( 236 



BADEN-BADEN. 



41 Stat Zaringa Domus, 

 Firmis renovata columnis, 

 Spes maxima Badffi." 



BADEN, often called Baden-Baden, to distinguish it from the other 

 Baths in Germany, is a place of considerable antiquity. The Romans 

 who, in early time, discovered the efficacy of its springs, christened 

 it " Civitas Aurelia Aquensis," and in the days of Aurelius and Anto- 

 ninus it was a frequent resort of the Roman patricians, gentlemen 

 quite as gay and dissipated as the fashionables of the nineteenth cen- 

 tury ; but whether " Rouge et Noir " and " Roulette " were played 

 in those days is not particularly mentioned by Jo. Daniel Schoep- 

 flinus; and he is, according to his own account, the only author who 

 has dabbled with the "times of yore" of the dutchy of Baden ; for 

 he thus begins his work : " Perpetuam et justam Badensem historians, 

 ab origine Gentis, nemo conscripsit nee conscribere ausus est." . . . 

 However Mr. Schoepflinus, in consequence of some peculiar faci- 

 lities he obtained (he does not tell us how), did dare to undertake 

 this arduous task, arid we recommend his seven quarto volumes to 

 our antiquarian readers. 



We visited Baden ourselves in the course of last autumn, and 

 although we had read Mrs. Trollope's book on Western Germany, 

 we must confess that this flourishing little town, built on the side of a 

 rapid ascent, backed by the dark pines of the Schwartz Wald,and the 

 almost darker ruins of the "Alt Schloss" jutting out above their 

 summits, together with the fertile little valley of Lichtenthal, into 

 which the town extends, exceeded our most sanguine expectations. 



The following letter, that we have received from a correspondent, 

 may afford amusement to some, in recalling to their memory scenes 

 they have lately witnessed, and no doubt enjoyed ; and to others, 

 who have not been so lucky, give an idea, however feeble, of one of 

 the most delightful watering places in Europe : 



MR. EDITOR, September, 1836. 



Accompanied by two friends, G. and B., I left Heidelberg- in a 

 caleche and a pair of horses, driven by a German " kutscher," and 

 passing through Carlsruhe (" Charles's Rest," so called from one of 

 the margraves of Baden having rested himself at this spot in a 

 hunting excursion), in due time arrived at Baden-Baden. The first 

 thing, on entering a strange town, is, of course, to lookout fora 

 lodging. We had been recommended to the Baden-Hof, which is 

 the first you come to in entering the town from Carlsruhe , hut, as 

 often happens at this season of the year, every room was full, not 

 only of the " Hof "* itself, but of several lodging-houses round it, 

 which are incorporated into this "court" during the season: so 

 crossing a little bridge over the Os, or Oelbach, a small river that 

 waters the valley of Lichtenthal, we proceeded to the ZoringhenHof, 



* " Hof," "court," in German means any thing you like when tacked on to another 

 word : so Gast-hof, hof-hund, hof-gericht, hof-meisher, &c., &c. j but in this in- 

 stance it means an hotel. 



