolt of snow !
All that expands the spirit, yet appals,
Gather around these summits, as to show
How earth may pierce to heaven, yet leave vain man below."
—Ckilde Harold, Canto III.

To my surprise and satisfaction the canal had
a decided current in it, and in the right direction
too. It is true that this current was only about
two miles an hour, but even that is something ; and
though the little channel was hardly twelve feet
wide, yet it was clear and deep, and by no means
stupid to travel on.

After a few miles I came to a drawbridge, which
rested within a foot of the water. A man came
to raise the bridge by machinery, and he was
surprised to see my way of passing it instead,

200 OMELETTE.

that is, to shove my boat under it, while I quietly
walked over the top and got into the boat at the
other side. This was, without doubt, the first boat
which had traversed the canal without the bridge
being raised, but I had passed several very low
bridges on the Danube, some of them not two
inches above the surface of the water. The very
existence of these proves that no boats pass there,
and mine only passed by pulling it over the bridge
itself. It may be asked, how such a low bridge
fares in flood times ? and the answer is, that the
water simply flows all over it. In some cases
the planks which form the roadway are removed
when the water rises, and then the wayfaring
man who comes to the river must manage in some
other mode. His bridge is removed at the very
time when the high water makes it most neces-
sary.

The bridge man was so intelligent in his re-
marks that we determined to stop there and break-
fast, so I left the canoe in his charge and found
my way to a little publichouse at the hamlet of
Gros Kembs, and helped the wizened old lady
who ruled there to make me an omelette — my help,
by the bye, consisted in ordering, eating, and
paying for the omelette, for the rest she was sure
to do well enough, as all French women can, and
no English ones.

GROS KEMBS THUNDERER. 201

The village gossips soon arrived, and each
person who saw the boat came on to the inn to
see the foreigner who could sail in such a batteau.

The courteous and respectful behaviour of Con-
tinental people is so uniform that the stranger
among them is bound, I think, to amuse and interest
these folk in return. This was most easily done
by showing all my articles of luggage,* and of
course the drawings. A Testament with gilt
leaves was, however, the chief object of curiosity,
and all the savants of the party tried in turn to
read it.

One of these as spokesman, and with commen-
dable gravity, told me he had read in their district
newspaper about the canoe, but he little expected
to have the honour of meeting its owner.

Fancy the local organ of such a place ! Is it
called the "News of the Wold," or the "Gros
Kembs Thunderer "? Well, whatever was the
title of the Gazette, it had an article about Pontius
Pilate and my visit to the Titisee in the Black
Forest, and this it was no doubt which made these
canal people so very inquisitive on the occasion.

The route now lay through the great forest of
La Hardt, with dense thickets on each side of the
canal, and not a sound anywhere to be heard but

* See an inventory of these in the Appendix.

202 LA HARDT FOREST.

the hum now and then of a dragon fly. One or
two woodmen met me as they trudged silently
home from work, but there was a lonely feeling
about the place without any of the romance of
wild country.

In the most brilliant day the scenery of a canal
has at best but scant liveliness, the whole thing is
so prosaic and artificial, and in fact stupid, if one
can ever say that of any place where there is
fresh air and clear water, and blue sky and green
trees.

Still I had to push on, and sometimes, for a
change, to tow the boat while I walked. The dif-
ference between a glorious river encircling you
with lofty rocks and this canal with its earthen
walls was something like that between walking
among high mountains and being shut up by
mistake in Bloomsbury-square.

No birds chirped or sung, or even flew past,
only the buzzing of flies was mingled with
the distant shriek of a train on the railway.
It is this railway which has killed the canal, for I
saw no boats moving upon it. The long continued
want of rain had also reduced its powers of accom-
modation for traffic, and the traffic is so little at
the best that it would not pay to buy water for
the supply. For in times of drought canal water
is very expensive. It was said that the Regent's

MULHOUSE. 203

Canal, in London, had to pay 5,000/. for what
they required last summer, in consequence of the
dryness of the season.

At length we came to a great fork of the canal
in a wide basin, and I went along the branch to
the town of Mulhouse, a place of great wealth,
the largest French cotton town — the Manchester
of France.

The street boys here were very troublesome,
partly because they were intelligent, and therefore
inquisitive, and partly because manufacturing
towns make little urchins precocious and forward
in their manners.

I hired a truck from a woman and hired a man
to drag if, and so took the boat to the best hotel,
a fine large house, where they at once recognized
the canoe, and seemed to know all about it from
report.

The hotel porter delayed so long next morning
to wheel the boat to the railway, that when we took
her into the luggage office as usual and placed the
boat on the counter with the trunks and band-
boxes, the officials declined to put it in the train.

This was the first time it had been refused on a
railroad, and I used every kind of persuasion, but
in vain, and this being the first application of
the kind on French soil we felt that difficulties
were ahead, if this precedent was to hold good.

204 REJECTED ON A KAILROAD.

Subsequent experience showed that the French
railways will not take a canoe as baggage ; while
the other seven or eight countries we had brought
the boat through were all amenable to pressure
on this point.

We had desired to go by the railway only a few
miles, but it would have enabled me to avoid about
fifty locks on the canal and thus have saved two
tedious days. As, however, they would not take
the boat in a passenger train we carried her back to
the canal, and I determined to face the locks
boldly, and to regard them as an exercise of
patience and of the flexor muscles, as it happens
sometimes one's walk is only " a constitutional."

The Superintendent of the Rhine and Rhone
Canal was very civil, and endeavoured to give me
the desirable information I required, but which he
had not got, that is to say, the length, depth, and
general character of the several rivers we proposed
to navigate in connexion with streams less
" canalize," so I had to begin again as usual,
without any knowledge of the way.

With rather an ill-tempered " adieu" to Mul-
house, the Rob Roy set off again on its voyage.
The water assumed quite a new aspect, now that
one must go by it, but it was not so much the
water as the locks which were objectionable.
For at each of these there is a certain form of

LOCK CEREMONIES. 205

operations to be gone through — all very trifling
and without variety, yet requiring to be carefully
performed, or you may have the boat injured, or
a ducking for yourself.

When we get to a lock I have to draw to the
bank, open my waterproof covering, put my
package and paddle ashore, then step out and
haul the boat out of the water. By this time
two or three persons usually congregate. I select
the most likely one, and ask him to help in such
a persuasive but dignified manner that he feels it
an honour to carry one end of the boat while
I take the other, and so we put her in again
above the barrier, and, if the man looks poor,
I give him a few sous. At some of the locks
they asked me for a "carte de permission," or
pass for travelling on their canal, but I laughed
the matter off, and when they pressed it with
a " mais monsieur," I kept treating the proposal
as a good joke, until the officials were fairly
baffled and gave in. The fact is, we had got into
the canal as one gets over the hedge on to a public
road, and as I did not use any of the water in locks
or any of the lock-keepers' time, and the " pass "
was a mere form, price 5d., it was but reason-
able to go unquestioned; and besides, this "carte"
could not be obtained except at the beginning.
Having set off late, we went on until about sunset,

206 THE ILL AND THE WHITE HORSE.

when the route suddenly passed into the river
111, a long dull stream, which flows through the
Yosges into the Rhine.

This stream was now quite stagnant, and a mere
collection of pools covered by thick scum. It was
therefore a great comfort to have only a short
voyage upon it.

When the Rob Roy again entered the canal, an
acquaintance was formed with a fine young lad,
who was reading as he sauntered along. He was
reading of canoe adventures in America, and so
I got him to walk some miles beside me, and
to help the boat over some locks, telling him
he could thus see how different actual canoeing
was from the book stories about it made up of
romance ! He was pining for some expansion
of his sphere, and specially for foreign travel, and
above all to see England.

We went to an auberge, w^here I ordered a
bottle of wine, the cost of which was twopence
halfpenny. After he left, and as it was now
dark, I halted, put my boat in a lock-keeper's
house, and made his son conduct me to the little
village of Illfurth, a most unsophisticated place
indeed, with a few vineyards on a hill behind it,
though the railway has a road station near. It
was not easy to mistake which was the best
house here even in the dark, so I inquired of

TAPROOM CHARACTERS. 207

Madame at " The White Horse" if she could give
me a bed. " Not in a room for one alone ; three
others will be sleeping in the same chamber."

This she had answered after glancing at my
puny package and travel-worn dress, but her
ideas about the guest were enlarged when she
heard of how he had come, and so she managed
(they always do if you give time and smiles and
show sketches) to allot me a nice little room
to myself, with two beds of the hugest size, a
water-jug of the most minute dimensions, and
sheets very coarse and very clean. Another
omelette was consumed while the customary
visitors surrounded the benighted traveller;
carters, porters, all of them with courteous
manners, and behaving so well to me and to
one another, and talking such good sense, as
to make me feel how different from this is the
noisy taproom of a roadside English " public."

Presently two fine fellows of the Gendarmerie
came in for their half bottle of wine, at one
penny, and as both of them had been in the
Crimea there was soon ample subject for most
interesting conversation. This was conducted
in French, but the people here usually speak
a patois utterly impossible for one to comprehend.
I found they were discussing me under various
conjectures, and they settled at last that I must

208 NIGHT NOISES.

be rather an odd fish, but certainly " a gentleman/'
and probably " noble." They were most sur-
prised to hear I meant to stop all the next day
at Illfurth, simply because it was Sunday, but
they did not fail to ask for my passport, which
until this had been carried all the way without
a single inquiry on the subject.

The sudden change from a first-rate hotel this
morning to the roadside inn at Illfurth, was
more entertaining on account of its variety than
for its agreeables ; but in good health and good
weather one can put up with anything.

The utter silence of peaceful and cool night
in a place like this reigns undisturbed until about
four o'clock in early morn, when the first sound
is some matutinal cock, who crows first because
he is proud of being first awake. After he has
asserted his priority thus once or twice, another
deeper toned rooster replies, and presently a dozen
cocks are all in full ^ong, and in different keys.
In half an hour you hear a man's voice; next,
some feminine voluble remarks ; then a latch
is moved and clicks, the dog gives a morning
bark, and a horse stamps his foot in the stable
because the flies have aroused to breakfast on his
tender skin. At length a pig grunts, his gastric
juice is fairly awake, the day is begun. And so
the stream of life, thawed from its sleep, flows

DUCKING IN A POND. 209

gently on again, and at length the full tide of
village business is soon in agitation, with men's
faces and women's quite as full of import as if
this French Stoke Pogis were the capital of the
world.

While the inmates prepare for early mass, and
my bowl of coffee is set before me, there are four
dogs, eight cats, and seven canaries (I counted
them) all looking on, moving, twittering, mewing,
each evidently sensible that a being from some
other land is present among them ; and as these
little pets look with doubtful inquiring eyes on
the stranger, there is felt more strongly by him
too, " Yes, I am in a foreign country."

On Sunday I had a quiet rest, and walk, and
reading, and an Englishman, who had come out
for a day from Mulhouse to fish, dined in the
pleasant arbour of the inn with his family. One
of his girls managed to fall into a deep pond and
was nearly drowned, but I heard her cries, and
we soon put her to rights. This Briton spoke
with quite a foreign accent, having been six years
in France ; but his Lancashire dialect reappeared
in conversation, and he said he had just been
reading about the canoe in a Manchester paper.
His children had gone that morning to a Sunday-
school before they came out by railway to
fish in the river here; but I could not help
p

210 STRANDED GEESE.

contrasting their rude manners with the good
behaviour of the little "lady and gentleman"
children of my host. One of these, Philibert,
was very intelligent, and spent an hour or two
with me, so we became great friends. He asked
all kinds of questions about England and America,
far more than I was able to answer. I gave him
a little book with a picture in it, that he might
read it to his father, for it contained the remark-
able conversation between Napoleon and his
Marshal at St. Helena concerning the Christian
religion, a paper well worth reading, whoever
spoke the words.

This Sunday being an annual village fete a
band played, and some very uncouth couples
waltzed the whole day. Large flocks of sheep,
following their shepherds, wandered over the
arid soil. The poor geese, too, were flapping their
wings in vain as they tried to swim in water an
inch deep, where usually there had been pleasant
pools in the river. I sympathized with the geese,
for I missed my river sadly too.

My bill here for the two nights, with plenty to
eat and drink, amounted to five shillings in all,
and I left good Madame Mco with some regret,
starting again on the canal, which looked more
dully and dirty than before.

After one or two locks this sort of travelling

HUMILIATED. 211

became so insufferable that I suddenly determined
to change my plans entirely — for is not one free ?
By the present route several days would be con-
sumed in going over the hills by a series of
tedious locks ; besides, this very canal had been
already traversed by the four-oar boat Waterwitch
some years ago.

A few moments of thought, and I got on the
bank to look for a way of deliverance. Far off
could be seen the vine-clad hills of the Yosges,
and I decided at once to leave the canal, cross
the country to those hills, cart the canoe over
the range, and so reach the source of the Moselle,
and thus begin to paddle on quite another set
of rivers. We therefore turned the prow back,
went down the canal, and again entered the river
111, but soon found it was now too shallow to
float even my canoe. Once more I retraced my
way, ascending the locks, and, passing by 111-
furth, went on to reach a village where a cart
could be had. Desperation made me paddle hard
even in the fierce sun, but it was not that this
so much troubled me as the humiliation of thus
rowing back and forward for miles on a dirty,
stagnant canal, and passing by the same locks
two or three times, with the full conviction that
the people who gazed at the procedure must be-
lieve me not only to be mad (this much one can
p 2

212 METAPHYSICS.

put up with.), but furiously insane, and dangerous
to be at large.

Whether we confess it or not we all like to be
admired. The right or wrong of this depends on
for what and from whom we covet admiration.
But when the deed you attract attention by is
neither a great one, nor a deed which others
have not done or cannot do, but is one that
all other people could but would not do, then
you are not admired as remarkable but only stared
at as singular.

The shade of a suspicion that this is so in any
act done before lookers-on is enough to make it
hateful. Nay, you have then the sufferings of a
martyr, without his cause or his glory. But I
fear that instead of getting a cart for the canoe I
am getting out of depth in metaphysics, which
means, you know, "When ane maun explains
till anither what he disna under staun himsel, that's
metapheesics."

Well, when we came to the prescribed village,
named Haidwiller, we found they had plenty of
carts, but not one would come to help me even
for a good round sum. It was their first day
with the grapes, and " ancient customs must be
observed"; so we went on still further to
another village, where they were letting out the
water from the canal to repair a lock.

BOAT CART

213

"The Rob Roy on wheels."

Here was a position of unenviable repose for
the poor Rob Roy! No water to float in, and
no cart to carry her.

To aid deliberation I attacked a large cake of
hot flour baked by the lock-keeper's dirty wife,
and we stuck plums in it to make it go down,
while the man hied off to the fields to get some
animal that could drag a clumsy vehicle — cart
is too fine a name for it — which I had impressed
from a ploughman near.

214 BOAT CART.

The man came back leading a gloomy-looking
bullock, and we started with the boat now tra-
velling on wheels, but at a most dignified
pace.*

This was the arrangement till we reached
another village, which had no vineyards, and
where therefore we soon found a horse, instead
of the gruff bullock ; while the natives were lost
in amazement to see a boat in a cart, and a big
foreigner gabbling beside it.

The sun was exceedingly hot, and the road
dusty ; but I felt the walk would be a pleasant
change, though my driver kept muttering to him-
self about my preference of pedestrianism to the
fearful jolts of his cart.

We passed thus through several villages on a
fine fruitful plain, and at some of them the horse
had to bait, or the driver to lunch, or his em-
ployer to refresh the inner man, in every case the
population being favoured with an.account by the
driver of all he knew about the boat, and a great
deal more.

At one of the inns on the road some new wine
was produced on the table. It had been made
only the day before, and its colour was exactly

* The sketch represents the lady cow which dragged
the cart at Lauffenburg, but it will do almost equally well
for the present equipage.

NEW WINE. 215

like that of cold tea, with milk and sugar in it,
while its taste was very luscious and sweet.
This new wine is sometimes in request, but
especially among the women. " Corn shall make
the young men cheerful, and new wine the
maids." (Zech. ix. 17.)

CHAPTER XII.

Bonfire — My wife — Matthews — Tunnel picture — Im-
posture — Fancy — Moselle — Cocher — " Saturday Re-
view" Tracts — Gymnastics — The paddle — A spell —
Overhead — Feminine forum — Public breakfast.

As evening came on the little flag of the Rob
Roy, which was always hoisted, even in a cart,
showed signs of animation, being now revived
by a fresh breeze from the beautiful Yosges
mountains when we gradually brought their
outline more distinctly near.

Then we had to cross the river Thur, but that
was an easy matter in these scorching days of
drought. So the cavalcade went on till, the high
road being reached, we drove the cart into the
pretty town of Thann. The driver insisted on
going to his hotel, but when there I saw it could
not be the best in a town of this size (experience
quickens perception in these matters), and I
simply took the reins, backed out of the yard,
and drove to a better one.

Here the hotel-keeper had read of the Rob
Roy, so it was received with all the honours, and
the best of his good things was at my disposal.

BONFIRE. 217

In the evening I burned some magnesium-wire
signals to amuse the rustics, who came in great
crowds along the roads, drawing home their
bullock-carts, well loaded with large vats full of
the new grapes, and singing hoarsely as they
waved aloft flowers and garlands and danced
around them, — the rude rejoicings for a bounteous
vine harvest. It is remarkable how soon the
good singing of Germany is lost trace of when
you cross into France, though the language of
the peasant here was German enough.

At night we went to see an experiment in put-
ting out fires. A large bonfire was lighted in the
market-place, and the inventor of the new apparatus
came forward, carrying on his back a vessel full of
water, under the pressure of " six atmospheres "
of carbonic acid gas. He directed this on the fire
from a small squirt at the end of a tube, and it
was certainly most successful in immediately ex-
tinguishing the flames.* This gentleman and
other savants of the town then visited the boat,
and the usual entertainment of the sketch-book
closed a pleasant day, which had begun with
every appearance of being the reverse.

Although this is a busy place, I found only one

* This invention, 1'Extincteur, has since been exhibited
in London, and it seems to be a valuable one.

*218 MY WIFE.

book-shop in it, and that a very bad one. A
priest and two nuns were making purchases there,
and I noticed that more images and pictures than
printed books were kept for sale.

Next morning a new railroad enabled me to
take the boat a little further into the hills ; but
they fought hard to make her go separate, that is,
in a "merchandise " train, though I said the boat
was " my wife," and could not travel alone. At
last they put their wise heads together, filled up
five separate printed forms, charged double fare,
and the whole thing cost me just ninepence.
Yerily, the French are still overloaded with forms,
and are still in the straitwaistcoat of systeme.
The railway winds among green hills, while here
and there a " fabrik," or factory, nestles in a
valley, or illumines a hill-side at night with its
numerous windows all lighted up. These are the
chief depots of that wonderful industry of taste
which spreads the shawls and scarfs of France
before the eyes of an admiring world, for ladies
to covet, and for their husbands to buy. I was
informed that the designs for patterns here cost
large sums, as if they were the oil paintings of
the first masters, and that three times as much is
paid in France for cutting one in wood as will be
given by an English manufacturer.

