464 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1818 



proof, I asked him one day, if 

 he did not think the little river of 

 Caripe, which issues from the 

 cavern of the Guacharo, returned 

 into it on the opposite side by some 

 unknown entrance, after having 

 ascended the slope of the moun- 

 tain. After appearing gravely to 

 reflect on the subject, he an- 

 swered, by way of supporting my 

 hypothesis : " How else, if it 

 were not so, would there always 

 be water in the bed of the river 

 at the mouth of the cavern ?" 



An Autumn near the Rhine; or 

 Sketches of Court, Society, 

 Scenery, ^-c. in some of the 

 German States, bordering 

 on the Rhine. 



Frankfort on the Maine — the 

 ancient place of inauguration of 

 the German Emperors, the resi- 

 dence of the Diet which is to 

 reconstruct the dismembered em- 

 pire, a centre for colonial com- 

 merce, and the great money 

 market of Germany, may, on 

 every account be considered one 

 of its most interesting cities. 

 The approach from Darmstadt, 

 through a noble beech wood, 

 within the little territory of the 

 free city, is very striking. The 

 road gradually ascends to an old 

 Roman tower, on the brow of the 

 hill, half a mile distant, when the 

 City, with its handsome white 

 slated houses, its venerable Ca- 

 thedral, and cheerful citizens' 

 mansions and gardens, lies before 

 you in the middle of the rich 

 wide valley of the Maine. On 

 the left you trace the ample 

 course of the river towards May- 

 ence ; and a few leagues beyond 

 the town rises the bold wooded 



chain of the Taunus Mountains, 

 the highest points of which, 

 above Homberg, are just oppo- 

 site Frankfort. The road, as far 

 as the suburb, is lined with highly 

 cultivated gardens and vineyards, 

 interspersed with cheerful boxes, 

 whose air of smart comfort an- 

 nounces at once the affluence 

 and mercantile taste of their pos- 

 sessors. 



You pass the Maine from the 



fauxbourg of Saxenhausen, by an 



ancient stone bridge, to the city. 



The river on both sides presents 



a respectable little cluster of 



shipping, and the quays, with 



their antique buildings, have a 



degree of life and bustle which 



would be more striking to any 



one than an Englishman familiar 



with London and Bristol. If the 



commercial navy of the free city 



is comparatively insignificant, the 



general construction of the city 



itself is, in some respects, more 



picturesque and interesting than 



that of the above-mentioned 



money-getting Cities. A cockney 



would, however, no doubt, prefer 



the tight tenements of Cornhill, 



denoting the value of every foot 



of ground, to the stately rambling 



mansion, where you enter a large 



court-yard by a ponderous porta 



cocher, which does not appear 



constructed for the momentary 



ingress and egress of a very lively 



commerce. In almost every town 



in Germany, the top of one of the 



church towers is inhabited by a 



family, who watch during the 



night, and give alarm in case of 



fire. They sound a small horn 



at every quarter or half-hour, in 



evidence of their vigilance: and 



are provided with an immense 



fire-horn or alarum-bell, to rouse 



the 



