8 AGRICULTURE OX THE RHINE. 



Hills and the sea is called, and the Middle Rhine 

 from Mayence to the Drachenfels, formed long the vir- 

 tual northern boundary of the Roman empire, beyond 

 which few or no permanent settlements were made. 

 The Rhine was, however, fully appreciated by the Ro- 

 mans as a grand road for warlike and commercial opera- 

 tions, and its banks teem with relics of that stirring age. 

 The Teutonic tribes that succeeded the Romans as con- 

 querors or immigrants found in the roads, harbours, and 

 other constructions of their predecessors, a foundation of 

 ]")0wer far more valuable than the chivalrous daring to 

 which they usually ascribed their success. The rise of 

 the second line of Frankish kings has been described 

 by M. (luizot as resulting from the conquests over the 

 Xeustrian or Western Franks achieved by the Austrasian 

 or Eastern Frankish tribes. To judge from the acts of 

 Charlemagne and his favourite places of abode, that 

 monarch knew well from what source the Austrasians 

 and his family drew their might. The ruins of his im- 

 perial castle are now scarcely to be traced at Ingelheim 

 on the Middle Rhine, and Aix-la-Chapelle contains but 

 his grave and the cathedral which he founded ; yet are 

 these relics sufficient to attest the importance attributed 

 by that discerning monarch to the great water-road that 

 connects the Alj)s with the German Ocean.* 



The period that marks the rise of the great vassals of 

 the German empire shows us the Earls of Flanders, the 

 Dukes of Brabant, the Lords of Hainault and Cleves, 



* Napoleon is said to have entertained the idea of i-e- 

 building the palace at Ingelheim, and we believe that the 

 Royal Library at Paris contains the plans and elevations of 

 the intended palatium, comprising even the decorations of 

 the interior. 