At Wesserling we managed to mount the Rob

219

Roy on a spring vehicle, and we set off gaily up
the winding road that passes the watershed of the
Yosges mountains. I never had a more charming
drive. For six hours we were among woods,
vineyards, bright rivulets, and rich pastures.
Walking up a hill, we overtook a carriage, and
found one of the occupants was an Englishman.
But he had resided in France for more than
twenty years, and really I could scarcely under-
stand his English. He spoke of " dis ting," and
" ve vill go/' and frequently mingled French and
German words with his native tongue. In a
newspaper article here we noticed after the name
" Matthews," the editor had considerately added,
"pronounced, in English, Massious." This is
well enough for a Frenchman, but it certainly
is difficult to conceive how a man can fail in pro-
nouncing our " th," if he is a real live English-
man. When he found out my name, he grasped
my hand, and said how deeply interested he had
been in a pamphlet written by one of the same
name.*

The spring carriage had been chartered as an
expensive luxury in this cheap tour, that is to say,
my boat and myself were to be carried about

* The Loss of the Kent East Indiaman by Fire in the
Bay of Biscay, by General Sir D. Macgregor, K.C.B.
(Religious Tract Society, Paternoster-row.) See a further
note on this in the Appendix.

220 TUNNEL ON THE VOSGES.

thirty-five miles in a comfortable four-wheeled
vehicle for twenty-six francs — not very dear when
you consider that it saved a whole day's time to
me and a whole day's jolting to the canoe, which
seemed to enjoy its soft bed on the top of the
cushion, and to appreciate very well the conveni-
ence of springs. After a good hard pull up a
winding road we got to the top of the pass of this
" little Switzerland," as it is called, and here was
a tunnel on the very crest of the watershed.

The arch of this dark tunnel made an excellent
frame to a magnificent picture ; for before me was
stretched out broad France. All streams at our
back went down to the all-absorbing Rhine, but
those in front would wend their various ways,
some to the Mediterranean, others into the Bay of
Biscay, and the rest into the British Channel.

A thousand peaks and wooded knolls were on
this side and that, while a dim panorama of five
or six villages and sunny plains extended before
us. This was the chain of the Yosges mountains
and their pleasant vales, where many valorous
men have been reared. The most noted crusaders
came from this district, and from here too the first
of the two great Napoleons drew the best soldiers
of his army.* Most of the community are
Protestants.

* The giant called " Anak," who has been exhibiting
in London, is from the Vosges mountains.

IMPOSTURES. 221

High up on one side of us was a pilgrim station,
where thousands of people come year by year, and
probably they get fine fresh air and useful exer-
cise. The French seem to walk farther for
superstitious purposes than for mere pedestrian
amusement.*

My English friend now got into my carriage,
and we drove a little way from the road to the vil-
lage of Bussang to see the source of the Moselle.

This river rises under the " Ballon d' Alsace,"
a lofty mountain with a rounded top, and the
stream consists at first of four or five very tiny

* Among other celebrated French " stations " there is
the mountain of La Salette, near Grenoble, where, even in
one day, 16,000 pilgrims have ascended to visit the spot
where the Virgin Mary was said to have spoken to some
shepherds. On the occasion of my pilgrimage there I met
some donkeys with panniers bringing down holy water (in
lemonade bottles) which was sold throughout Europe for a
shilling a bottle, until a priest at the bottom of the mountain
started a private pump of his own. The woman who had
been hired to personate the Holy Saint confessed the de-
ception, and it was exploded before the courts of law in a
report which I read on the spot ; but the Roman Catholic
papers, even in England, published attractive articles to
support this flagrant imposture, and its truth and goodness
were vehemently proclaimed in a book by the Romish
Bishop of Birmingham, with the assent of the Pope. Me-
thinks it is easier to march barefoot 100 miles over sharp
stones than to plod your honest walk of life on common
pavement and with strong soled boots.

222 SOURCE OF THE MOSELLE.

trickling rivulets which unite and come forth in a
little spring well about the size of a washing-
tub, from which the water flows across the road
in a channel that you can bridge with your
fingers.

But this bubbling brook had great interest for
me, as I meant to follow its growth until it would
be strong enough to bear me on its cool, clear
water, now only like feathers strewed among the
grass, and singing its first music very pretty and
low.

We like to see the source of a great river ; a
romantic man must have much piquant thought at
the sight, and a poetic man must be stirred by its
sentiment. Every great thought must also have
had a source or germ, and it would be interesting
to know how and when some of the grand ideas
that have afterwards aroused nations first thrilled
in the brain of a genius, a warrior, a philosopher,
or a statesman. And besides having a source,
each stream of thought has a current too, with
ripples and deep pools, and scenery as it were
around. Some thoughts are lofty, others broad ;
some are straight, and others round about ; some
are rushing, while others glide peacefully ; only a
few are clear and deep.

But this is not the place' to launch upon fancy's
dreams, or even to describe the real, pretty valleys
around us in the Yosges. We go through these

LAGOONS AND STARS. 223

merely to find water for the Rob Hoy, and in this
search we keep descending every hour.

When the bright stars came out they glittered
below thick trees in pools of the water now so
quickly become a veritable river, and I scanned
each lagoon in the darkness to know if still it was
too small for the boat.

We came to the town of Remiremont and to a
bad sort of inn, where all was disorder and dirt.
The driver sat down with me to a late supper and
behaved with true French politeness, which always
shows better in company than in private, or when
real self-denial or firm friendship is to be tested.
So he ate of his five different courses, and had his
wine, fruit, and neat little etceteras, and my bill
next day for our united entertainment and lodging
was just 3s. 4d.

This cocker was an intelligent man, and con-
versed on his own range of subjects with consider-
able tact, and when our conversation was turned
upon the greater things of another world he said,
" They must be happy there, for none of them
have ever come back" — a strange thought, oddly
phrased. As he became interested in the subject
I gave him a paper upon it, which he at once
commenced to read aloud.*

* Some days previously a stranger gave me a bundle of
papers to read, for which I thanked him much. After-

224 LAUGHING CROWD.

Next morning, the 20th of September, the Rob
Hoy was brought to the door in a handcart, and
was soon attended by its usual levee.

As we had come into the town late at night the
gazers were ignorant of any claims this boat
might have upon their respect, and some of them
derided the idea of its being able to float on the
river here, or at any rate to go more than a mile
or two.

But having previously taken a long walk before
breakfast to examine the Moselle, I was convinced
it could be begun even here and in this dry season.
The porter was therefore directed to go forward,
and the boat moved towards the river amid
plaudits rather ambiguous, until a curious old
gentleman, with green spectacles and a white hat,
kindly brought the sceptical mob to their senses
by telling them he had read often about the boat,
and they must not make fun of it now.

wards at leisure I examined the packet, which consisted of
about thirty large pages sewn together, and comprising
tracts upon politics, science, literature, and religion. The
last subject was prominent, and was dealt with in a
style clever, caustic, and censorious, which' interested me
much. These tracts were printed in England and with
good paper and type. They are a weekly series, dis-
tributed everywhere at six shillings a dozen, and each
page is entitled " The Saturday Keview."

ON THE MOSELLE. 225

Then they all chopped round and changed their
minds in a moment — the fickle French — and they
helped me with a will, and carried the Rob Hoy
about a mile to the spot fixed upon for the start,
which was speedily executed, with a loud and warm
"Adieu!" and " Bon . voyage !" from all the
spectators.

It was pleasant again to grasp the paddle and to
find pure clear water below, which I had not seen
since the Danube, and to have a steady current
alongside that was so much missed on the sluggish
river 111 and the Basel Canal.

Pretty water flowers quivered in the ripples
round the mossy stones, and park-like meadows
sloped to the river with fruit trees heavy laden.
After half an hour of congratulation that we had
come to the Moselle rather than the Saone and the
Doubs, I settled down to my day's work with
cheerfulness.

The water of this river was very clear and cool,
meandering through long deep pools, and then
over gurgling shallows ; and the fish, waterfowl,
woods, and lovely green fields were a most wel-
come change from the canal we had left. The sun
was intensely hot, but the spare "jib," as a shawl
on my shoulders, defied its fierce rays, and so I
glided along in solitary enjoyment. The numerous
shallows required much activity with the paddle,
Q

226 GYMNASTICS.

and my boat got more bumped and thumped to-
day than in any other seven days of the tour. Of
course I had often to get out and to tow her
through the water ; sometimes through the fields,
or over rocks, but this was easily done with canvas
shoes on, and flannel trousers that are made for
constant ducking.

The aspect of the river was rather of a singular
character for some miles, with low banks sloping
backwards, and richly carpeted with grass, so that
the view on either side was ample ; while in front
was a spacious picture of successive levels, seen
to great advantage as the Rob Eoy glided smoothly
on crystal waters lipped with green. Again the
playful river descends by sudden leaps and deep
falls, chiefly artificial, and some trouble is caused
in getting down each of these, for the boat had to
be lowered by hand, with a good deal of gymnastic
exercise among the slippery rocks ; the mosses
and lichens were studied in anything but botanical
order.

At this period of the voyage the paddle felt so
natural in my hands from long use of it every
day, that it was held unconsciously. In the
beginning of my practice I had invented various
tethers and ties to secure this all-important piece
of furniture from being lost if it should fall over-
board, and I had practised what ought to be done

THE PADDLE. 227

if the paddle should ever be beaten out of my hand
by a wave, or dropped into the water in a moment
of carelessness.

But none of these plans were satisfactory in
actual service. The strings got entangled when
I jumped out suddenly, or I forgot the thing was
tied when it had to be thrown out on the shore,
so it was better to have the paddle perfectly
loose ; and thus free, it never was dropped or lost
hold of even in those times of difficulty or con-
fusion which made twenty things to be done, and
each to be done first, when an upset was imminent,
and a jump out had to be managed instead.*

The movement of the paddle, then, got to be
almost involuntary, just as the legs are moved in
walking, and the ordinary difficulties of a river
seemed to be understood by the mind without
special observation, and to be dealt with naturally,
without hesitation or reasoning as to what ought

* The bamboo mast was meant originally to serve also
as a boat-hook or hitcher, and had a ferrule and a fishing
gaff neatly fastened on the end, which fitted also into the
mast step. I recollect having used the boat-hook once at
Gravesend, but it was instantly seen to be a mistake. You
don't want a boat-hook when your canoe can come close
alongside where it is deep, and will ground when it is
shallow. Besides, to use a boat-hook you must drop the
paddle.

Q 2

228 A SPELL.

to be done. This faculty increased until long
gazes upwards to the higher grounds or to the
clouds were fully indulged without apparently
interrupting the steady and proper navigation of
the boat, even when it was moving with speed.
On one of these occasions I had got into a train
of thought on this subject, and was regretting
that the course of the stream made me turn my
back on the best scenery. I had spun round two
or three times to feast my eyes once more and
again upon some glowing peaks, lit up by the
setting sun, until a sort of fascination seized the
mind, and a quiet lethargy crept over the system ;
and, moreover, a most illogical persuasion then
settled that the boat always did go right, and that
one need not be so much on the alert to steer
well. This still held me as we came into a cluster
of about a dozen rocks all dotted about, and with
the stream welling over this one and rushing over
that, and yet I was spellbound and doggedly did
nothing to guide the boat's course.

But the water was avenged on this foolish
defiance of its power, for in a moment I was
driven straight on a great rock, only two inches
below the surface, and the boat at once swung
round, broadside on to the current, and then
slowly but determinedly began to turn over. As
it canted more and more my lax muscles were

OVERHEAD AT LAST. 229

rudely aroused to action, for the plain fact stared
out baldly that I was about to get a regular
ducking, and all from a stupid, lazy fit.

The worst of it was I was not sitting erect,
but stretched almost at full length in the boat,
and one leg was entangled inside by the strap of
my bag. In the moments following (that seem
minutes in such a case) a gush of thoughts
went through the mind while the poor little
boat was still turning over, until at last I gave a
spring from my awkward position to jump into
the water.

The jerk released the canoe from the rock, but
only the head and arms of its captain fell into the
river — though in a most undignified pose, which
was soon laughed off, when my seat was recovered,
with a wet head and dripping sleeves !

However, this little faux pas quite wakened and
sobered me, and I looked in half shame to the
bank to see if any person had witnessed the
absurd performance. And it was well to have
done with sentiment and reveries, for the river
had now got quite in earnest about going along.

Permit me again to invite attention to the
washerwomen on the river ; for this institution,
which one does not find thus floating on our
streams in England, becomes a very frequent object
of interest if you canoe it on the Continent.

230

FEMININE FORUM.

Washing_Barge."

As the well in Eastern countries ie the recog-
nised place for gossiping, and in colder climes a
good deal of politics is settled in the barber's
shop, so here in fluvial districts the washing
barge is the forum of feminine eloquence.

The respectability of a town as you approach
it is shadowed forth by the size and ornaments of
the blanchisseuses9 float ; and as there are often
fifty faces seen at once, the, type of female loveli-
ness may be studied for a district at a time. While
they wash they talk, and while they talk they
thump and belabour the clothes ; but there is

'

POLITE TO THE LADIES. 231

always some idle eye wandering which speedily
will catch sight of the Rob Roy canoe.

In smaller villages, and where there is no barge
for them to use, the women have to do without
one, and kneel on the ground, so that even in
far-off parts of the river we shall find them there.

A flat sounding whack ! whack ! tells me that
round the corner we shall come upon at least a
couple of washerwomen, homely dames, with
brown faces and tall caps, who are wringing,
slapping, and scrubbing the "linge." Though
this may encourage the French cotton trade, I
rejoice that my own shirts are of strong woollen
stuff, which defies their buffeting.

I always fraternized with these ladies, doffing
my hat, and drawing back my left foot for a bow
(though the graceful action is not observed under
the macintosh). Other travellers, also, may find
there is something to be seen and heard if
they pass five minutes at the washing-barge.
But even if it were not instructive and amusing
thus to study character when a whole group is
met with at once, surely it is to be remembered
that the pleasure of seeing a new sight and of
hearing a foreigner speak cheerful and kind
words, is to many of these hard-working, honest
mothers a bright interlude in a life of toil. To
give pleasure is one of the best pleasures of a

232 PUBLIC BREAKFAST.

tourist ; and it is in acting thus, too, that the lone
traveller feels no loneliness, while he pleases and
is pleased. Two Englishmen may travel together
agreeably among foreigners for a week without
learning so much of the life, and mind, and
manners of the people as would be learned in
one day if each of the tourists went alone, pro-
vided he was not too shy or too proud to open
his eyes, and ears, and mouth among strangers,
and had sense enough to be an exception to the
rule that " Every Englishman is an island."

Merely for a change, I ran the Rob Hoy into a
long millrace in search of breakfast. This stream
having secured hold of the boat stealthily ran
away with us in a winding course among the
hayfields, and quite out of reach of the river,
until it seemed that after all we were only in a
streamlet for irrigation, which would vanish into
rills an inch deep in a water meadow. However,
I put a bold face on it, and gravely and swiftly
sped through the fields, and bestowed a nod now
and then on the rural gazers. A fine boy of
twelve years old soon trotted alongside, and I
asked him if he was an honest lad, which he
answered by a blush, and " Yes." " Here is a
franc, then. Go and buy me bread and wine, and
meet me at the mill." A few of the "hands"
soon found out the canoe, moored, as it was

POLICE BOYS. 233

thought, in quiet retirement, with its captain
resting under a tree, and presently a whole crowd
of them swarmed out, and shouted with delight as
they pressed round to see.

The boy brought a very large bottle of wine,
and a loaf big enough to dine four men ; and I
set to work with an oarsman's appetite, and that
happy sang froid which no multitude of gazers
now could disturb.

However, one of the party invited me into her
house, and soon set delicate viands before the new
guest, while the others filled the room in an
instant, and were replaced by sets of fifty at a
time, all very good-humoured and respectful.

But it was so hot and bustling here that I
resolved to go away and have a more pleasant and
sulky meal by myself on some inaccessible island.
The retreat through. the crowd had to be regularly
prepared for by military tactics ; so I appointed
four of the most troublesome boys as "police-
men " to guard the boat in its transit across the
fields, but they discharged their new duties with
such vigour that two little fellows were soon
knocked over into the canoe, and so we launched
off, while the Manager of the factory called in
vain to his cottonspinners, who were all now in
full cry after the boat, and were making holiday
without leave.

CHAPTER XIII.

Eiver Moselle — Epinal — The Tramp— Halcyon— Painted
woman — Beating to quarters — Boat in a hedge — The
Meurthe — Moving House — Tears of a mother — Five
francs.

UNDER a dark arbour-like arch of foliage, where
the water was deep and still, I made fast to the
long grass, cast my tired limbs into the fantastic
folds of ease, and, while the bottle lasted and
the bread, I watched the bees and butterflies, and
the beetles and rats, and the coloured tribes of
airy and watery life that one can see so well in a
quiet half hour like this.

How little we are taught at school about these
wondrous communities of real life, each with its
laws and instincts, its beauties of form, and mar-
vellous ingenuities !

How little of flowers and insects, not to say of
trees and animals, a boy learns as school-lessons,
while he has beaten into him at one end and
crammed in at the other the complicated politics
of heathen gods, and their loves and faction fights,
which are neither real nor possible.

The Moselle rapidly enlarged in volume, though

EPINAL. 235

one could easily see that it had seldom been so low
before. It is a very beautiful river to row on,
especially where we began. Then it winds to the
west and north, and again, turning a little east-
wards, traverses a lovely country between Treves
and Coblentz, where it joins the ancient Rhine.

My resting-place for this evening was Epinal,
a town with little to interest ; and so we could turn
to books and pencils until it was time for bed.

Next day the scenery was by no means so
attractive, but I had plenty of hard work, which
was enjoyed very much, my shoes and socks being
off all day, for it was useless to put them on when
so many occasions required me to jump out.

Here it was a plain country, with a gravel soil,
and fast rushings of current ; and then long pools
like the Serpentine, and winding turns leading
entirely round some central hill which the river
insisted upon circumventing.

At noon we came upon a large number of
labourers at work on a milldam, and as this sort
of crowd generally betokens something to eat
(always, at any rate, some drinkable fluid), I left
my boat boldly in mid-stream, and knocked
at a cottage, when an old woman came out.
"Madame, I am hungry, and you are precisely
the lady who can make me an omelette."

" Sir, I have nothing to give you."

236 ROB ROY THE TRAMP.

" Why," said I, " look at these hens ; I am
sure they have laid six eggs this morning, they
seem so conceited."

She evidently thought I was a tramp demanding
alms, and when told to look at the boat which
had come from England, she said she was too
old and too blind to see. However, we managed
to make an omelette together, and she stood by
(with an eye, perhaps, to her only fork) and
chatted pleasantly, asking, " What have you got
to sell ? " I told her I had come there only for
pleasure. " What sort of pleasure, Monsieur, can
you possibly hope to find in this place?" But I
was far too gallant to say bluntly that her par-
ticular mansion was not the ultimate object of the
tour. After receiving a franc for the rough break-
fast, she kept up a battery of blessings till the
Rob Roy started, and she ended by shrieking out
to a navvy looking on, " I tell you every English-
man is rich ! "

Next day was bright and blue-skyed as before,
and an early start got the fine fresh morning air
on the water.

The name of this river is sometimes pronounced
"Moselle," and at other times " Mosel," what
we should call " Mozle." When a Frenchman
speaks of " la Moselle," he puts an equal emphasis
on each of the three syllables he is pronouncing ;

HALCYON. 237

whereas generally we Englishmen call this river
Moselle.

The name of a long river often indeed goes
through changes as it traverses various districts
and dialects; for instance, the Missouri, which
you hear the travellers in Kansas call " Mzoory,"
while they wend along the Californian road.

