and divers hundred more, deserve more recollection than my perpetual haste permits.

Off by twelve to Darmstadt,-an hour's railing of level country. Arrived, we first ascended Ludwig's Duke of Yorkish monument, -a dark dusty toil to see little enough. Thence (if I must be historically true) to dinner, at Le Raisin, our best specimen hitherto of strictly German cookery: sourkrout, fowls eaten with prunes, beef and pickled cherries, raw ham and raw sausage, sweet pudding with acid sauce, and all manner of incongruities. Thereafter, away to the Duke's museum, a very characteristic ollapodrida of everything, like the German meal aforesaid: to wit, Roman antiquities (remember the fine marinechimæra tessellated pavement) mingled with South-sea Island curiosities: a collection of arms and armour,-alternating with one of needlework and wax portraits enamels, ivories and Majolica ware,-next to models of ruins, and Chinese monsters: prints and deinotherium bones; skeletons, and cameos : in fact, everything higgledy-piggledy. In chief however, remember a very fine and numerous collection of pictures, rich in (e.g.) Raphael's St. John, Titian's Venus,-Hemmelinck's Holy Virgin,-Guido's Europa,-and some seven hundred others, which I could only glance at.

Then, there were the bears, and the chimes, and the quasi Kensington Gardens, with a Hesse Princess's tomb,-and musical soldiers, marching by to the tune of their own choruses; and the modest corner of his huge palace wisely inhabited by the small grand duke himself; and so back again to the Grape Hotel.

At six, by rail to Heidelberg, arriving at halfpast eight, through a beautiful valley skirting the Taunus and Melibocus, and Odinwald range of mountainettes;-(Taunus and Melibocus are names evidently carved upon these parts by old Rome; and Odinwald as evidently by older faderland:)-passing a few ruined castles, and aged walled villages, and plenty of tobacco and maize crops mixed with the commoner crops my wonder is where the tillers of all these numberless well-kept fields can live; you go for miles through a farmer's Eden, and see no dwellings.

At last, got into Heidelberg by nightfall; just in time to see a torchlight assemblage of the University students serenading in procession a popular professor: his ovation was in a four-horse britska, with a band in front, certain of the students sword in hand at side, and hundreds of flaring torches behind.

27th.-How all Germany can tolerate, genera

GERMAN COOKERY.

59

tion after generation, to lie in these short beds under shorter down quilts, which infallibly get kicked off at night, I cannot guess: hitherto sleep has been as strange to me as to Henry IV. Called early and in vain on Dr. Mof Heidelberg University; and as the day was showery, thereafter went and spent an hour over the English and French papers at the Club, introduced by our very pleasant host of the Eagle; also, idled in at a curiosity shop, and bought certain views, and a "guide." The weather being poorish, (alas for the harvesting hereabouts,) this place is to be our resting-place till Sunday. I hear that the rain has swollen the river considerably, and that there have been earthquakes in the neighbourhood: all the world seems to be out of joint. Table-d'hôte as usual-a medley of sweets and sours : roast fowls and stewed prunes, ducks and preserved apricots, sausages and pancakes, bouilli beef and cherries, each served with each as a vegetable: then vegetables served together, peas, minced cabbages, and potatoes, &c. I should never wonder to see onions stewed in sugar, candied oysters, and strawberries à l'huile.

Dinner at last over, went en masse to the grand ruins of the Electoral Chateau, and did them well the grand tub, and the lesser tub, and the

tub without hoops, and the fifteen bottle jester not excepted: the terrace, with its fine façade of sculpture, and the octagonal tower, with our giddy walk around its outside,—and the kitchens and prison, and grand array of decorated doors and windows, bescrolled and bestatued, arabesqued and full of beauties—(nothing better is to be seen in Rome or Greece so far as the eye is concerned, though for mere antiquity and historical interest this is nothing) -the blown-up tower, and subterranean passages, and knight plus-lion plus-arms protected gateway, all these are to be remembered. Also, and notably, poor old [eighty-two] M. de Crainberg's antiquarian collections, well worth seeing; especially, some score of most curious Lutheran wooden dishes, painted; some shellwork figures; plenty of bad pictures,-old arms, armour, and ruin relics; drawings-the lifetime work of the old enthusiast himself, whom I remember to have seen long ago hard at them; ivory and Delft cups; and all manner of curiosities. The worthy ancient gives you your money's worth.

28th. Our hotel, the Eagle, looks out upon the vegetable market, which early this morning was a babel of tongues, and a mosaic of peasant women and greens: such a clatter of

haggling for kreutzers; and all in the downright rain, with nobody caring a bit about it; the love of money and of bargain-driving seemed weatherproof and heedless of spoilt garments. However, as to clothes, the picturesque era of costume is at an end;-even with German students; nothing but a coloured skull cap and belt, with a jaunty air, and perpetual beer and tobacco distinguish now the Heidelberg university-man from any other: shooting coats and tweed trowsers are all the fashion; the very pipe gives way to cigars, and all the long hair is cut off.

One folly however is still kept up, in a degenerate way; duelling comes off frequently; but then the combatants are padded like cricketers or diving-men, and can only be wounded legally in the face! A pinked cheek is, it appears, an honourable beauty spot; and several young fellows I saw so marred: thus much for honour and arms.

Invested capital in James's Heidelberg,a timely and placely historical novel, but I should hope one of his worst; and Murray's Switzerland; and divers other matters for my flock; and left vain cards on some friends unseen; and walked round by the Promenade, and old willowed church famous for Jerome of Prague; and read the papers :