16S LOOSE LEAA E.'^ 



the very colossus of wine repositories, witliin whose capacious side?, 

 230,000 bottles of German Falernian can find ample room ! 



Stranger, if you wish to view this extraordinary monument to the 

 god of wine, ascend the high hill behind Heidelberg, vvhereon the rnins 

 of Furstenberg castle repose in melancholy grandeur ! On the terrace 

 of the castle, in the shadow of lofty, but dilapidated walls, you will ob- 

 serve a smaller edifice, the roof of 'which has defied the corroding tooth 

 of time. Two open lions' jaws gape hideously on you from over the 

 entrance ; square windows, in ancient times surmounted by Gothic 

 arches, let in an imperfect light. A narrow door leads into the interior. 

 You descend a few steps, and here in this apartment, which is immedi- 

 ately under the ancient court chapel, the Colossus rests. 



Other princes have distinguished themselves for their collection of 

 gems, of paintings and statuary ; some have immortalized their names 

 by the richness and enormous extent of their libraries, but the princes 

 of Heidelberg have preferred to float their fame down the stream of pos- 

 terity on the top of a wine cask ! Among the princes who in olden 

 times occupied this celebrated castle, there was one who was a remark- 

 able example of greatness, and a perfect pattern for all rulers and war- 

 riors. John Kasemir was his name, a Palsgrave of Rhein and Duke of 

 Bavaria; an orator, a warrior, and a terrible avenger of his enemies. It 

 "was he, who first erected one of these wonderful monuments to the mem- 

 ory of the rosy god. For six years he had governed his dukedom in 

 prosperity, and one day in a convivial circle of his friends, whom he 

 Avas regaling with generous wine, cultivated on his own grounds, he re- 

 solved to erect a memorial in praise of its virtues. It was in 1589, that 

 he called a celebrated cooper from Landau, and ordered him to construct 

 a cask the largest in ^the world ; and as every thing good comes from 

 heaven, and can only prosper by heaven's blessing, it was to be deposi- 

 ted under the chapel that it might at least be near the sacred altar. It 

 was finished in two years. It was elaborately ornamented with various 

 devices and inscriptions. Five figures of lions, with the arms of the Pa- 

 latinate in their claws, grinned, from the top and sides, and numerous 

 other curiously carved images constituted its decorations. This cask 

 contained five hundred and thirty-eight hogsheads. It was twenty-seven 

 feet long, and nearly as high. It was bound together with twenty-nine 

 hoops, composed of one hundred and twenty-two hundred weight of 

 iron. But the designer of this fabric did not enjoy it long, for in the 

 same year he slept with his fathers. His statue still stands against the 

 crumbling walls of the castle. For thirty years, this cask was the won- 

 der of Europe, but it was broken to pieces during the horrors of the 