When the scenery is tame to the canoist, and
the channel of the river is not made interesting
by dangers to be avoided, then one can always
turn again to the animals and birds, and five
minutes of watching will be sure to see much that
is curious.

Here, for instance, we have the little kingfisher
again, who had met us on the Danube and the
Reuss, and whom we knew well in England be-
fore; but now we are on a visit to his domain,
and we see him in his private character alone.
There are several varieties of this bird, and they
differ in form and colour of plumage. This
" Royal bird," the Halcyon of antiquity, the
Alcedo in classic tongue, is called in German
" Eis fogl," or " Ice bird," perhaps because he
fishes even in winter's frost, or because his nest
is like a bundle of icicles, being made of ruin
nows' bones most curiously wrought together.

But now it is on a summer day, and he is
perched on a twig within two inches of the water,

238 PRETTY BIRD !

and under the shade of a briar leaf, his little
parasol. He is looking for fish, and is so steady
that you may easily pass him without observing
that brilliant back of azure, or the breast of blush-
ing red.

When I desired to see these birds, I quietly
moved my boat till it grounded on a bank, and,
after it was stationary thus for a few minutes, the
Halcyon fisher got quite unconcerned, and plied
his task as if unseen.

He peers with knowing eye into the shallow
below him, and now and then he dips his head a
bit to make quite sure he has marked a fish
worth seizing; then suddenly he darts down
with , a spluttering splash, and flies off with a
little white minnow, or a struggling sticklebat
nipped in his beak.

If it is caught thus crosswise, the winged
fisherman tosses his prey into the air, and nimbly
catches it in his mouth, so that it may be gulped
down properly. Then he quivers and shakes with
satisfaction, and quickly speeds to another perch,
flitting by you with wonderful swiftness, as if a
sapphire had been flung athwart the sunbeam,
flashing beauteous colours in its flight.

Or, if bed-time has come, or he is fetching
home the family dinner, he flutters on and on,
and then with a little sharp note of " good-b}^e,"

PAINT. 239

pops into a hole, the dark staircase to his tiny
nest, and there he finds Mrs. Halcyon sitting
in state, and thirteen baby Kingfishers gaping
for the dainty fish.

This pretty bird has an air of quiet mystery,
beauty, and vivid motion, all combined, which
has made him a favourite with the Rob Roy.

Strangely enough, the river in this part of its
course actually gets less and less as you descend
it. Every few miles some of the water is drawn
off by a small canal to irrigate the neighbouring
land, and in a season of drought like this, very
little of the abstracted part returns. They told
me that the Moselle river never has been so
"basse" for 30 years, and I was therefore an
unlucky voyageur in having to do for the first
time what could have been done more easily in
any other season.

As evening fell we reached the town of Chatel,
and the Rob Roy was sent to bed in the wash-
house of the hotel. But five minutes had not
elapsed before a string of visitors came for the
daily inspection of the boat.

As I sauntered along the bridge a sprightly
youth came up, who had not seen the canoe, but
who knew I was " one of her crew." He was
most enthusiastic on the subject, and took me
to see his boat, a deadly-looking flat-bottomed

240 THE WAITER FRIEND.

open cot, painted all manner of patterns ; and
as he was extremely proud of her I did not tell
him that a boat is like a woman, too good to
paint : a pretty one is spoiled by paint, and a
plain one is made hideous.

Then he came for a look at the Rob Hoy, and,
poor fellow, it was amusing to observe how in-
stantly his countenance fell from pride to intense
envy. He had a "boating mind," but had never
seen a really pretty boat till now. However,
to console himself he invited me to another hotel
to drink success to the canoe in Bavarian beer,
and to see my drawings, and then I found that my
intelligent, eager, and, we may add, gentlemanly
friend was the waiter there !

A melancholy sensation pervaded the Rob Roy
to-day, in consequence of a. sad event, the loss
of the captain's knife. We had three knives
on board in starting from England ; one had been
given away .in reward for some signal service,
and this which was now lost was one with a metal
haft and a curious hook at the end, a special
description made in Berlin, and very useful to
the tourist. It is not to be wondered that in so
many leaps and somersaults, and with such con-
stant requirements for the knife to mend pencils,
&c., &c., the trusty blade should at last have dis-
appeared, but the event suggests to the next

EXTRAORDINARY CHANNEL. 241

canoeman that his boat-knife should be secured
to a lanyard.

One singular conformation of the river-bed
occurred in my short tour upon this part of the
Moselle. Without much warning the banks of
rock became quite vertical and narrowed close
together. They reminded me of the rock-cutting
near Liverpool, on the old railway to Manchester.
The stream was very deep here, but its bed was
full of enormous stones and crags, very sharp
and jagged, which, however, could be easily
avoided, because the current was gentle.

A man I found fishing told me that a little
further on there was an "impossible" place, so
when after half a mile the well-known sound
of rushing waters came (the ear got marvellous
quick for this), we beat to quarters and prepared
for action.

The ribbon to keep my hat was tied down.
Sleeves and trousers were tucked up. The cover-
ing was braced tight and the baggage secured
below; and then came the eager pleasures of
anticipating, wishing, hoping, fearing, that are
mixed up in the word excitement.

The sound was quite near now, but the river
took the strangest of all the forms I had yet
seen.

If you suppose a trench cut along Oxford-street

242 CHURLS.

to get at the gas-pipes, and if all the water of
a river which had filled the street before suddenly
disappeared in the trench, that would be exactly
what the Moselle had now become.

The plateau of rook on each side was perfectly
dry, though in flood times, no doubt, the river
covers that too. The water boiled and foamed
through this channel from 3 to 20 feet deep,
but only in the trench, which was not five feet
wide.

An intelligent man came near to see me enter
this curious passage, but when we had got a little
way in I had to stop the boat, and this too by
putting my hands on both sides of the river !

Then I got out and carefully let the boat drive
along the current, but still held by the painter.
Soon it got too narrow and fast even for this
process, so I pulled the canoe upon the dry rock,
and sat down to breathe and to cool my panting
frame.

Two other gentlemen had come near me by
this time, and on a bridge above were several
more with two ladies.

I had to drag the boat some hundred yards
over most awkward rocks, and these men hovered
round and admired, and even talked to me, and
actually praised my perseverance, yet not one
offer of any help did any one of them give !

BOAT IN A HEDGE. 243

In deep water again, and now exactly under
the bridge I looked up and found the whole party
regarding the Rob Roy with curiosity and smiles.
Within a few yards was a large house these people
had come from, and I thought their smiles were
surely to preface, " Would you not like a glass
of wine, Sir, after your hour of hard work ? "
But as it meant nothing of the sort I could not
help answering their united adieux ! by these
words, " Adieu, ladies and gentlemen. Many to
look, but none to help. The exhibition is gra-
tuitous ! " Was it wrong to say this ? It was
utterly impossible not to think as much.

One or two other places gave trouble without
interest, such as when I had to push the boat
into a hedge point foremost, and to pull it through
by main force from the other side, and then found,
after all, it was pushed into the wrong field, so
the operation had to be done over again in a
reverse direction.

But never mind, all this counted in the day's
work, and all the trouble of it was forgotten after
a good night's sleep, or was entirely recompensed
by some interesting adventure.

The water of the Moselle is so clear that the
scenery under the surface continually occupied
my attention. In one long reach, unusually deep
and quiet, I happened to be gazing down at some

244 RIVER MEURTHE.

huge trout, and accidentally observed a large
stone, the upper part of a fine column, at the very
bottom of the water, at least ten feet below me.
The capital showed it to be Ionic, and near it was
another, a broken pediment of large dimensions,
and a little further on a pedestal of white marble.
I carefully examined both banks, to see if a Roman
villa or bridge, or other ruin, indicated how these
subaqueous reliques had come into this strange
position, and I inquired diligently at Charmes,
the next town ; but although much curiosity was
shown on the subject, no information was obtained,
except that the Romans had built a fort some-
where on the river (but plainly not at that spot),
so we may consider that the casual glance at the
fish revealed a curious fragment of the past hitherto
probably unnoticed.

After pulling along the Moselle, from as near
to its source as my canoe could find water, until
the scenery became dull at Charmes, we went
by railway from thence to Blainville, on the river
Meurthe, which is a tributary of the Moselle, for
I thought some new scenery might be found
in this direction. The Rob Roy was therefore
sent by itself in a goods-train, the very first sepa-
ration between us for three months. It seemed
as if the little boat, leaning on its side in the
truck, turned from me reproachfully, and we fore-

MOSSY WEEDS. 245

boded all sorts of accidents to its delicate frame,
but the only thing lost was a sponge, a necessary
appendage to a boat's outfit when you desire
to keep it perfectly dry and clean.

Two railway porters, with much good-humoured
laughing, carried the Rob Boy from the station
to the river's edge, and again we paddled cheerily
along, and on a new river, too, with scenery and
character quite different from that of the Moselle.

The Meurthe winds through rich plains of soft
earth, with few rocks and little gravel. But then
in its shallows it has long thick mossy weeds, all
under the surface. These were found to be rather
troublesome, because they got entangled with my
paddle, and since they could not be seen before-
hand the best channel was not discernible, as where
rocks or gravel give those various forms of ripples
which the captain of a canoe soon gets to know
as if they were a chart telling the number of
inches of depth. Moreover, when you get grounded
among these long weeds, all pointed down stream,
it is very difficult to "back out," for it is like
combing hair against the grain.

The larger rivers in France are all thoroughly
fished. In every nook you find a fisherman.
They are just as numerous here as in Germany
they are rare. And yet one would think that
fishing is surely more adapted to the contemplative

246

FISHERS.

"French Fishers."

German than to the vivacious French. Yet, here
they are by hundreds, both men and women, and
every day, each staring intently on a tiny float,
or at the grasshopper bait, and quite satisfied if
now and then he can pull up a gudgeon the size
of your thumb.

Generally, these people are alone, and when
they asked me at hotels if I did not feel lonely
in the canoe, the answer was, "Look at your

PRAWNS AND PIKES. 247

fishermen, for hours by choice alone. They have
something to occupy attention every moment, and
so have I." Sometimes, however, there is a
whole party in one clumsy boat.

The pater familias sits content, and recks not
if all his time is spent in baiting his line and
lighting his pipe. The lazy "hopeful" lies at
full length on the grass, while a younger brother
strains every nerve to hook a knowing fish that
is laughing at him under water, and winking its
pale eye to see the fisher just toppling over.
Mademoiselle chatters whether there are bites or
not, and another, the fair cousin, has got on shore,
where she can bait her hook and set her cap and
simper to the bold admirer by her side.

Not one of these that I have spoken to had
ever seen an artificial fly.

Then besides, we have the fishers with nets.
These are generally three men in a boat, with its
stem and its stern both cocked up, and the whole
affair looking as if it must upset or sink. Such
boats were painted by Raphael in the great
Cartoons, where all of us must have observed how
small the boat is compared with the men it
carries.

Again, there are some young lads searching
under the stones for ecremsses, the freshwater
prawns, much in request, but giving very little

248 MOVING HOUSE.

food for a great deal of trouble. Near these
fishers the pike plies his busy sportsman's life
below the surface, and I have sometimes seen
a poor little trout leap high into the air to escape
from the long-nosed pursuer, who followed him
even out of the water, and snapped his jaws
on the sweet morsel impudently. This sound,
added to the very suspicious appearance of the
Rob Hoy gliding among the islands, decides the
doubtful point with a duck, the leader of a flock
of wild ducks that have been swimming down
stream in front of me with a quick glance on each
side, every one of them seemingly indignant
at this intrusion on their haunts ; at last they
find it really will not do, so with a scream and a
spring they flap the water and rise in a body to.
seek if there be not elsewhere at least some one
nook to nestle in where John Bull does not come.

That bell you hear tinkling is at the ferry, to
call the ferryman who lives at the other side, and
he will jump into his clumsy boat, which is tied
to a pulley running on a rope stretched tight
across the river. He has only to put his oar
obliquely on the gunwale, and the transverse
pressure of the current brings the boat rapidly
to the other bank.

Paddling on, after a chat with the ferryman
(and he is sure to be ready for that), a wonderful

249

phenomenon appears. We see a house, large, new,
and of two stories high, it has actually moved.
We noticed it a few minutes ago, and now it has
changed its position. I gaze in astonishment,
and while we ponder, lo ! the whole house entirely
disappears. Now, the true explanation of this is
soon found when we get round the next corner of
the reach ; — the house is a great wooden bathing
" etablissement," built on a barge, and it is being
slowly dragged up the stream.

After wonder comes sentiment. Three women
are seen on the river-bank evidently in great
alarm: a mother, a daughter, and a servant
maid, who searched in vain for two boys, sup-
posed to have gone away to fish, but now missing
for many hours. They eagerly inquired if I had
seen the lads, and implored me with tears to give
them advice.

I tried all I could to recollect, but no ! I had
not seen the boys, and so the women went away
distracted, and left me sorrowful — who would not
be so at a woman's tears, a mother's too ? But
suddenly, when toiling in the middle of a very
difficult piece of rock-work, lowering the boat, I
remembered having seen those boys, so I ran over
the fields after the anxious mamma and soon
assured her the children had been safe an hour
ago, and their faithful servant with them, but
that he had become the fisherman, and they, like

250 FRENCH ROWING.

boys, had got tired of the rod, and were playing
with a goat.

When the poor mother heard we had seen the
little fellows and they were safe, her tears of joy
were quite affecting, and they vividly recalled
one's schoolboy days, when the thoughtless play-
time of childhood so often entails anxiety on a
loving mother's heart.

Such, then, are the river sights and river
wonders, ever new, though trifling perhaps when
told, but far more lively and entertaining than
the common incidents of a dusty road, or a
whirring, shrieking train.

With a few wadings and bumpings, and one or
two " vannes," or weirs, we slipped along plea-
santly until evening came. Still it was only
a slow stream, and the towers of St. Nicho-
las, long visible on the horizon, seemed ever
to move from side to side without being any
nearer, so much does this river wind in its course.
I paddled at my best pace, but the evening rapidly
grew darker, until we overtook two French youths
in a boat, the first occasion on which we had
noticed Frenchmen rowing for exercise. They
could not keep up with the canoe, so we had to
leave them ingloriously aground on a bank, and
yet too lazy to get out and help their boat over
the difficulty.

Soon after I came to a great weir about fifteen

A TIRESOME TUG. 251

feet in height, the deepest we had yet encountered,
and half a sigh was heaved when it was evident
that there was no escape from all the bother of
getting out and gymnasticizing here after a long
day's work. It was a matter of some time and
trouble to get the boat over this weir in the dark ;
but what was far worse immediately followed, as
I found myself in a maze of shallows, without
light to see how to get through them. Whenever
we stopped, too, for rest, there was only darkness,
silence, and no motion — not even the excitement
of a current to arouse. Finally, I had to wade
and haul the boat along, and jump in and ferry
myself over the pools, for nearly half a mile,
until at length the "look-out" man of our star-
board watch shouted, " A bridge and a house on
the lee bow!" and a joyous cheer burst forth
from the crew.

All this, which may be told in a few sentences,
took a full hour of very tiresome work, though,
as there was no current, there was no danger, and
it was merely tedious, wet, unlighted, and uncom-
fortable. Nevertheless I sang and whistled all
the time.

When the bridge was arrived at, I was sure it
must be a town, and then there happened a scene
almost an exact counterpart of that which took
place at Gegglingen, on the Danube.

-

252 FIVE FRANCS.

I pulled up my boat on the dark shore, and,
all dripping wet, I mounted to the house above,
and speedily aroused the inmates. A window
opened, and a worthy couple appeared in their
night-dresses, holding a candle to examine the
intruder. The tableau was most comical. The
man asked, " Is it a farce ? " He could scarcely
expect a traveller from England to arrive there
at such an hour. But he soon helped me to carry
the boat to a little Restaurant, where a dozen
men were drinking, who rushed out with lamps to
look at the boat, but entirely omitted to help the
forlorn captain.

Nor was there any room in this Restaurant, so
we had to carry the boat through the dark streets
to another house, where another lot of topers
received me in like style. We put the Rob Roy
into a garden here, and her sails flapped next
morning while a crowd gazed over the walls with
anxious curiosity. The worthy husband who had
thus left his spouse that he might carry my wet
boat, all slippery with mud, was highly pleased
with a five-franc piece, which was the least I
thought him to deserve, though it was like
a five-pound note to him in such a cheap
country.

Next morning in the light of day we had a
survey of the scene of last night's adventure. It

SALT. 253

was very amusing to trace the various channels
we had groped about in the darkness.

Here I met a French gentleman, of gay and
pleasant manner, but who bemoaned his lot as
Secretary of a great factory in this outlandish
place, instead of being in joyous, thoughtless,
brilliant Paris, where, he said, often for days
together he did not sleep in bed, but ran one
night into the next by balls, theatres, and supper
parties.

He kindly took me to see the great salt works,
that send refined salt all over Europe. This
rock salt is hoisted out of a deep mine, in blocks
like those of coal, having been hewn from the
strata below, which are pierced by long and lofty
galleries. Then it is covered in tanks by water,
which becomes saturated, and is conducted to flat
evaporating pans, when the water is expelled by
the heat of great furnaces, and the salt appears in
masses like snow-drift. Salt that is sold by
weight they judiciously wet again, and other
qualities sold by measure they cleverly deposit in
crooked crystals, so as to take up as much space
as possible !

We found a canal here, and as the river was so
shallow I mounted to the artificial channel, and
with a strong and fair wind was soon sailing along
rapidly. This canal has plenty of traffic upon it,

254 PORTRAIT.

and only a few locks; so it was by no means
tedious. They asked for my card of permission,
but I smiled the matter off as before. However,
an officer of the canal who was walking alongside
looked much more seriously at the infringement
of rules, and when we came to a lock he insisted
we must produce the " carte." As a last resort, I
showed him the well-worn sketch-book, and then
he at once gave in. In fact, after he had laughed
at the culprit's caricatures, how could he gravely
sentence him to penalties ?

It is wonderful how a few lines of drawing will
please these outlying country people. Sometimes
we gave a small sketch to a man when it was
desirable to get rid of him : he was sure to take
it away to show outside, and when he returned I
had departed. Once we gave a little girl a portrait
of her brother, and next morning she brought it
again all crumpled up. Her mother said the
child had held it all night in her hand.

CHAPTER XIV.

Ladies in muslin — Officers shouting — Volunteers' umbrella
— Eeims — Leaks — Wet — Madame Clicquot — Heavy
blow — Dinner talk — The Elephant — Cloud.

THE canal brought me to Nancy, a fine old
town, with an archbishop, a field-marshal, a good
hotel, large washhand basins, drums, bugles, ices,
and all the other luxuries of life. In the cathe-
dral there was more tawdry show about the Mass
than I ever remarked before, even in Italy. At
least thirty celebrants acted in the performance,
and the bowings and turnings and grimaces of
sedate old men clad in gorgeous, dirty needle-
work, fumbling with trifles and muttering Latin,
really passed all bounds : they were an insult to
the population, who are required to attend this
vicarious worship, and to accept such absurdities
as the true interpretation of " This do in remem-
brance of Me."

A large and attentive congregation, nearly all
women, listened first to an eloquent sermon from
a young priest who glorified an old saint. It is
possible that the ancient worthy was a most

256 LADIES IN MUSLIN.

respectable monk, but probably he was, when he
lived, a good deal like the monks one meets in the
monasteries, and now that I have lived pretty
frequently with these gentlemen I must say it
makes one smile to think of canonizing such
people, as if any one of them had unapproachable
excellence ; but perhaps this monk distinguished
himself by proper daily ablutions, and so earned
the rare reputation of being reasonably clean.

