LETTERS FROM A CONTINENTAL TOURIST. 595 



mountain, and reciprocally its great elevation adds much to the 

 commanding 1 dignity of the shattered wall. On we swept, passing 

 Bonn with a momentary stoppage, and reaching Coin shortly before 

 sun-set, wet and tired, but as gay and contented as if we had been 

 indulged with a blue sky and bright sun throughout our voyage. 



COLN, Sept. 17. 



I sallied out this morning and secured my passage to London, that 

 is, I secured my place direct to London, with a check on the Ba- 

 tavier at Rotterdam, a proceeding which saved me a guinea or a 

 day, whichever I might find most valuable. After that necessary 

 piece of business had been transacted, and a similar arrangement 

 made for my companion, but in another direction, we proceeded to 

 have our passports countersigned, and set out sight-hunting. 



The cathedral of course was our first point, and thither we bent our 

 steps. It is but a fragment, and that too a not very large one. One 

 tower is half- finished, and only a portion of the nave. But just 

 enough has been done to show what might have been effected, had 

 the whole been completed. That part of the tower which has been 

 built and is at the south-western end, is very striking. My first ex- 

 clamation was, " How infinitely superior to Strasburg ! " Yet when 

 the first burst of admiration was over, and we examined more closely 

 the scene before us, disappointment took the place of amazement. 

 The world may cry out Expecle Herculem, but either the foot is not 

 enough, or the foot is not that of Hercules. I am ready to join 

 most heartily the world of cognoscenti in their praise of the mutilated 

 Torso. I think the ruins of Heidelberg magnificent. But these are 

 not the remains of what has been, but the commencement of what 

 was to be, and beautiful as is the workmanship, stupendous as is the 

 design, I confess I left the cathedral of Cologne dissatisfied. 



It is built of grey stone, and the tower is very rich in ornament. 

 In the interior is the famous tomb of the three kings, holy in the eyes 

 of the Lanz Knechts of yore, reckless as they were of God and man. 

 The tomb was removed on the approach of the French in the wars 

 of the first revolution, and in the course of its migrations the skulls 

 of their majesties lost their golden crowns, and part of their jewels. 

 However, these precious relics of the magi, who worshipped the 

 infant Saviour, have been again enshrined in their resting-place with 

 new ornaments of less value, but which no doubt answer the purpose 

 equally well. By the side of this precious puppet-show is a picture 

 attributed to a painter of the name of Kalf, and dated or said to be 

 dated 1410. However that may be, it is of very beautiful execution 

 and deserves attention. The subject might be easily guessed, namely, 

 the worship of the wise men of the East. Part of the choir of the ca- 

 thedral has been so far completed, that service may be performed in 

 it, and it is used for the celebration of mass. A few windows, partly 

 glazed with painted glass, and the wooden arches which connect the 

 entrance with the choir, are all else that exist of the cathedral of 

 Cologne. 



In a street in the town is a house with two inscriptions on one side 

 of the door, stating it to be the birth-place of Rubens, which is not 