In the afternoon the relics of the monk were
borne through the streets by a procession of
some thousand women and a few men. These
ladies, some hundreds of whom were dressed in
white muslin, and in two single ranks, chanted
as they slowly marched, and all the bystanders
took off their hats, but I really could not see
what adoration was due to the mouldering bones
of a withered friar, so my excellent straw hat was
kept on my head.

But the French, who live in public, must have
a public religion, a gregarious worship, with
demonstrative action and colours and sounds.
Deep devotion, silent in its depth, is for the
north and not for this radiant sun, though you
will find that quiet worship again in lower lati-
tudes where the very heat precludes activity.

Some twenty years ago, one of the ablest men
of the University of Cambridge read a paper on

CLIMATE. 257

the influence which the insular position and the
climate of Britain has upon our national character,
and it appeared to be proved clearly that this
influence pervades every feature of our life.

In a third-rate French town like Nancy, nearly
all the pleasant agrements depend on the climate,
and would be sadly curtailed by rain or snow.
So, again, when a Frenchman visits England and
gets laughed at for mistakes in our difficult
language, and has to eat only two dishes for
dinner, and drinks bad coffee, and has no even-
ing lounge in the open air, and is then told to
look at our domestic life, and finds he cannot get
an entrance there (for how very few French do
enter there), his miseries are directly caused by
our climate, and no wonder his impression of
Albion is that we are all fog and cotton and
smoke, and everything triste.

From Nancy we sent the canoe by rail to meet
me on the river Marne, and while the slow
luggage-train lumbered along I took the oppor-
tunity of visiting the celebrated Camp of Chalons,
the Aldershot of France. An omnibus takes you
from the railway station, and you soon enter a
long straggling street of very little houses, built
badly, and looking as if one and all could be
pushed down by your hand. These are not the
military quarters, but the self-grown parasite
s

258 CAMP OF CHALONS.

sutlers' town, which springs up near every camp.
Here is "Place Solferino," and there "Rue
Malakhoff," where the sign of the inn is a
Chinaman having his pigtail lopped off by a
Francais. The camp is in the middle of a very
large plain, with plenty of dust and white earth,
which " glared " on my eyes intensely, this being
the hottest day I have experienced during the
vacation. But there are trees for shade, and a
good deal of grass on these extensive downs
where great armies can manoeuvre and march past
the Emperor as he sits enthroned under a bower
on that hill-crest overlooking all.

The permanent buildings for the troops consist
of about 500 separate houses, substantial, airy,
and well lighted, all built of brick, and slated,
and kept in good repair ; each of these is about
seventy feet long, twenty broad, and of one story
high. A million and a-half pounds sterling have
already been expended on this camp. Behind
the quarters are the soldiers' gardens, a feature
added lately to the camps in England. There
were only a few thousand soldiers at the place,
so we soon saw all that was interesting, and then
adjourned to a Restaurant, where I observed about
twenty officers go in a body to breakfast. This
they did in a separate room, but their loud,
coarse, and outrageously violent conversation

TEMPLE UMBRELLA. 259

really amazed me. The din was monstrous and
without intermission. We had never before fallen
in with so very bad a specimen of French manners,
and I cannot help thinking there may have been
special reasons for these men bellowing for half
an hour as they ate their breakfast.

The "mess system" has been tried in the
French army several times, but it seems to fail
always, as the French Clubs do, on the whole.
It is not wise, however, for a traveller to gene-
ralize too rapidly upon the character of any
portion of a great people if he has not lived long
among them. A hasty glance may discern that a
stranger has a long nose, but you must have
better acquaintance with him before you can truly
describe the character of your friend. In a little
book just published in France about the English
Bar two facts are noted, that Barristers put the
name of their " Inn " on their visiting cards,
and that the Temple Volunteers are drilled
admirably by a Serjeant-at-Law, who wields " an
umbrella with a varnished cover, which glances
in the sun like a sword " !

Another interesting town in this department of
France is Rheims (spelt Heims, and pronounced
very nearly Hens). Having still an hour or two
free, I went there, and enjoyed the visit to the
very splendid cathedral. It is one of the finest
s 2

260 REIMS.

in Europe, very old, very large, very rich, and
celebrated as the place of coronation for the
French sovereigns. Besides all this it is kept in
good order, and is remarkably clean. The outside
is covered with stone figures, most of them rude
in art, but giving at a distance an appearance of
prodigal richness of material. A little periodical
called France Illustrated is published at fourpence
each number, with a map of , the Department,
several woodcuts of notable places or events, and
a brief history of the principal towns, concluding
with a resume of the statistics of the Depart-
ment. A publication of this kind would, I
think, be very useful in England ; and for
travellers especially, who could purchase at the
County town the particular number or part then
required.

In one of the adjoining Departments, accord-
ing to this publication, it appears that there are
about a hundred suicides in the year among a
population of half a million. Surely this is an
alarming proportion ; and what should we say if
Manchester had to report 100 men and women in
one year who put themselves to death ?

But we are subsiding, you see, into the ordinary
tales of a traveller, because I am waiting now for
the train and the Rob Roy, and certainly this my
only experience of widowerhood made me long

LEAKS AND CANDLES. 261

again for the well-known yellow oaken side of the
boat and her pink-brown cedar varnished top.

Well, next morning here is the canoe at
Epernay, arrived all safe at a cost of 2s. 6d.
All safe we thought at first, but we soon found
it had been sadly bruised, and would surely
leak. I turned it upside down on the railway
platform in the hot sun, and bought two candles
and occupied three good hours in making re-
pairs and greasing all the seams. But after all
this trouble, when we put the boat into the
Marne, the water oozed in all round.

It is humiliating to sit in a leaky boat — it is
like a lame horse or a crooked gun; of all the
needful qualities of a boat the first is to keep out
the water. So I stopped at the first village, and
got a man to mix white lead and other things,
and we carefully worked this into all the seams,
leaving it to harden while I had my breakfast in
the little auberge close by the shore, where they
are making the long rafts to go down to Paris,
and where hot farmers come to sip their two-
penny bottle of wine.

The raft man was wonderfully proud of his per-
formance with the canoe, and he called out to each
of his friends as they walked past, to give them
its long history in short words. When I paid
him at last, he said he hoped I would never forget

262 NOVEL BARRIER.

that the canoe had been thoroughly mended in

the middle of France, at the village of , but

I really do not remember the name.

However, there were not wanting tests of his
workmanship, for the Rob Roy had to be pulled
over many dykes and barriers on the Marne.
Some of these were of a peculiar construction,
and were evidently novel in design.

A "barrage" reached across the stream, and
there were three steps or falls on it, with a
plateau between each. The water ran over these
steps, and was sometimes only a few inches in
depth on the crest of each fall, where it had to
descend some eight or ten inches at most.

This, of course, would have been easy enough
for the canoe to pass, but then a line of iron posts
was ranged along each plateau, and chains were
tied from the top of one post to the bottom of
another, diagonally, and it will be understood that
this was a very puzzling arrangement to steer
through in a fast current.

In cases of this sort I usually got ashore to
reconnoitre, and having calculated the angle at
which we must enter the passage obliquely (down
a fall, and across its stream), I managed to get
successfully through several of these strange
barriers. We came at length to one which, on
examination, I had to acknowledge was " impass-

THE VANNE.

263

'The Chain Barrier."

able," for the chains were slack, and there was
only an inch or two of " law " on either side of
the difficult course through them.

However, a man happened to see my move-
ments and the canoe, and soon he called some
dozen of his fellow navvies from their work to
look at the navigator.

The captain was therefore incited by these
spectators to try the passage, and I mentally
resolved at any rate to be cool and placid, how-
ever much discomfiture was to be endured. The
boat was steered to the very best of my power,

264 WET.

but the bow of the canoe swerved an inch in the
swift oblique descent, and instantly it got locked
in the chains, while I quietly got out (whistling
an air in slow time), and then, in the water
with all my clothes on, I steadily lifted the boat
through the iron network and got into her, dripping
wet, but trying to behave as if it were only the
usual thing. The navvies cheered a long and
loud bravo! but I felt somewhat ashamed of
having yielded to the desire for ignorant applause,
and when finally round the next corner I got out
and changed my wet things, a wiser and a sadder
man, but dry.

This part of the river is in the heart of the
champagne country, and all the softly swelling
hills about are thickly covered by vineyards. The
vine for champagne is exceedingly small, and
grows round one stick, and the hillside looks just
like a carding-brush, from the millions of these
little sharp-pointed rods upright in the ground
and close together, without any fence whatever
between the innumerable lots. The grape for
champagne is always red, and never white, so
they said, though " white grapes are grown for
eating." During the last two months few people
have consumed more grapes in this manner than
the chief mate of the Rob Roy canoe.

On one of these hills we noticed the house of

MADAME CLICQUOT. 265

Madame Clicquot, whose name has graced many
a cork of champagne bottles and of bottles not
champagne.

The vineyards of Ai, near Epernay, are the
most celebrated for their wine. After the bottles
are filled, they are placed neck downwards, and
the sediment collects near the cork. Each bottle
is then uncorked in this position, and the confined
gas forces out a little of the wine with the sedi-
ment, while a skilful man dexterously replaces
the cork when this sediment has been expelled.
One would think that only a very skilful man
can perform such a feat. When the bottles are
stored in " caves," or vast cellars, the least change
of temperature causes them to burst by hundreds.
Sometimes one-fourth of the bottles explode in
this manner, and it is said that the renowned
Madame Clicquot lost 400,000 in the hot autumn
of 1843, before sufficient ice could be fetched from
Paris to cool her spacious cellars. Every year
about fifty million bottles of genuine champagne
are made in France, and no one can say how
many more millions of bottles of " French cham-
pagne" are imbibed every year by a confiding
world.

The Marne is a large and deep river, and its
waters are kept up by barriers every few miles.
It is rather troublesome to pass these by taking

266 BOAT'S NAMES.

the boat out and letting it down on the other
side, and in crossing one of them I gave a serious
blow to the stern of the canoe against an iron bar.
This blow started four planks from the sternpost,
and revealed to me also that the whole frame
had suffered from the journey at night on an open
truck. However, as my own ship's carpenter
was on board, and had nails and screws, we soon
managed to make all tight again, and by moon-
light came to Dormans, where I got two men to
carry the boat as usual to an hotel, and had the
invariable run of visitors from that time until
everybody went to bed.

It is curious to remark the different names by
which the canoe has been called, and among these
the following : — " Batteau," " schiff," " lot,"
" barca" " canot" " caique " (the soldiers who
have been in the Crimea call it thus), " chaloupe"
" navire," " schipp" (Low German), "yacht"
("jacht" — Danish, "jaht," from "jagen," to
ride quickly — properly a boat drawn by horses).
Several people have spoken of it as " batteau a
vapeur" for in the centre of France they have
never seen a steamboat, but the usual name with
the common people is "petit latteau" and among
the educated people "nacelle" or " perissoir ;
this last as we call a dangerous boat a " coffin" or
" sudden death."

GENTLEMEN. 267

An early start next morning found me slipping
along with a tolerable current and under sail
before a fine fresh breeze, but with the same un-
alterable blue sky. I had several interesting
conversations with farmers and others riding to
market along the road which here skirts the
river. What most surprises the Frenchman is
that a traveller can possibly be happy alone !
Not one hour have I had of ennui, and, however
selfish it may seem, it is true that for this sort of
journey I prefer to travel entirely seul.

Pleasant trees and pretty gardens are here
on every side in plenty, but where are the
houses of the gentlemen of France, and where
are the French gentlemen themselves? This is
a difference between France and England which
cannot fail to "knock" the observant traveller
(as Artemus Ward would say) — the notable ab-
sence of country seats during hours and hours
of passage along the best routes; whereas in
England the prospect from almost every hill of
woodland would have a great house at the end of
its vista, and the environs of every town would
stretch into outworks of villas smiling in the sun.
The French have ways and fashions which are not
ours, but their nation is large enough to entitle
them to a standard of their own, just as the
Americans, with so great a people agreed on the

268 DINNER TALK.

matter, may surely claim liberty to speak with a
twang, and to write of a " plow."

I am convinced that it is a mistake to say we
Britons are a silent people compared with the
French or Americans. At some hundred sittings
of the table d'hote in both these countries I have
found more of dull, dead silence than in England
at our inns. An Englishman accustomed only
to the pleasant chat of a domestic dinner feels ill
at ease when dining with strangers, and so he
notices their silence all the more ; but the French
table d'hote (not in the big barrack hotels, for
English tourists, we have before remarked upon)
has as little general conversation, and an American
one has far less than in England.

Here in France come six or seven middle-class
men to dine. They put the napkin kept for each
from yesterday, and recognized by the knots they
tied on it, up to their chins like the pinafore of a
baby, and wipe plate, fork, and spoons with the
other end, and eat bits and scraps of many dishes,
and scrape their plates almost clean, and then
depart, and not one word has been uttered.

Then, again, there is the vaunted French
climate. Bright sun, no doubt, but forget not
that it is so very bright as to compel all rooms to
be darkened from ten to four each day. At noon
the town is like a cemetery ; no one thinks of

SUNLIGHT. 269

walking, riding, or looking out of his window in
the heat. From seven to nine in the morning,
and from an hour before sunset to any time you
please at night, the open air is delicious. But I
venture to say that in a week of common summer
weather we see more of the sun in England than
in France, for we seldom have so much of it at
once as to compel us to close our eyes against its
fierce rays. In fact, the sensation of life in the
South, after eleven o'clock in the morning, is that
of waiting for the cool hours, and so day after day
is a continual reaching forward to something about
to come ; whereas, an English day of sunshine
is an enjoyable present from beginning to end.
Once more, let it be remembered that twilight
lasts only for half an hour in the sunny South ;
that delicious season of musing and long shadows
is a characteristic of the northern latitudes which
very few Southerners have ever experienced at all.
The run down the Marne for about 200 miles
was a pleasant part of the voyage, but seldom so
exciting in adventure as the paddling on unknown
waters. Long days of work could therefore be
now well endured, for constant exercise had
trained the body, and a sort of instinct was
enough, when thus educated by experience, to
direct the mind. Therefore the Bob Roy's
paddle was in my hands for ten hours at a time

270 THE ELEPHANT ON THE MARNE.

without weariness, and sometimes even for twelve
hours at a stretch.

After a comfortable night at Chateau Thierry
in the Elephant Hotel, which is close to the water,
I took my canoe down from the hayloft to which
it had been hoisted, and once more launched her
on the river. The current gradually increased,
and the vineyards gave place to forest trees.
See, there are the rafts, some of casks, lashed
together with osiers, some of planks, others of
hewn logs, and others of great rough trees.
There is a straw hut on them for the captain's
cabin, and the crew will have a stiff fortnight's
work to drag, push, and steer this congeries of
wood on its way to the Seine. The labour spent
merely in adjusting and securing the parts is
enormous, but labour of that kind costs little here.

Further on there is a large flock of sheep
conducted to the river to drink, in the orthodox
pastoral manner of picture-books. But (let us
confess it) they were also driven by the sagacious
shepherd's dogs, who seem to know perfectly that
the woolly multitude has come precisely to drink,
and, therefore, the dogs cleverly press forward
each particular sheep, until it has got a place by
the cool brink of the water.

In the next quiet bay a village maid drives her
cow to the river, and chats across the water with

FIRST CLOUD. 271

another, also leading in a cow to wade knee deep,
and to dip its broad nose, and lift it gently again
from the cool stream. On the road alongside is a
funny little waggon, and a whole family are within.
This concern is actually drawn along by a goat.
Its little kid skips about, for the time of toil
has not yet come to the youngling, and it may
gambol now.

But here is the bridge of Nogent, so I leave my
boat in charge of an old man, and give positive
pleasure to the cook at the auberge by ordering a
breakfast. Saints' portraits adorn the walls, and
a "sampler" worked by some little girl, with
only twenty-five letters in the alphabet, for the
"w" is as yet ignored in classic grammars,
though it has now to be constantly used in the
common books and newspapers. Why, they even
adopt our sporting terms, and you see in a paper
that such a race was only " un Walkover/' and
that another was likely to be " un dead heat."

Suddenly in my quiet paddling here the sky
was shaded, and on looking up amazed I found
a cloud ; at last, after six weeks of brilliant blue
and scorching glare, one fold of the fleecy curtain
has been drawn over the sun.

The immediate effect of this cooler sky was
very invigorating, though, after weeks of hot
glare (reflected upwards again into the face from

272 CLOUD AT LAST.

the water), it seemed the most natural thing to
be always in a blaze of light, for much of the
inconvenience of it was avoided by a plan which
will be found explained in the Appendix, with
some other hints to " Boating Men."

The day went pleasantly now, and with only
the events of ordinary times, which need not be
recounted. The stream was steady, the banks
were peopled, and many a blue-bloused country-
man stopped to looked at the canoe as she glided
past, with the captain's socks and canvas shoes
on the deck behind him, for this was his drying-
place for wet clothes.

Now and then a pleasure-boat was seen, and
there were several canoes at some of the towns,
but all of them flat-bottomed and open, and des-
perately unsafe — well named " perissoirs." Some
of these were made of metal. The use of this is
well-known to be a great mistake for any boat
under ten tons ; in all such cases it is much
heavier than wood of the same strength, consider-
ing the strains which a boat must expect to
undergo.

"La Ferte sous Jouarre" is the long name of
the next stopping-place. There are several towns
called by the name La Ferte (La Fortifie), which
in some measure corresponds with the termination
"caster" or "cester" of English names. Mill-

RIVAL GOSSIPS. 273

stones are the great specialty of this La Ferte.
A good millstone costs 50/., and there is a
large exportation of them. The material has
the very convenient property of not requiring to
be chipped into holes, as these exist in this stone
naturally.

At La Ferte I put the boat into a hayloft ;
how often it has occupied this elevated lodgings
amongst its various adventures ; and at dinner
with me there is an intelligent and hungry bour-
geois from Paris, with his vulgar and hearty wife,
and opposite to them the gossip of the town, who
kept rattling on the stupid, endless fiddle-faddle
of everybody's doings, sayings, failings, and
earnings. Some amusement, however, resulted
from the collision of two gossips at our table of
four guests, for while the one always harped upon
family tales of La Ferte, its local statistics, and
the minute sayings of its people, the other kept
struggling to turn our thoughts to shoes and
slippers, for he was a commercial traveller with
a cartful of boots to sell. But, after all, how
much of our conversation in better life is only of
the same kind, though about larger, or at any
rate different things ; what might sound trifles
to our British Cabinet would be the loftiest politics
of Honolulu.

When we started at eight o'clock next day I
T

274 CUTTING ACROSS.

felt an unaccountable languor ; my arms were
tired, and my energy seemed, for the first time,
deficient. This was the result of a week's hard
exercise, and of a sudden change of wind to the
south. Give me our English climate for real
hard work to prosper in.

One generally associates the north wind with
cool and bracing air, and certainly in the Mediter-
ranean it is the change of wind to the south, the
hated sirocce, that enervates the traveller at
once. But this north wind on the Marne came
over a vast plain of arid land heated by two
months of scorching sun, whereas the breezes
of last week, though from the east, had been
tempered in passing over the mountains of the
Vosges.

Forty-two miles lay before me to be accom-
plished before arriving to-night at my resting-
place for Sunday, and it was not a pleasant
prospect to contemplate with stiff muscles in the
shoulders. However, after twelve miles I found
that about twenty miles in turnings of the river
could be cut off by putting the boat on a cart, and
thus a league of walking and 3s. 4d. of payment
solved the difficulty. The old man with his cart
was interesting to talk to, and we spoke about
those deep subjects which are of common interest
to all.

WINE SPILLED. 275

At a turn in the road we came upon a cart
overturned and with a little crowd round it, while
the earth was covered with a great pool of what
seemed to be blood, but was only wine. The cart
had struck a tree, and the wine-cask on it in-
stantly burst, which so frightened the horse
that he overset the cart.

The Rob Roy was soon in the water again, and
the scenery had now become much more enjoyable.

I found an old soldier at a ferry who fetched
me a bottle of wine, and then he and his wife sat
in their leaky, flat, green-painted boat, and became
very great friends with the Englishman. He
had been at the taking of Constantine in Algeria,
a place which really does look quite impossible to
be taken by storm. But the appearance of a
fortress is deceptive except to the learned in such
matters. Who would think that Comorn, in
Hungary, is stronger than Constantine ? When
you get near Comorn there is nothing to see, and
it is precisely because of this that it was able to
resist so long.

The breeze soon freshened till I hoisted my
sails and was fairly wafted on to Meaux, so that,
after all, the day, begun with forebodings, became
as easy and as pleasant as the rest.

T 2

CHAPTER XV.

Meaux on the Marne — Hammering -Popish forms — Wise
dogs — Blocked in a tunnel — A dry voyage — Arbour
and garret — Odd fellows — Dream on the Seine — Almost
over — No admittance — Charing-cross.

THERE are three hemispheres of scenery visible to
the traveller who voyages thus in a boat on the
rivers. First, the great arch of sky, and land,
and trees, and flowers down to the water's brink ;
then the whole of this reflected beautifully in the
surface of the river ; and then the wondrous depths
in the water itself, with its animal life, its rocks
and glades below, and its flowers and mosses.
Now rises the moon so clear, and with the sky
around it so black that no "man in the moon"
can be seen.

At the hotel we find a whole party of guests
for the marriage-dinner of a newly-wedded pair.
The younger portion of the company adjourn to
the garden and let off squibs and crackers, so it
seems to be a good time to exhibit some of my
signal lights from my bedroom-window, and there
is much cheering as the Englishman illumines the

HAMMER. 277

whole neighbourhood. Next day the same people
all assembled for the marriage breakfast, and
sherry, madeira, and champagne flowed from the
well-squeezed purse of the bride's happy father.

I have noticed that the last sound to give
way to the stillness of the night in a village is
that of the blacksmith's hammer, which is much
more heard abroad than at home. Perhaps this is
because much of their execrable French ironwork
is made in each town ; whereas in England it is
manufactured by machinery in great quantities and
at special places. At any rate, after travelling on
the Continent long enough to become calm and
observant, seeing, hearing, and, we may add,
scenting all around, the picture in the mind is full
of blue dresses, white stones, jingling of bells, and
the "cling, cling" of the never idle blacksmith.

This town of Meaux has a bridge with houses
on it, and great mill-wheels filling up the arches
as. they used to do in old London-bridge. Plea-
sant gardens front the river, and cafes glitter
there at night. These are not luxuries but posi-
tive necessaries of life for the Frenchman, and it
is their absence abroad which — we believe — is one
chief cause of his being so bad a colonist, for the
Frenchman has only the expression "with me" for
"home," and no word for "wife" but "woman."

The cathedral of Meaux is* grand and old, and

278 FORM AND CEREMONY.

see how they masquerade the service in it ! Look
at the gaunt " Suisse," with his cocked-hat kept
on in church, with his sword and spear. The
twenty priests and twelve red-surpliced boys intone
to about as many hearers. A monk escorted
through the church makes believe to sprinkle
holy water on all sides from that dirty plasterer's
brush, and then two boys carry on their shoulders
a huge round loaf, the " pain benit," which, after
fifty bowings, is blessed, and escorted back to be
cut up, and is then given in morsels to the con-
gregation. These endless ceremonies are the
meshes of the net of Popery, and they are well
woven to catch many Frenchmen, who must have
action, show, the visible tangible outside, whatever
may be meant by it.

This service sets one a-thinking. Some form
there must be in worship. One may suppose,
indeed, that perfect spirit can adore God without
attitude, or even any sequence or change. Yet in
the Bible we hear of Seraphs veiling their bodies
with their wings, and of elders prostrate at cer-
tain times, and saints that have a litany even in
heaven. Mortals must have some form of adora-
tion, but there is the question, How much ? and
on this great point how many wise and foolish
men have written books without end, or scarcely
any effect !

WISE DOGS. 279

The riverside was a good place for a quiet
Sunday walk. Here a flock of 300 sheep had
come to drink, and nibble at the flowers hanging
over the water, and the simple-hearted shepherd
stood looking on while his dogs rushed backward
and forward, yearning for some sheep to do
wrong, that their dog service might be required to
prevent or to punish naughty conduct. This
" Berger " inquires whether England is near
Africa, and how large our legs of mutton are,
and if we have sheep-dogs, and are there any
rivers in our island on the sea. Meanwhile at the
hotel the marriage party kept on " breakfasting,"
even until four o'clock, and non-melodious songs
were sung. The French, as a people, do not excel
in vocal music, either in tone or in harmony, but
then they are precise in time.

Afloat again next morning, and quite refreshed,
we prepared for a long day's work. The stream
was now clear, and the waving tresses of dark
green weeds gracefully curved under water, while
islands amid deep shady bays varied the landscape
above.

I saw a canal lock open, and paddled in merely
for variety, passing soon into a tunnel, in the
middle of which there was a huge boat fixed,
and nobody with it. The boat exactly filled the
tunnel, and the men had gone to their dinner, so I

280 BLOCKED IN A TUNNEL.

had first to drag their huge boat out, and then
the canoe proudly glided into daylight, having
a whole tunnel to itself.

At Lagny, where we were to breakfast, I left
my boat with a nice old gentleman, who was
fishing in a nightcap and spectacles, and he
assured me he would stop there two hours. But
when I scrambled back to it through the mill
(the miller's men amazed among their wholesome
dusty sacks), the disconsolate Rob Hoy was found
to be all alone, the first time she had been left in
a town an " unprotected female."

To escape a long serpent wind of the river, we
entered another canal and found it about a foot
deep, with clear water flowing pleasantly. This
seemed to be very fortunate, and it was enjoyed
most thoroughly for a few miles, little knowing
what was to come. Presently weeds began, then
clumps of great rushes, then large bushes and
trees, all growing with thick grass in the water,
and at length this got so dense that the prospect
before me was precisely like a very large hayfield,
with grass four feet high, all ready to be mowed,
but which had to be mercilessly rowed through.

This on a hot day without wind, and in a long
vista, unbroken by a man or a house, or anything
lively, was rather daunting, but we had gone too
far to recede with honour, and so by dint of push-

NO WATER.

281

•Canal Miseries."

ing and working I actually got the boat through
some miles of this novel obstruction (known only
this summer), and brought her safe and sound
again to the river. At one place there was a
bridge over this wet marsh, and two men hap-
pened to be going over it as the canoe came near.
They soon called to some neighbours, and the
row of spectators exhibited the faculty so notable
in French people and so rarely found with us,
that of being able to keep from laughing right
out at a foreigner in an awkward case. The
absurd sight of a man paddling a boat amid miles

282 ARBOUR AND GARRET.

of thick rushes was indeed a severe test of
courteous gravity. However, I must say that the
labour required to penetrate this marsh was far
less than one would suppose from the appearance
of the place. The sharp point of the boat
entered, and its smooth sides followed through
hedges, as it were, of aquatic plants, and, on the
whole (and after all was done !), I preferred the
trouble and muscular effort required then to that
of the monotonous calm of usual canal sailing.

Fairly in the broad river again the Rob Roy
came to Neuilly, and it was plain that my Sunday
rest had enabled over thirty miles to be accom-
plished without any fatigue at the end. With
some hesitation we selected an inn on the water-
side. The canoe was taken up to it and put on a
table in a summer-house, while my own bed was
in a garret where one could not stand upright —
the only occasion where I have been badly
housed ; and pray let no one be misled by the
name of this abode — " The Jolly Rowers."

Next day the river flowed fast again, and
numerous islands made the channels difficult to
find. The worst of these difficulties is that you
cannot prepare for them. No map gives any just
idea of your route — the people on the river itself
are profoundly ignorant of its navigation. For
instance, in starting, my landlord told me that in

IGNORANCE AND INGENUITY. 283

two hours we should reach Paris. After ten miles
an intelligent man said, " Distance from Paris ?
it is six hours from here; " while a third informed
me a little further on, " It is just three leagues
and a half from this spot."

The banks were now dotted with villas, and
numerous pleasure-boats were moored at neat
little stairs. The vast number of these boats
quite astonished me, and the more so as very
few of them were ever to be seen in actual use.

The French are certainly ingenious in their
boat-making, but more of ingenuity than of
practical exercise is seen on the water. On several
rivers we remarked the " walking machine," in
which a man can walk on the water by fixing
two small boats on his feet. A curious mode of
rowing with your face to the bows has lately
been invented by a Frenchman, and it is described
in the Appendix.

We stopped to breakfast at a new canal
cutting, and as there were many gamins about, I
fastened a stone to my painter and took the
boat out into the middle of the river, and so
left her moored within sight of the arbour,
where I sat, and also within sight of the ardent-
eyed boys who gazed for hours with wistful
looks on the tiny craft and its fluttering
flag. Their desire to handle as well as to see is

284 ODD FELLOWS.

only natural for these little fellows, and, there-
fore, if the lads behave well, I always make a
point of showing them the whole affair quite near,
after they have had to abstain from it so long
as a forbidden pleasure.

Strange that this quick curiosity of French
boys does not ripen more of them into travellers,
but it soon gets expended in trifling details of a
narrow circle, while the sober, sedate, nay, the
triste, Anglian is found scurrying over the world
with a carpet-bag, and pushing his way in foreign
crowds without one word of their language, and
all the while as merry as a lark. Among the odd
modes of locomotion adopted by Englishmen, we
have already mentioned that of the gentleman
travelling in Germany with a four-in-hand and
two spare horses. We met another Briton who
had made a tour in a road locomotive which he
bought for TOO/., and sold again at the same
price. One more John Bull, who regarded the
canoe as a "queer conveyance," went himself
abroad on a velocipede. None of these, however,
could cross seas, lakes, and rivers like the canoe,
which might be taken wherever a man could walk
or a plank could swim.

It seemed contrary to nature that, after thus
nearing pretty Paris, one's back was now to be
turned upon it for hours in order to have a wide,

ROUND AND ROUND. 285

vague, purposeless voyage into country parts. But
the river willed it so ; for here a great curve began
and led off to the left, while the traffic of the
Marne went straight through a canal to the right,
—through a canal, and therefore I would not
follow it there.

The river got less and less in volume ; its water
was used for the canal, and it could scarcely
trickle, with its maimed strength, through a
spacious sweep of real country life. Here we often
got grounded, got entangled in long mossy weeds,
got fastened in overhanging trees, and, in fact,
suffered all the evils which the smallest brook
had ever entailed, though this was a mighty
river.

The bend was more and more inexplicable, as it
turned more round and round, till my face was
full in the sunlight at noon, and I saw that the
course was now due south.

Rustics were there to look at me, and wonder-
ing herdsmen too, as if the boat was in mid
Germany, instead of being close to Paris. Evi-
dently boating men in that quarter never came
here by the river, and the Rob Roy was a rara
avis floating on a stream unused.

But the circle was rounded at last, as all circles
are, however large they be ; and we got back to
the common route, to civilization, fishing men

286 DREAM ON A BANK.

and fishing women, and on the broad Marne once
more. So here I stopped a bit for a ponder.

And now we unmoor for the last time, and
enter the Rob Roy for its final trip — the last few
miles of the Marne, and of more than a thousand
miles rowed and sailed since we started from
England. I will not disguise my feeling of
sadness then, and I wished that Paris was still
another day distant.

For this journey in a canoe has been interest-
ing, agreeable, and useful, though its incidents
may not be realized by reading what has now
been described. The sensation of novelty, free-
dom, health, and variety all day and every day
was what cannot be recited. The close acquaint-
ance with the people of strange lands, and the
constant observation of nature around, and the
unremitting attention necessary for progress, all
combine to make a voyage of this sort improving
to the mind thus kept alert, while the body
thoroughly enjoys life when regular hard exercise
in the open air dissipates the lethargy of these
warmer climes.

These were my thoughts as I came to the Seine
and found a cool bank to lie upon under the trees,
with my boat gently rocking in the ripples of the
stream below, and the nearer sound of a great
city telling that Paris was at hand. " Here/'

ON THE SEINE. 287

said I, " and now is my last hour of life savage
and free. Sunny days ; alone, but not solitary ;
worked, but not weary " — as in a dream the
things, places, and men I had seen floated before
my eyes half closed. The panorama was wide,
and fair to the mind's eye ; but it had a tale
always the same as it went quickly past — that
vacation was over, and work must begin.

Up, then, for this is not a life of mere enjoy-
ment. Again into the harness of " polite society,"
the hat, the collar, the braces, the gloves, the
waistcoat, the latch-key — perhaps, the razor —
certainly the umbrella. How every joint and
limb will rebel against these manacles, but they
must be endured !

The gradual approach to Paris by gliding down
the Seine was altogether a new sensation. By
diligence, railway, or steamer, you have nothing
like it — not certainly by walking into Paris along
a dusty road.

For now we are smoothly carried on a wide and
winding river, with nothing to do but to look and
to listen while the splendid panorama majestically
unfolds. Villas thicken, gardens get smaller as
houses are closer, trees get fewer as walls in-
crease. Barges line the banks, commerce and its
movement, luxury and its adornments, spires and
cupolas grow out of the dim horizon, and then

288 ALMOST OVER.

bridges seem to float towards me, and the hum
of life gets deeper and busier, while the pretty
little prattling of the river stream yields to the
roar of traffic, and to that indescribable thrill
which throbs in the air around this the capital of
the Continent, the centre of the politics, the focus
of the pleasure and the splendour of the world.

In passing the island at Notre Dame I for-
tunately took the proper side, but even then we
found a very awkward rush of water under the
bridges. This was caused by the extreme low-
ness of the river, which on this very day was
three feet lower than in the memory of man.
The fall over each barrier, though wide enough,
was so shallow that I saw at the last bridge the
crowd above me evidently calculated upon my
being upset ; and they were nearly right too.
The absence of other boats showed me (now
experienced in such omens) that some great
difficulty was at hand, but I also remarked that
by far the greater number of observers had col-
lected over one particular arch, where at first
there seemed to be the very worst chance for
getting through. By logical deduction I argued,
" that must be the best arch, after all, for they
evidently expect I will try it," and, with a horrid
presentiment that my first upset was to be at my
last bridge, I boldly dashed forward — whirl, whirl

NO ADMITTANCE. 289

the waves, and grate — grate — my iron keel ; but
the Rob Hoy rises to the occasion, and a rewarding
Bravo ! from the Frenchmen above is answered
by a British "All right " from the boat below.

~No town was so hard to find a place for the
canoe in as the bright, gay Paris. I went to the
floating baths ; they would not have me. We
paddled to the funny old ship ; they shook their
heads. We tried a coal wharf; but they were only
civil there. Even the worthy washerwomen,
my quondam friends, were altogether callous now
about a harbour for the canoe.

In desperation we paddled to a bath that was
being repaired, but when my boat rounded the
corner it was met by a volley of abuse from the
proprietor for disturbing his fishing ; he was just
in the act of expecting the final bite of a goitjon.

Relenting as we apologized and told the Rob
Roy's tale, he housed her there for the night ; and
I shouldered my luggage and wended my way to
an hotel.

Here is Meurice's, with the homeward tide of
Britons from every Alp and cave of Europe flow-
ing through its salons. Here are the gay streets,
too white to be looked at in the sun, and the
poupee theatres under the trees, and the dandies
driving so stiff in hired carriages, and the dapper,
little soldiers, and the gilded cafes.

290 SAFE HOME.

Yes, it is Paris — and more brilliant than ever !

I faintly tried to hope, but — pray pardon me —
I utterly failed to believe that any person there
had enjoyed his summer months with such exces-
sive delight as the captain, the purser, the ship's
cook, and cabin boy of the Rob Roy canoe.

Eight francs take the boat by rail to Calais.
Two shillings take her thence to Dover. The
railway takes her free to Charing Cross, and
there two porters put her in the Thames again.

A flowing tide, on a sunny evening, bears her
fast and cheerily straight to Searle's, there to
debark the Bob Roy's cargo safe and sound and
thankful, and to plant once more upon the shore
of old England

The flag that braved a thousand miles,
The rapid and the snag.

APPENDIX,

GOSSIP ASHORE ABOUT THINGS AFLOAT.

THOSE who intend to make a river voyage on the
Continent — and several canoes are preparing for this
purpose — will probably feel interested in some of the
following information, while other readers of these
pages may be indulgent enough to excuse the relation
of a few particulars and technical details.

It is proposed, then, to give, first, a description of
the canoe considered to be most suitable for a voyage
of this sort after experience has aided in modifying
the dimensions of the boat already used ; second, an
inventory of the cargo or luggage of the Rob Roy,
with remarks on the subject, for the guidance of
future passengers.

Next there will be found some notes upon rocks
and currents in broken water ; and lastly, some
further remarks on the "Kent," and a few miscel-
laneous observations upon various points.

Although the Rob Roy and its luggage were not
prepared until after much cogitation, it is well that
intending canoists should have the benefit of what
v 2

292 APPENDIX.

experience has since proved as to the faults and
virtues of the arrangements devised for a first trip,
after these have been thoroughly tasted in so pleasant
a tour.

The best dimensions for the canoe appear to be —
length, 14 feet [15]*; beam, 26 inches [28], six
inches abaft the midship ; depth outside, from keel
to deck, 9 inches ; camber, 1 inch [2] ; keel, 1 inch,
with a strip of iron, half an inch broad, carefully
secured all the way below, and a copper strip up the
stem and stern posts, and round the top of each of
them.

The new canoe now building will have the beam
at the water's edge, and the upper plank will " topple
in," so that the cedar deck will be only 20 inches
wide.

The "well" or opening in the deck should be
4 feet long [4 feet 6 inches] and 20 inches wide,
with a strong combing all round, sloping forward,
but not more than 1 inch [2] high at the bow end.
This opening should be semicircular at the ends, both
for appearance sake and strength and convenience,
so as to avoid corners. The macintosh sheet to cover
this must be strong, to resist constant wear, light
coloured, for the sun's heat, and so attached as to
be readily loosened and made fast again, say 20
times a day, and by cords which will instantly break
if you have to jump out. In the new canoe this
macintosh (the most difficult part of the equipment

* The figures in [ ] are the dimensions of the old Kob Boy.

APPENDIX. 293

to arrange) is 18 inches long, and a light wooden
hatch covers the fore part, an arrangement found
to be most successful.

A water-tight compartment in the hull is a mis-
take. Its partition prevents access to breakages
within, and arrests the circulation of air, and it cannot
be kept long perfectly staunch. There should be extra
timbers near the seat.

The canoe must be so constructed as to endure
without injury, (1) to be lifted by any part whatever ;
(2) to be rested on any part \ (3) to be sat upon while
aground, on any part of the deck, the combing, and
the interior.

Wheels for transport have been often suggested,
but they would be useless. On plain ground or grass
you can readily do without them. On rocks and
rough ground, or over ditches and through hedges,
wheels could not be employed, and at all times they
would be in the way. Bilge pieces are not required.
Strength must be had without them, and their pro-
jections seriously complicate the difficulties of pushing
the boat over a pointed rock, both when afloat and
when ashore ; besides, as they are not parallel to the
keel they very much retard the boat's speed.

The paddle should be 7 feet long (not more),
weight, 2 Ibs. 9 oz., strong, with blades 6 inches
broad, ends rounded, thick, and banded with copper.
There should be conical cups of vulcanised India
rubber to catch the dribbling water, and, if possible,
some plan (not yet devised) for preventing or arresting
the drops from the paddle ends, which fall on the

294 APPENDIX.

deck when you paddle slowly, and when there is not
cenough entrifugal force to throw this water away
from the boat.

The painter ought to be of the best flexible rope,
not tarred, well able to bear 2001b. weight; more
than 20 feet of rope is a constant encumbrance. The
ends should be silk- whipped and secured through a
hole in the stem post and another in the stern post
(so that either or both ends can be readily cast off);
the slack may be coiled on deck behind you.

There should be a back support of two wooden
slips, each 15 inches by 3 inches, placed like the side
strokes of the letter H, and an inch apart, but laced
together with cord, or joined by a strip of cloth.
Rest them against the edge of the combing, and so
as to be free to yield to the motion of the back at each
stroke, without hurting the spine. If made fast so as
always to project, they are much in the way of the
painter in critical times. They may be hinged below
so as to fold down as you get out, but in this case they
are in the way when you are getting in and wish to
sit down in an instant ready for work.

The mast should be 5 feet long, strong enough to
stand gales without stays, stepped just forward of the
stretcher, in a tube an inch above deck, and so as to
be struck without difficulty in a squall, or when
Hearing trees, or a bridge, barrier, ferry-rope, bank,
or waterfall, or when going aground.

The sail, if a lug, should have a fore leach of 3 feet
10 inches, a head of 3 feet 6 inches, and a foot of 4 feet
6 inches ; yard and boom of bamboo.

APPENDIX. 295

The boat can well stand more sail than this at sea,
or in lakes and broad channels, but the foregoing size
for a lug is quite large enough to manage in stiff
breezes and in narrow rocky tortuous rivers.

A spritsail would be better in some respects, but
no plan has, as yet, been suggested to me for instantly
striking the sprit without endangering the deck, so
I mean to use a lug still.

The material of the sail should be strong cotton,
in one piece, without any eyelet or hole whatever, but
with a broad hem, enclosing well- stretched cord all
round. A jib is of little use as a saiL It is apt to get
aback in sudden turns. Besides, you must land either
to set it or to take in its outhaul, so as to be quite snug.
But the jib does well to tie on the shoulders when
they are turned to a fierce sun. The boom should be
attached by a brass shackle, so that when "topped"
or folded its end closes on the top of the mast. The
sails (with the boom and yard) should be rolled up
round the mast compactly, to be stowed away for-
ward, so that the end of the mast resting on the
stretcher will keep the roll of sails out of the wet.
The flag and its staff when not fast at the mast-head
(by two metal loops) should fit into the mast-step,
and the flag-staff, 24 inches long, should be light,
so as not to sink if it falls overboard, as one of
mine did.

The floor-boards should be strong, and easily de-
tachable, so that one of them can be at once used as
a paddle if that falls overboard. They should come
six inches short of the stern end of a light seat, which

296 APPENDIX.

can thus rest on the timbers, so as to be as low as
possible, and its top should be of strong cane open-
work.

The stretcher should have only one length, and let
this be carefully determined after trial before starting.
The two sides of its foot-board should be high and
broad, while the middle may be cut down to let the
hand get to the mast. The stretcher should, of course,
be moveable, in order that you may lie down with the
legs at full length for repose.

One brass cleat for belaying the halyard should be
on deck, about the middle, and on the right-hand side;
A stud on the other side, and this cleat will do to
make the sheet fast to by one turn on either tack.

LIST OF STORES ON BOARD THE ROB ROY.

1. Useful Stores.— Paddle, painter (31 feet at first,
but cut down to 20 feet), sponge, waterproof cover,
5 feet by 2 feet 3 inches, silk blue union jack, 10 inches
by 8 inches, on a staff 2 feet long. Mast, boom, and
yard. Lug sail, jib, and spare jib (used as a sun shawl).
Stretcher, two back boards, floor boards, basket to sit on
(12 inches by 6 inches, by 1 inch deep), and holding a
macintosh coat. For repairs — iron and brass screws,
sheet copper and copper nails, putty and whitelead, a
gimlet, cord, string, and thread, one spare button,
needle, pins, canvas wading shoes (wooden clogs would

APPENDIX. 297

be better) ; all the above should be left with the boat.
Black bag for 3 months' luggage, size, 12 inches by 12
inches, by 5 inches deep (just right), closed by three
buttons, and with shoulder-strap. Flannel Norfolk
jacket (flaps not too long, else they dip in the water,
or the pockets are inverted in getting out and in);
wide flannel trousers, gathered by a broad back buckle
belt, second trousers for shore should have braces, but
in the boat the back buttons are in the way. Flannel
shirt on, and another for shore. A straw hat is the
very best for use — while writing this there are 16
various head covers before me used in different tours,
but the straw hat is best of all for boating. Thin
alpaca black Sunday coat, thick waistcoat, black leather
light-soled spring-sided shoes (should be strong for
rocks and village pavements), cloth cap (only used as
a bag), 2 collars, 3 pocket handkerchiefs, ribbon tie,
2 pair of cotton socks (easily got off for sudden wading,
and drying quickly when put on deck in the sun).
Brush, comb, and tooth-brush. Testament, passport
(will be scarcely needed this season), leather purse, large
(and full), circular notes, small change in silver and
copper for frequent use, blue spectacles in strong case,
book for journal and sketches, black, blue, and red
chalk, and steel pen. Maps, cutting off a six inch
square at a time for pocket reference. Pipe, tobacco-
case, and light-box (metal, to resist moisture from
without and within), Guide books and pleasant evening
reading book. You should cut off covers and all use-
less pages of books, and every page as read ; no
needless weight should be earned hundreds of miles j

298 APPENDIX.

even a fly settling on the boat must be refused a free
passage. Illustrated papers, tracts, and anecdotes in
French and German for Sunday reading and daily
distribution (far too few had been taken, they were
always well received). Medicine (rhubarb and court
plaister), small knife, and pencil. Messrs. Silver's,
in Bishopsgate, is the place for stores.

2. Useless Articles. — Boathook, undervest, water-
proof helmet ventilated cap, foreign Conversation books,
glass seltzer bottle and patent cork (for a drinking
flask), tweezers for thorns.

3. Lost or Stolen Articles. — Bag for back cushion,
waterproof bag for sitting cushion, long knife, necktie,
woven waistcoat, box of quinine, steel-hafted knife.
These, except the last of them, were not missed. I
bought another thick waistcoat from a Jew.

ROCKS AND CURRENTS.

A few remarks may now be made upon the princi-
pal cases in which rocks and currents have to be dealt
with by the canoist.

Even if a set of rules could be laid down for the
management of a boat in the difficult parts of a river,
it would not be made easier until practice has given
the boatman that quick judgment as to their applica-
tion which has to be patiently acquired in this and
other athletic exercises, such as riding or skating,
and even in walking.

The canoist, who passes many hours every day for

APPENDIX. 299

months together in the earnest consideration of the
river problems always set before him for solution,
will probably feel some interest in this attempt to
classify those that occur most frequently.

Steering a boat in a current among rocks is not
unlike walking on a crowded pavement, where the
other passengers are going in various directions, and at
various speeds ; and this operation of threading your
way in the streets requires a great deal of practice,
and not a few lessons enforced by collisions, to make
a pedestrian thoroughly au fait as a good man in a
crowd. After years of walking through crowds, there
is produced by this education of the mind and training
of the body a certain power — not possessed by a novice
— which insensibly directs a man in his course and his
speed, but still his judgment has had insensibly to take
cognizance of many varying data in the movements of
other people which must have their effect upon each
step he takes.

After this capacity becomes, as it were, instinctive,
or, at any rate, acts almost involuntarily, a man can
walk briskly along Fleet-street at 4 p.m., and, without
any distinct thought about other people, or about his
own progress, he can safely get to his journey's end.
Indeed, if he does begin to think of rules or how to
apply them systematically, he is then almost sure to
knock up against somebody else. Nay, if two men
meet as they walk through a crowd, and each of them
" catches the eye " of the other, they will probably
cease to move instinctively, and, with uncertain data
to reason from, a collision is often the result.

As the descent of a current among rocks resembles

300 APPENDIX.

a walk along the pavement through a crowd, so the
passage across a rapid is even more strictly in resem-
blance with the course of a man who has to cross a
street where vehicles are passing at uncertain intervals
and at various speeds, though all in the same direction.
For it is plain that the thing to be done is nearly the
same, whether the obstacles (as breakers) are fixed and
the current carries you towards them, or the obstacles
(as cabs and carts) are moving, while you have to walk
through them on terra firma.

To cross Park-lane in the afternoon requires the
very same sort of calculation as the passage across the
stream in a rapid on the Rhine.

The importance of this subject of "boating instinct"
will be considered sufficient to justify these remarks
when the canoist has by much practice at last attained
to that desirable proficiency which enables him to
steer without thinking about it, and therefore to enjoy
the conversation of other people on the bank or the
scenery, while he is rapidly speeding through rocks,
eddies, and currents.

We may divide the rocks thus encountered in fast
water into two classes — (1) Those that are sunk, so
that the boat can float over them, and which do not
deflect the direction of the surface current. (2) Those
that are breakers, and so deflect the current, and do
not allow the boat to float over them.

The currents may be divided into — (1) Those that
are equable in force, and in the same direction through
the course to be steered. (2) Those that alter their
direction in a part of that course.
, In the problems before the canoist will be found the

302

APPENDIX.

FIG. 2,

FIG. 5

FIG. 3.,

APPENDIX. 303

combinations of every degree and variety of these
rocks and currents, but the actual circumstances he
has to deal with at any specified moment may — it is
believed — be generally ranged under one or other of
the six cases depicted in the accompanying woodcut.

In each of the figures in the diagram the current is
supposed to run towards the top of the page, and the
general course of the canoe is supposed to be with the
current. The particular direction of the current is
indicated by the dotted lines. The rocks when
shaded are supposed to be sunk, and when not
shaded they are breakers. Thus the current is uniform
in figs. 1, 2, 3 ; and it is otherwise in figs. 4, 5, 6.
The rocks are all sunk in figs. 1, 2, 3, and 5 ; whereas
in figs. 4 and 6 there are breakers. The black line in
these figures, and in all the others, shows the proper
course of the centre of the boat, and it is well to
habituate oneself to make the course such as that this
line shall never be nearer to the rock than one-half
of the boat's length.

The simplest case that can occur is when the
canoe is merely floating without "way" through a
current, and the current bears it near a rock. If this
be a breaker, the current, being deflected, will gene-
rally carry the boat to one side. The steering in
such cases is so easy, and its frequent occurrence
gives so much practice, that no more need be said
about it.

But if the rock be a sunk rock, and if it be not quite
plain from the appearance of the water that there is
depth enough over the rock to float the boat, then it is

304 APPENDIX.

necessary to pass either above the rock, as in fig. 1, or
below it, as in fig. 2.

A few days' practice is not thrown away if the
canoist seizes every opportunity of performing under
easy circumstances feats which may at other times
have to be done under necessity, and which would
not be so well done if attempted then for the first
time.

Let him, therefore, as soon as possible, become adept
in crossing above or below a single sunk rock with
his boat's bow pointed to any angle of the semicircle
before him.

Next we have to consider the cases in which more
than one rock will have to be avoided. Now, however
great the number of the rocks may be, they can be
divided into sets of three, and in each of the figures
3, 4, 5, 6 it is supposed that (for reasons which may be
different in each case, but always sufficient) the canoe
has to pass between rocks A and .5, and then between
B and C, but must not pass otherwise between A
and G.

In fig. 3 the course is below .#, and above (7, being
a combination of the instance in fig. 2 with that in
fig. 1.

The precise angle to the line of the course which
the boat's longer axis ought to have will depend upon
what is to be done next after passing between B
and (7, and hence the importance of being able to
effect the passages in fig. 1 and fig. 2 with the axis at
any required angle.

We may next suppose that one of the three rocks,

APPENDIX. 305

say J3, as in fig. 4, is a breaker which will deflect
the current (as indicated by the dotted stream lines),
and it will then be necessary to modify the angle of
the boat's axis, though the boat's centre has to be
kept in the same course as before.

It will be seen at once that if A were a breaker the
angle would be influenced in another manner, and
that if C were a breaker the angle at which the boat
should emerge from the group of rocks would be
influenced by the stream from C also ; but it is only
necessary to remind the reader that all the combina-
tions and permutations of breakers and sunk rocks
need not be separately discussed, — they may be met
by the experience obtained in one case of each class of
circu mstances.

Fig. 5 represents a circular current over the group
of three rocks. This is a very deceptive case, for it
looks so easy that at first it is likely to be treated care-
lessly. If the boat were supposed to be a substance
floating, but without weight, it would have its direction
of motion instantly altered by that of the current. But
the boat has weight, and as it has velocity (that
of the current even if the boat is not urged also by the
paddle so as to have "way" through the water), there-
fore it will have momentum, and the tendency will be
to continue the motion in a straight line, instead of a
curve guided solely by the current. In all these cases,
therefore, it will be found (sometimes inexplicably
unless with these considerations) that the boat insists
upon passing between A and (7, where it must not
be allowed to go on the hypothesis we have started
x

306 APPENDIX.

with ; and if it effects a compromise by running upon
(7, this is by no means satisfactory.

This class of cases includes all those in which the river
makes a quick turn round a rock or a tongue £, where
the boundary formed by the rock A on the outer
bend of the stream is a solid bank, or a fringe of
growing trees, or of faggots artificially built as a pro-
tection against the erosion of the water. This case
occurs, therefore, very frequently in some fast rivers,
say, at least, a hundred times in a day's work,, and
perhaps no test of a man's experience and capacity as
a canoist is more decisive than his manner of steering
round a fast, sharp bend.

The tendency of the canoist in such cases is always
to bring the boat round by paddling forward with the
outer hand, thereby adding to the " way," and making
the force of the current in its circular turn less
powerful relatively. Whereas, the proper plan is to
back \vith the inner hand, and so to stop all way in
the direction of the boat's length, and to give the cur-
rent its full force on the boat. Repeated lessons are
needed before this is learned thoroughly.

The case we have last remarked upon is made easier
if either A or G is a breaker, but it is very much in-
creased in difficulty if the rock B is a breaker or is a
strong tongue of bank, ancl so deflects the current out-
wards at this critical point.

The difficulty is often increased by the fact that the
water inside of the curve of the stream may be shoal,
and so the paddle on that side strikes the bottom or
grinds along it in backing.

APPENDIX. 307

When the curve is all in deep water, and there is a
pool after 12, the boat ought not to be turned too
quickly in endeavouring to avoid the rock (?, else it
will sometimes then enter the eddy below B, which
runs up stream sometimes for fifty yards. In such a
case the absurd position you are thereby thrown into
naturally causes you to struggle to resist or stem this
current; but I have found, after repeated trials of
every plan I could think of, that if once the back
current has taken the canoe it is best to let the boat
swing with the eddy so as to make an entire circuit,
until the bow can come back towards E (and below
it), when the nose of the boat may be again thrust into
the main stream, which will now turn the boat round
again to its proper course. Much time and labour
may be spent uselessly in a wrong and obstinate contest
with an eddy.

In fig. 6, where the three rocks are in a straight
line, and the middle one is a breaker, an instance is
given when the proper course must be kept by
bacldng during the first part of it.

We must suppose for this that the canoist has attained
the power of backing with perfect ease, for it will be
quite necessary if he intends to take his boat safely
through several hundred combinations of sunk rocks
and breakers. Presuming this, the ease in fig. 6 will
be easy enough, though a little reflection will show
that it might be very difficult, or almost impossible,
if the canoist could give only a forward motion to
the boat.

To pass most artistically, then, through the group
x 2

308 APPENDIX.

of rocks in fig. 6 the stern should be turned towards
A, as shown in the diagram, and the passage across
the current, between A and B, is to be effected solely
by backing water (and chiefly in this case with the
left hand) until the furthest point of the right of the
curve is reached, with the boat's length still as before
in the position represented in the figure. Then the
forward action of both hands will take the canoe
speedily through the passage between B and C.

Cases of this sort are rendered more difficult by the
distance of C from the point above J., where you are
situated when the decision has to be made (and in
three instants of time) as to what must be done ; also, it
would usually be imprudent to rise in the boat in such
a place to survey the rock C from a better position.

If it is evident that the plan described above will
not be applicable, because other and future circum-
stances will require the boat's bow to emerge in the
opposite direction (pointing to the right), then you must
enter forwards, and must back between £ and (7, so as
to be ready, after passing (7, to drive forward, and to
the right. It is plain that this is very much more
difficult than the former case, for your backing now
has to be done against the full stream from the
breaker B.

In all these instances the action of the wind has been
entirely omitted from consideration, but it must not
be forgotten that a strong breeze materially complicates
the problem before the canoist. This is especially so
when the wind is aft ; when it is ahead you are not
likely to forget its presence. A strong fair wind (that

APPENDIX. 309

has scarcely been felt with your back to it) and the
swift stream and the boat's speed from paddling being
all in one direction, the breeze will suddenly become
a new element in the case when you try to cross
above a rock as in fig. 1, and find the wind carries
you broadside on against all your calculations.

Nor have I any observations to make as to sailing
among rocks in a current. The canoe must be directed
solely by the paddle in a long rapid, and in the other
places the course to be steered by a boat sailing is
the same as if it were being merely paddled, though
the action of the wind has to be carefully taken into
consideration.

In all these things boldness and skill come only
after lessons of experience, and the canoist will find
himself ready and able, at the end of his voyage, to
sail down a rapid which he would have approached
timidly, even with the paddle, at the beginning.

But perhaps enough has been said for the expe-
rienced oarsman, while surely more than enough has
been said to shew the tyro aspirant what varied work
he has to do, and how interesting are the circum-
stances that will occupy his attention on a delightful
river tour.

NOTE ON THE " KENT." — The narrative of a ship-
wreck referred to at page 219 has been published 40
years ago, and in many foreign languages, but its circu-
lation is very large at the present time. The following

310 APPENDIX.

letter about one of the incidents related in the little
book, appeared in the "Times" of March 22, 1866 :—

" LETTERS FROM THE DEEP.
" To the Editor of the ' Times:

" Sir, — As attention has been drawn to the letters
written on board the ship London, and washed ashore,
it may be interesting to notice the following remark-
able incident respecting a letter from another ship
wrecked in the Bay of Biscay. In March, 1825, the
Kent, East Indiaman, took tire in the Bay of Biscay
during a storm while 641 persons were on board,
most of them soldiers of the 31st Regiment. When all
hope was gone, and before a little vessel was seen
which ultimately saved more than 500 people from the

Kent, Major wrote a few lines and enclosed the

paper in a bottle, which was left in the cabin. Nine-
teen months after this the writer of the paper arrived
in the island of Barbadoes, in command of another
Regiment, and he was amazed to find that the bottle
(cast into the sea by the explosion that destroyed the
Kent) had been washed ashore on that very island.
The paper, with its faint pencil lines expressing Chris-
tian faith, is still preserved ; and this account of it
can be authenticated by those who were saved.
" I am, your obedient servant,

"ONE OF THEM."

The bottle, after its long immersion, was thickly
covered with weeds and barnacles. The following
are the words of the " Letter from the Deep," which
it contained : —

APPENDIX. 311

" The ship the Kent, Indiaman, is on fire —
Elizabeth Joanna and myself commit our spirits
into the hands of our blessed Redeemer — His
grace enables us to be quite composed in the
awful prospect of entering eternity.

"D. M'GREGOR.

" 1st March, 1825, Bay of Biscay."

The writer of that letter lives now with blessings on
his venerable head, while he who records -it anew is
humbly grateful to God for his own preservation.
And may we not say of every one who reads such
words, written in such an hour, that his life would be
unspeakably happy if he could lay hold now of so firm
a Surety, and be certain to keep fast hold to the end ?

The following notes are on miscellaneous points : —

(a) We are sometimes asked about such a canoe
voyage as this, "Is it not very dangerous?"

There seems to me to be no necessary danger in the
descent of a river in a canoe ; but if you desire to
make it as safe as possible you must get out at each
difficult place and examine the course, and if the
course is too difficult you may take the boat past the
danger by land.

On the other hand, if the excitement and novelty
of finding out a course on the spur of the moment
is to be enjoyed, then, no doubt, there is more danger
to the boat.

As for danger to the canoist, it is supposed,
imprimis, that he is well able to swim, not only in

312 APPENDIX.

a bath when stripped, but when unexpectedly thrown
into the water with his clothes on, and that he knows
he can rely on this capacity.

If this be so, the chief danger to him occurs when
he meets a steamer on rough water (rare enough on such
a tour) ; for if his boat is upset by that, and his head
is broken by the paddle floats, the swimming powers
are futile for safety.

The danger incurred by the boat is certainly both
considerable and frequent, but nothing short of the
persuasion that the- boat would.be smashed if a great
exertion is not made will incite the canoist to those
very exertions which are the charm of travelling,
when spirit, strength, and skill are to be proved.
Men have their various lines of exercise as they have
of duty. The huntsman may not understand the
pleasures of a rapid, nor the boatman care for the
delights of a "bullfinch." Certainly, however, the
waterman can say that a good horse may carry a bad
rider well, but that the best boat will not take a bad
boatman through a mile of broken water. In each
case there is, perhaps, a little of populus me sibilat,
and it may possibly be made up for by a good deal of
at mihi plaudo.

(6) It has been said that the constant use of a canoe
paddle must contract the chest, but this is certainly a
mistake. If, indeed, you merely dabble each blade of
the paddle in the water without taking the full length
of the stroke the shoulders are not thrown back, and the
effect will be injurious ; but exactly the same is true if
you scull or row with a short jerky stroke.

APPENDIX. 313

In a proper use of the paddle the arms ought to be
in turn fully extended, and then brought well back, so
that the hand touches the side, and the chest is then
well plied in both directions.

In using the single-bladed paddle, of which I have
had experience in Canada and New Brunswick with
the Indians in bark canoes and log canoes, there seems
to be a less beneficial action on the pectoral muscles,
but after three months' use of the double paddle I
found the arms much strengthened, while clothes that
fitted before were all too narrow round the chest
when put on after this exercise.

(c) In shallow water the paddle should be clasped
lightly, so that if it strikes the bottom or a rock the
hand will yield and not the blade be broken.

Great caution should be used when placing the blade
in advance to meet a rock, or even a gravel bank,
otherwise it gets jammed in the rock or gravel, or the
boat overrides it.

It is better in such a case to retard the speed rather
by dragging the paddle (tenderly), and always with its
flat side downwards, so that the edge does not get
nipped.

(d) M. Farcot, a French engineer, has lately exhibited
on the Thames a boat which is rowed by the oarsman
sitting with his face to the bow, who by this means
secures one of the advantages of the canoe — that of
seeing where you are going.

To effect this, a short prop or mast about three feet
high is fixed in the boat, and the two sculls are jointed
to it by their handles, while their weight is partly

314 APPENDIX.

sustained by a strong spiral spring acting near the
joint, and in 'such a manner as to keep the blade of the
scull a few inches from the surface of the water when
it is not pressed down purposely.

The sculler then sits with his face towards the mast
and the bow, and he holds in each hand a rod jointed
to the loom .of the corresponding scull. By this means
each scull is moved on the mast as a fulcrum with the
power applied between that and the water. The
operation of feathering is partially performed, and
to facilitate this there is an ingeniously contrived
guide.

This invention appears to be new, but it is evident
that the plan retains many of the disadvantages of
common sculls, and it leaves the double paddle quite
alone as a simple means for propelling a canoe in
narrow or tortuous channels, or where it has to meet
waves, weeds, rocks, or trees, and moreover has to
sail.

However, the muscular power of the arms can be
applied with good eifect in this new manner, and I
found it not very difficult to learn the use of this
French rowing apparatus, which is undoubtedly very
ingenious, and deserves a full trial before a verdict is
pronounced.

(e) In a difficult place where the boat is evidently
going too near a rock, the disposition of the canoist is to
change the direction by a forward stroke on one side,
but this adds to the force with which a collision may be
invested. It is often better to back a stroke on the other
side, and thus to lessen this force j and this is nearly

APPENDIX. 315

always possible to be done even when the boat appears
to be simply drifting on the stream. In fact, as a
maxim, there is always steerage way sufficient to en-
able the paddle to be used exactly as a rudder.

(f) When there is a brilliant glare of the sun, and it
is low, and directly in front, and it is impossible to bear
its reflection on the water, a good plan is to direct the
bow to some point you are to steer for, and then ob-
serve the reflection of the sun on the cedar deck of the
boat. Having done this you may lower the peak of
your hat so as to cut off the direct rays of the sun, and
its reflected rays on the water, while you steer simply
by the light on the deck.

(g) When a great current moves across a river to a
point where it seems very unlikely to have an exit, you
may be certain that some unusual conformation of the
banks or of the river bed will be found there, and
caution should be used in approaching the place. This,
however, is less necessary when the river is deep.
Such cross currents are frequent on the Rhine, but
they result merely from un evenness in the bottom far
below, and thus we see how the rapids, most dangerous
when the river is low, become quite agreeable and
safe in high flood time.

(h) The ripple and bubbles among weeds are so totally
different from those on free water that their appearance
at a distance as a criterion of the depth, current, and
direction of the channel must be learned separately.
In general, where weeds are under water, and can
sway or wave about, there will be water enough to
pass — the requisite 3 inches. Backing up stream

316 APPENDIX.

against long weeds is so troublesome, and so sure
to sway the stern round athwart stream, that it is
best to force the boat forward instead, even if you
have to get out and pull her through.

(i) Paddling through rushes, or flags, or other plants
above the water, so as to cut off a corner, is a mistake.
Much more " way " is lost then by the friction than
might be supposed.

(J) I noticed a very curious boat-bridge across the
Rhine below Basle. It seemed to open wide without
swinging, and on coming close to it the plan was found
to be this. The boats of one half of the bridge were
drawn towards the shore, and a stage connecting them
ran on wheels along rails inwards from the river, and
up an incline on the bank. This system is ingenious,
convenient, and philosophical.

(k) Double-hulled boats have often been tried for
sailing, but their disadvantages are manifest when the
craft is on a large scale, though for toy-boats they
answer admirably, and they are now quite fashion-
able on the Serpentine.

The double boat of the nautical tinman on the
Rhine, before described, was a " fond conceit." But
there are many double-hulled boats on French rivers,
and they have this sole recommendation, that you sit
high up, and so can fish without fearing you may
" turn the turtle."

When the two hulls are reduced as much as pos-
sible, this sort of boat becomes an aquatic " walk-
ing machine," for one foot then .rests on each hull.
Propulsion is obtained either by linking the hulls

APPENDIX. 317

together with parallel bars moving on studs, while vanes
are on each side, so as to act like fins, and to collapse
for the alternate forward stroke of each foot bound to
its hull — or a square paddle, or a pole works on the
water or on the bottom. I have always noticed that
the proprietors of such craft are ingenious, obstinate
men, proud of their peculiar mode, and very touchy
when it is criticised. However, it is usually best,
and it is fortunately always easy, to paddle away from
them.

(I) The hard exercise of canoe paddling, the open-air
motion, constant working of the muscles about the
stomach, and free perspiration result in good appetite
and pleasant sleepiness at night. But at the end of
the voyage the change of diet and cessation of exercise
will be apt to cause derangement in the whole system,
and especially in the digestion, if the high condition or
" training " be not cautiously lowered into the hum-
drum " constitutionals " of more ordinary life. Still I
have found it very agreeable to take a paddle in the
Rob Roy up to Hammersmith and back even in
December and March.

The last public occasion on which she appeared
was on April 17, when the captain offered her aid
to the Chief Constructor of the Navy in the effort
of the Admiralty to launch the ironclad Northumber-
land. The offer was eagerly accepted, and the launch
was accordingly successful.

The Rob Roy has since departed for a voyage to
Norway and Iceland in the schooner yacht Sappho,
whose young owner, Mr. W. F. Lawton, has promised

318 APPENDIX.

" to be kind to her." It is intended that a new Rob
Roy should make a voyage next summer with another
canoe called the "Robin Hood."

(ra) Other pleasant voyages may be suggested for the
holiday of the canoist. One of these might begin with
the Thames, and then down the Severn, along the
north coast of Devon, and so by the river Dart to
Plymouth. Another on the Solent, and round the
Isle of Wight. The Dee might be descended by the
canoe, and then to the left through the Menai Straits.
Or a longer trip may be made through the Cumber-
land lakes by Windermere and the Derwent, or from
Edinburgh by the Forth, into the Clyde, and through
the Kyles of Bute to Oban ; then along the Caledonian
Canal, until the voyager can get into the Tay for a
swift run eastward.

But why not begin at Gothenburg and pass through
the pretty lakes of Sweden to Stockholm, and then
skirt the lovely archipelago of green isles in the Gulf
of Bothnia, until you get to Petersburg ?

For one or other of such tours a fishing-rod and an
air rifle, and for all of them a little dog, would be a
great addition to the outfit.

In some breezy lake of these perhaps, or on some
rushing river, the little Rob Roy may hope to meet
the reader's canoe ; and when the sun is setting, and
the wavelets ripple sleepily, the pleasures of the paddle
will be known far better than they have been told by
the pen.

C. A. Macintosh, Printer, Great New-street, London.

House, Ludgate
April, 1866.

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MILTON HOUSE, LUDGATE HILL.

a Utst of

PUBLISHING BY

SAMPSON LOW, SON, AND MARSTON.

MILTON HOUSE, LUDGATE HILL, LONDON.

When the price is not given, the work was not ready at the time of issuing
this list.

[February 1, 1866.

NEW ILLUSTRATED WORKS.
'HE GEE AT SCHOOLS OF ENGLAND. A

History of the Foundation, Endowments, and Discipline of
the chief Seminaries of Learning in England; including
Eton, Winchester, Westminster, St. Paul's, Charterhouse,
Merchant Taylors', Harrow, Rugby, Shrewsbury, &c ; with
notices of distinguished Scholars. By Howard Staunton,
Esq. With numerous Illustrations. One volume 8vo., handsomely
bound in cloth, price 12s.

" The book is as full of solid matter as of gossiping narrative and
pleasant anecdote. A.S a handbook to our great schools Mr. Staunton's
volume will have a wide class of readers." — Athenaeum.

" Cannot fail to be interesting to all fathers and mothers, and it appeals
to the sympathies of everyone who Juts been a boy, and has been educated
at a public school. Good store of anecdote, amusing and pathetic, has
been provided; and the exquisite letters written to the famous poet, soldier,
and gentleman, Sir Philip Sydney, by his father and mother, when the
future ' Scipio, Cicero, and Petrarch of his time' was a boy at Shrewsbury,
are ivonderfully moving, and worthy 'of the attention of every father,
evtry mother, and every son." — Illustrated London News.

" The work is so full of practical information on the details of school
life at these great foundations that it may be regarded as a guide book to
all who contemplate sending their sons thither. For all such t/ie volume
must have a solid value, as enabling them to compare the several systems
prevailing at different places, and to determine beforehand which offers
the greatest advantages. The subject, however, is interesting to all intelli-
gent Englishmen, and the book has, therefore, a general attraction beyond
the circle which it specially addresses." — London Review.

The Pleasures of Memory. By Samuel Rogers. Illustrated
with Twenty Designs, forming a volume of " Cundall's Choice of Choice
Books." Small 4to. price 5s.

The Divine and Moral Songs of Dr. Watts : a New and very
choice Edition. Illustrated with One Hundred Woodcuts in the first
style of the Art, from Original Designs by Eminent Artists; engraved
by J. D. Cooper. Small 4to. cloth extra, price Is. 6d.

Pictures of Society, Grave and Gay ; comprising One Hundred
Engravings on Wood, from the Pictures of Eminent Artists; including
J. E. Millais, A.R.A., F. W. Pickersgill, R.A., C. W. Cope, R.A., J. D.
Watson, George Thomas, Marcus Stone, &c. Illustrated by the Pens of
Popular Authors ; including Mrs. S. C. Hall, E. K. Harvey, Barry Corn-
wall, Tom Hood, Edward Levein, Noel Jones, Cuthbert Bede, J. H.
Friswell, Walter Thornbury. &c. Beautifully printed by Messrs. Dal-
ziel Brothers. Handsomely bound in cloth, with an elaborate and novel
Design, by Messrs. Leighton and Co. Royal 8vo. price One Guinea.

Sampson Low and Co.'s

The Twenty-Third Psalm : with richly -coloured Emblematic
Borders. Small 4to. bevelled boards, price 12s.

The Three Kings of Orient : a Christmas Carol. Illuminated.
Small 4to. Bevelled boards, price 12s.

Christ was Born on Christmas Day : a Carol. With Illustra-
tions by John A. Hows. Illustrated and illuminated. Small 4to.
bevelled boards, price 12s.

An Entirely New Edition of Edgar A. Foe's Poems. Illustrated

by Eminent Artists. Small 4to. cloth extra, price 10s. Gd.

Poems of the Inner Life. Selected chiefly from Modern Authors,
by permission. Small 8vo. 6s. Choicely printed.

A History of Lace, from the Earliest Period ; with upwards of
One Hundred Illustrations and Coloured Designs. By Mrs. Bury Palliser.
One volume, 8vo. choicely bound in cloth. 31s. <jd.

Pictures of English Life ; illustrated by Ten folio page Illustra-
tions on wood, by J. D. Cooper, after Drawings by R. Barnes and E. M-
Whimperis, with appropriate descriptive Poems, printed in fioreated
borders. Imperial folio, cloth extra, 14s.

" This handsome volume is entirely in the English taste" — Spectator.

" Pictures that do you good to look at them." — Illustrated Times.

" An elegant volume, containing speaking pictures that might have
owned the parentage of Gainsborough or JHorland ; thoroughly national
in character and detail." — Reader.

Pictures for the People : the same Engravings beautifully printed
on thick paper. Adapted by their price to the adornment of Cottage
walls, and by their artistic beauty to the Drawing-room mPortfolio.
One Shilling each.

Favourite English Poems. Complete Edition. Comprising a
Collection of the most celebrated Poems in the English Language, with
but one or two exceptions unabridged, from Chaucer to Tennvson. With
300 Illustrations by the first Artists. Two vols. royal 8vo. half bound,
top gilt, Roxburgh style, 1Z. 18s. ; antique calf, 31. 3s.

*»* Either Volume sold separately as distinct works. 1. " Early
English Poems, Chaucer to Dyer." 2. " Favourite English Poems,
Thomson to Tennyson." Each handsomely bound in cloth, II. Is. ; or
morocco extra, 11. 15s.

" One of the choicest gift-books of the year. " Favourite English
Poems " is not a toy book, to be laid for a week on the Christmas table and
then throivn aside with the sparkling trifles of the Christmas tree, but an
honest book, to be admired in the season of pleasant remembrances for its
artistic beauty; and, ichenthe holidays are over, to be placed for frequent
and affectionate consultation on a favourite shelf." — Athenaeum.

Schiller's Lay of the Bell. Sir E. Bulwer Lytton's translation ;
beautifully illustrated by forty-two wood Engravings, drawn by Thomas
Scott, and engraved by J. D. Cooper, after the Etchings by Retszch.
Oblong 4to. cloth extra, 14s.

" A very elegant and classic Christmas present." — Guardian.

" The work is a standard picture-book, and of its success there can
be no doubt." — Examiner.

The Poetry of Nature. Selected and Illustrated with Thirty-six
Engravings by Harrison Weir. Small 4to. handsomely bound in cloth,
gilt edge?, 12s.; morocco, II. Is.

List of Publications.

A New Edition of Choice Editions of Choice Books. Illustrated
by C. W. Cope, R.A., T. Creswick, R.A., Edward Duncan, Birket Foster,
J. C. Horsley, A.R.A., George Hicks, R. Redgrave, R.A., C. Stonehouse,
F. Tayler, George Thomas, H. J. Townshend, E. H. Wehnert, Harrison
Weir, &c. Crown 8vo. cloth, 5s. each; bevelled boards, 5s. 6d.; or, in
morocco, gilt edges, 10s. 6d.

Bloomfield's Farmer's Boy.
Campbell's Pleasures of Hope.
Cundall's Elizabethan Poetry.
Coleridge's Ancient Mariner.
Goldsmith's Deserted Village.
Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield.

Keat's Eve of St. Agnes.
Milton's 1'Allegro.
Roger's Pleasures of Memory.
Shakespeare's Songs and Sonnets.
Tennyson's May Queen.
Wordsworth's Pastoral Poems.

Gray's Elegy in a Churchyard.

" Such works are a glorious beatification for a poet. Such works as
these educate townsmen, who, surrounded by dead and artificial things, as
country people are by life and nature, scarcely learn to look at nature till
taught by these concentrated specimens of her beauty." — Athenaeum.

LITERATURE, WORKS OF REFERENCE, AND
EDUCATION.

:HE English Catalogue of Books : giving the date of
publication of every book published from 1835 to 1863, in addi-
tion to the title, size, price, and publisher, in one alphabet.
An entirely new work, combining the Copyrights of the " Lon-
don Catalogue " and the " British Catalogue." One thick
volume of 900 pages, half morocco, 45s.

.Like unto Christ. A new translation of the De Imitatione
Christi, usually ascribed to Thomas & Kempis — forming a volume of
The Gentle Life Series. Small post 8vo. 6s.

The Gentle Life : Essays in Aid of the Formation of Character
of Gentlemen and Gentlewomen. Small post 8vo. Seventh Edition, 6s.

A Second Volume of the Gentle Life. Uniform with the First
Series. Second Edition, 6s.

About in the World : Essays uniform with, and by the author
of " The Gentle Life." Small pest 8vo. 6s.

Essays by Montaigne. With Vignette Portrait. Small post
8vo. 6s.

Familiar Words; an Index Verborum, or Dictionary of Quotation
of Sentences and Phrases which have become embedded in our English
tongue. Second Edition, revised and enlarged. Post 8vo. [Shortly,
" Not only the most extensive dictionary of quotations ichich ice have
yet met with, but it has, moreover, this additional merit, that in all cases
an exact reference is given to every chapter, act, scene, book, and number
of the line." — Notes and Queries.

The Complete Poetical Woi'ks of John Milton, with a Life of the
Author : and a Verbal Index containing upwards of 20,000 references to
all the Poems. By Charles D-xter Cleveland. New Edition. 8vo. 12s. ;
morocco, 21s.

Life Portraits of Shakspeare ; with an Examination of the
Authenticity, and a History of the various Representations of the Poet.
By J. H. Friswell, Member of the National Shakspeare Committee.
Illustrated by Photographs of authentic and received Portraits. Square
8vo. 21s. ; or with Photograph of the Will, 25s.

Memoirs of the Life of William Shakespeare. With an Essay
toward the Expression of his Genius, and an Account of the Rise and
Progress of the English Drama. By Richard Grant White. Post 8vo.
cloth, 10s. Gd.

Sampson Low and Co.'s

Her Majesty's Mails : a History of the Post Office, and an
Industrial Account of its Present Condition. By Wm. Lewins, of the
General Post Office. 2nd edition, revised, and enlarged, with a Photo-
graphic Portrait of Sir Rowland Hill. Small post 8vo. 65

" A book we strongly recommend to those who wish to be fully informed
on the subject, as an interesting and generally accurate account of the
history and working of the Post Office." — Edinburgh Review.

" Will take its stand as a really useful book of reference on the history
of the Post. We heartily recommend it as a thoroughly careful perform-
ance."— Saturday Review.

A History of Banks for Savings ; including a full account of the
origin and progress of Mr. Gladstone's recent prudential measures. By
William Lewins, Author of ' Her Majesty's Mails.' With a Photograph
of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 8vo. cloth.

Varia : Rare Readings from Scarce Books. Reprinted by per-
mission from the Saturday Review and Spectator. Beautifully printed
by Whittingham. Fcap. cloth.

The Origin and History of the English Language, and of the
early literature it embodies. By the Hon. George P. Marsh, U. S.
Minister at Turin, Author of " Lectures on the English Language."
8vo. cloth extra, 16s.

Lectures on the English Language; forming the Introductory
Series to the foregoing Work. By the same Author. 8vo. Cloth, 16s.
This is the only author's edition.

Man and Nature ; or, Physical Geography as Modified by Human
Action. By George P. Marsh, Author of " Lectures on the English Lan-
guage," &c. 8vo. cloth, 14s.

Mr. Marsh traces the history of human industry as shown in the extensive
modification and extirpation of animal and vegetable life in the woods, the
waters, and the sands ; and, in a concluding chapter, he discusses the pro-
bable and possible geographical changes yet to be wrought. The whole of
Mr. Marsh's book is an eloquent shmcing of the duty of care in the estab-
lishment of harmony between man's life and the forces of nature, so as to
bring to their highest points the fertility of the soil, the vigour of the animal
life, and the salubrity of the climate, on ichich we have to depend for the
physical well-being of mankind." — Examiner.

English and Scotch Ballads, &c. An extensive Collection. De-
signed as a Complement to the Works of the British Poets, and embracing
nearly all the Ancient and Traditionary Ballads both of England and
Scotland, in all the important varieties of form in which they are extant,
with Notices of the kindred Ballads of other Nations. Edited by F. J.
Child, new Edition, revised by the Editor. 8 vols. fcap. cloth, 3s. Qd. each

The Handy-book of Patent and Copyright Law, English and
Foreign. By James Fraser, Esq. Post 8vo. cloth, 4s. 6d.

A Concise Summary of the Law of English and French Copyright
Law and International Law, by Peter Burke. 12mo. 5s.

Index to the Subjects of Books published in the United Kingdom
during the last Twenty Years — 1837-1857. Containing as many as 74,000
references, under subjects, so as to ensure immediate reference to the
books on the subject required, each giving title, price, publisher, and
date. Two valuable Appendices are also given — A, containing full lists
of all Libraries, Collections, Series, and Miscellanies — and B, a List of
Literary Societies, Printing Societies, and their Issues. One vol. royal
8vo. Morocco, I/. 6s.

List of Publications.

The American Catalogue, or English Guide to American Lite-
rature ; giving the full title of original Works published in the United
States of America since the year 1800, with especial reference to the
works of interest to Great Britain, with the size, price, place, date
of publication, and London prices. With comprehensive Index. 8vo.
2s. <od. Also Supplement, 1837-60. 8vo. 6rf.

Dr. Worcester's New and Greatly Enlarged Dictionary of the
English Language. Adapted for Library or College Reference, compris-
ing 40,000 Words more than Johnson's .Dictionary, and 250 pages more
than the Quarto Edition of Webster's Dictionary. In one Volume, royal
4to. cloth, 1,834 pp. price 31s. 6d. The Cheapest Book ever published.
" The volumes before us show a vast amount of diligence; but with
Webster it is diligence in combination with fancifulness, — with Wor-
cester in combination with good sense and judgment. Worcester's is the
soberer and safer book, and may be pronounced the best existing English
Lexicon." — Athenteum, July 13, 1861.

The Publishers' Circular, and General Record of British and

Foreign Literature ; giving a transcript of the title-page of every work
published in Great Britain, and every work of interest published abroad,
with lists of all the publishing houses.

Published regularly on the 1st and 15th of every Month, and forwarded
post free to all parts of the world on payment of 8s. per annum.

The Ladies' Reader : with some Plain and Simple Rules and In-
structions for a good style of Reading aloud, and a variety of Selections
for Exercise. By George Vandenhoff,"M.A., Author of " The Art of Elo-
cution." Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, 5s.

The Clerical Assistant : an Elocutionary Guide to the Reading
of the Scriptures and the Liturgy, several passages being marked for
Pitch and Emphasis : with some Observations on Clerical Bronchitus.
By George Vaudenhoff, M.A. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, 3s. 6d.

The Art of Elocution as an essential part of Rhetoric, with in-
structions in Gesture, and an Appendix of Oratorical, Poetical and Dra-
matic extracts. By George Vandenhoff, MA. Third Edition. 5s.

Latin-English Lexicon, by Dr. Andrews. 7th Edition. 8vo. 18s.

The superiority of this justly-famed Lexicon is retained over all others
by the fulness of its quotations, the including in the vocabulary proper
names, the distinguishing whether the derivative is classical or otherwise,
the exactness of the references to the original authors, and in the price.

" Every page bears the impress of industry and care." — Athenaeum.

" The best Latin Dictionary, whether for the scholar or advanced stu-
dent."— Spectator.

" We never saw such a book published at such a price." — Examiner.

The Farm and Fruit of Old. From Virgil. By a Market Gar-
dener. Is.

Usque ad Coelum ; or, the Dwellings of the People. By Thomas
Hare, Esq., Barrister-at-Law. Fcap. Is.

Domestic Servants, their Duties and Rights. By a Barrister. Is.

Signals of Distress, in Refuges and Houses of Charity ; in Indus-
trial Schools and Reformatories ; at Invalids' Dinner Tables, and in the
Homes of the Little Sisters of the Poor, &c. &c. ; among the Fallen, the
Vicious, and the Criminal ; where Missionaries travel, and where Good
Samaritans clothe the naked. By Blanchard Jerrold, Author of " The
Life of Douglas Jerrold," &c. Crown 8vo. Is. 6d.

The Children of Lutetia ; or, Life amongst the Poor of Paris.
By Blanchard Jerrold. 2 vols. post 8vo. cloth, 16s.

Sampson Low and Co.'s

The Charities of London : an Account of the Origin, Operations,
and general Condition of the Charitable, Educational, and Religious
Institutions of London. With copious Index. Also an Alphabetical Ap-
pendix corrected to May 1863. Fcap. cloth, 55.

\* The latter also as a separate publication, forms " Low's Shilling
Guide to the Charities of London."

Prince Albert's Golden Precepts. Second Edition, with Photo-
graph. A Memorial of the Prince Consort ; comprising Maxims and
Extracts from Addresses of His late Royal Highness. Many now for
the first time collected and carefully arranged. With an Index. Royal
16mo. beautifully printed on toned paper, cloth, gilt edges, 2s. <od.

Our Little Ones in Heaven : Thoughts in Prose and Verse, se-
lected from the Writings of favourite Authors ; with Frontispiece after
Sir Joshua Reynolds. Fcap. 8vo. cloth extra, 3s. 6rf.

NEW BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.

HE GREAT FUN TOY BOOKS: a Series of Eight

New One Shilling Story Books for Young People. By Thomas
Hood and Thomas Archer. Each illustrated by Six of Edward
Wehnert's well-known Great Fun Pictures. Printed in colours,
with an appropriate Cover by Charles Bennett.

The Cherry-coloured Cat and her Three Friends.

The Live Rocking-Horse.

Master Mischief and Miss Meddle.

Cousin Nellie's Stories after School,

Harry High-Stepper.

Grandmamma's Spectacles.

How the House was Built.

Dog Toby and Artistical Arthur.

The Frog's Parish Clerk ; and his Adventures in strange Lands.
A Tale for young folk. By Thomas Archer. Numerous Illustrations.
Small post 8vo. 5s.

Choice Editions of Children's Fairy Tales. Each illustrated with
highly-finished Coloured Pictures in facsimile of Water-colour Drawings.
Square, cloth extra, price 3s. 6d. each.

Cinderella and the Glass Slipper. Puss in Boots. Beauty
and the Beast.

Under the Waves ; or the Hermit Crab in Society. By Annie
E. Ridley. Impl. 16mo. cloth extra, with coloured illustration Cloth,
4s. ; gilt edges, 4s. 6d.

" This is one of the best books we know of to place in the hands of young
and intelligent persons during a visit to the seaside." — Reader.

Also beautifully Illustrated : —

Little Bird Red and Little Bird Blue. Coloured, 5s.
Snow-Flakes, and what they told the Children. Coloured, 5s.
Child's Book of the Sagacity of Animals. 5s. ; coloured, 7s. 6d.
Child's Picture Fable Book. 5s. ; or coloured, 7s. 6d
Child's Treasury of Story Books. 5s. ; or coloured, 7s. 6rf.
The Nursery Playmate. 200 Pictures. 5s. ; coloured, 9s.

The Boy's Own Book of Boats. By W. H. G. Kingston. Illus-
trations by E. Weedon, engraved by W. J. Linton. Fcap. 8vo. cloth, 5s.
" This well-written, iccU-icrought book." — Athenaeum.

How to Make Miniature Pumps and a Fire-Engine : a Book for
Boys. With Seven Illustrations. Fcap. 8vo. Is.

List of Publications.

The Cruise of the Frolic. By W. H. G. Kingston. Illustrated.

Large ft-ap. 8vo. cloth, 5s.

" tr/to does not welcome Mr. W. H. G. Kingston ? Here he is again with
an admirable boys' book. If boys do not love this book, there is no truth in
boyhood, and no use in reviewing ; it is just the book for a present." —
Illustrated Times.

Also by the same Author, u-ell illustrated,

The Boy's Own Book of Boats. Illustrated by Weedon. 5s.
Ernest Bracebridge ; or, the Boy's Book of Sports. 5s.
Jack Buntline : the Life of a Sailor Boy. 2s.
The Fire Ships. [Shortly.

Golden Hair; a Story for Young People. By Sir Lascelles
Wraxall, Bart. With Eight full page Illustrations, 5s.

" Full of incident and adventure, and sure to please boys home from
school quite as much as his ' Black Panther ' of last year." — Reader.

" A thoroughly good boy's book ; the story is full of incident and always
moves on." — Spectator.

Also, same price, full of Illustrations : —

Black Panther: a Boy's Adventures among the Red Skins.
Life among the Indians. By George Catlin.
The Voyage of the Constance. By Mary Gillies.
Stanton Grange. By the Rev. C. J. Atkinson.
Boyhood of Martin Luther. By Henry May hew.
Stories of the Woods. From Cooper's Tales.
The Story of Peter Parley's own Life.

Noodle-doo. By the Author of " The Stories that Little
Breeches told." With 16 large Engravings on Steel. Plain, 5s. ;
coloured, Is. 6rf.

" Among all the Christmas bookmen Mr. Charles Bennett ranks first, for
he who best pleases children has the best right to priority in a notice of
Christmas books, and to all his productions ice venture to prefer ' Noodle-
doo;' it will make the youngsters crow again ivith delight." — Standard.

Also, now ready, same size and price, and full of Illustrations.
Great Fun for our Little Friends. By Harriet Myrtle.
More Fun for our Little Friends. By the same Author.
The Book of Blockheads. By Charles Bennett.
The Stories that Little Breeches told. By the same Author.
Mr. Wind and Madame Rain. Illustrated by Charles Bennett.

Paul Duncan's Little by Little ; a Tale for Boys. Edited by
Frank Freeman. With an Illustration by Charles Keene. Fcap. 8vo.
cloth 2s. ; gilt edges, 2s. 6d. Also, same price,

Boy Missionary ; a Tale for Young People. By Mrs. J. M. Parker.
Difficulties Overcome. By Miss Brightwell.

The Babes in the Basket : a Tale in the West Indian Insurrection.
Jack Buntline ; the Life of a Sailor Boy. By W. H. G. Kingston.

The Swiss Family Robinson ; or, the Adventures of a Father and
Mother and Four Sons on a Desert Island. With Explanatory Notes and
Illustrations. First and Second Series. New Edition, complete in one
volume, 3s. 6d.

Geography for my Children. By Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Author of " Uncle Tom's Cabin," &c. Arranged and Edited by an Eng-
lish Lady, under the Direction of the Authoress. With upwards of Fifty
Illustrations. Cloth extra, 4s. 6d.

Sampson Low and Co.'s

Stories of the Woods ; or, the Adventures of Leather-Stocking :
A Book for Boys, compiled from Cooper's Series of " Leather-Stocking
Tales." Fcap. cloth, Illustrated, 5s.

" I have to own that I think the heroes of another writer, viz. ' Leather-
Stocking,' ' Uncas,' ' Hard Heart,' ' Tom Coffin,' are quite the equals of
Sir Walter Scott's men; — perhaps ' Leather- Stocking' is better than any
one in Scott's lot."—W. M. THACKERAY.

Child's Play. Illustrated with Sixteen Coloured Drawings by

E. V. B., printed in fac-simile by W. Dickes' process, and ornamented
with Initial Letters. New edition, with India paper tints, royal 8vo.
cloth extra, bevelled cloth, Is. 6d. The Original Edition of this work
was published at One Guinea.

Child's Delight. Forty-two Songs for the Little Ones, with

forty-two Pictures. Is. ; coloured, 2s. M.
Goody Platts, and her Two Cats. By Thomas Miller. Fcap.

8vo. cloth, Is.

Little Blue Hood : a Story for Little People. By Thomas Miller,

with coloured frontispiece. Fcap. 8vo. cloth, 2s. 6d.
Mark Willson's First Reader. By the Author of " The Picture

Alphabet " and " The Picture Primer." With 120 Pictures. Is.
The Picture Alphabet ; or Child's First Letter Book. With new

and original Designs. 6d.

The Picture Primer. 6d.

HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY.

HE Conspiracy of Count Fieschi : an Episode in Italian
History. By M. De Celesia. Translated by David Hilton,
I Esq., Author of a " History of Brigandage." With Portrait.
J 8vo. [Shortly.

A Biography of Admiral Sir B. P. V. Broke, Bart., K.C.B.

By the Rev. John Brighton, Rector of Kent Town. Dedicated by express
permission to His Royal Highness Prince Alfred. [Shortly.

A History of Brigandage in Italy; with Adventures of the

more celebrated Brigands. By David Hilton, Esq. 2 vols. post 8vo.

cloth, 16s.
A History of the Gipsies, with Specimens of the Gipsy Language.

By Walter Simson. Post 8vo.
A History of West Point, the United States Military Academy

and its Military Importance. By Capt. E. C. Boynton, A.M. With

Plans and Illustrations. 8vo. 21s.

The Twelve Great Battles of England, from Hastings to Waterloo.
With Plans, fcap. 8vo. cloth extra, 3s. 6d.

George Washington's Life, by Washington Irving. 5 vols.
royal 8vo. 12s. each Library Illustrated Edition. 5 vols. Imp. 8vo. 4Z. 4s.

Plutarch's Lives. An entirely new Library Edition, carefully
revised and corrected, with some Original Translations by the Editor.
Edited by A. H. Clough, Esq. sometime Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford,
and late Professor of English Language and Literature at University
College. 5 vols. 8vo. cloth. 21. 10s.

" Mr. dough's work is icorthy of all praise, and we hope that it will
tend to revive the study of Plutarch." — Times.

Life of John Adams, 2nd President of the United States, by C.

F. Adams. 8vo. 14s. Life and Works complete, 10 vols. 14s. each.

Life and Administration of Abraham Lincoln. Fcap. 8vo.
stiff cover, Is. ; with map, speeches, &c. crown 8vo. 3s. 6d.

List of Publications.

TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE.

"WALK from London to the Land's End. By Elihu

Burritt, Author of " A Walk from London to John O'Groats :"
with several Illustrations. Large post 8vo. Uniform with
the first edition of " John O'Groats." 12s

A Walk from London to John O'Groats. With Notes by the
Way. By Elihu Burritt. Second and cheaper edition. With Photogra-
phic Portrait of the Author. Small post 8vo. 6s.

Social Life of the Chinese : with some account of their religious,
governmental, educational, and Business customs and opinions. By the
Rev. Justus Doolittle. With over 100 Illustrations, in two vols. Demy
8vo. cloth, 24s.

A Thousand Miles in the Rob Roy Canoe, or Rivers and Lakes

of Europe. By John Macgregor, M.A. With numerous Illustrations.
Post 8vo. cloth, 5s.

Captain Hall's Life with the Esquimaux. New and cheaper
Edition, with Coloured Engravings and upwards of 100 Woodcuts. With
a Map. Price 7s. 6d. cloth extra. Forming the cheapest and most popu-
lar Edition of a work on Arctic Life and Exploration ever published.

" This is a very remarkable book, and unless we very much misunder-
stand both him and his book, the author is one of those men of whom great
nations do well to be proud." — Spectator.

" Jf Cnpt. Hall should survive the perils of the journey on which he is
now engaged, we are convinced he will bring home some news, be it good or
bad, about the Franklin expedition. He can hardly be expected back before
the autumn of 1866. But if lie has gone he has left us his vastly enter-
taining volumes, which contain much valuable information, as we have said,
concerning the Esquimaux tribes. These volumes are the best that we have
ever met with, concerning the people and things to be found among ' the
thick ribb'd ice.' " — Standard.

" The pen of Wilkie Collins would fail to describe in more life-like terms
of horror the episode of the cannibal crew escaped from a whaler who
boarded the ' George Henry' on the outivard passage of that ship. We are
tempted to relate how an Innuit throws a summersault in the water in his
kyack, boat and all, and to introduce our readers to our Author's dogs,
including the famous Barbekerk ; but we must pause, and refer to this most
interesting work itself, which will repay perusal." — Press.

A Winter in Algeria, 1863-4. By Mrs. George Albert Rogers.
With illustrations. 8vo. cloth, 12s.

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List of Publications. 15

Lectures on the Diseases of Women and Children. By Dr. G. S.

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A thousand miles in the
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1866

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