LETTERS FROM BELGIUM AND THE RHINE.-No. VI. Antwerp, August 18, 1842.

MY DEAR H.-We left Bonn last Thursday morning, but were delayed five hours by an accident, which frustrated our intention of stopping that night at Mentz, as it prevented our getting farther than Coblentz. The first town which attracted our attention in the course of this day's voyage, was Andernach, on the left bank of the river, by the Romans called Artonacum. It is very ancient, and still possesses some memorials of its former masters, especially the gate looking towards Coblentz, erected by the Romans, and the ruins of a large palace, the residence of the kings of the Franks after their expulsion. At a little distance on the opposite shore, the modern town of Nieuwied attracts the traveller's attention by its singularly neat, cleanly, and prosperous appearance. It is scarcely more than a hundred years since this town was built, and its prosperity has been greatly promoted by the universal liberty of conscience allowed to the inhabitants. But although in itself of such recent origin, it is rich in the remains of former builders and inhabitants. Near it are the traces of a strongly fortified castle, while images of gods, and medals of Roman emperors, have been found in considerable numbers.

Looking again to the left bank of the river, you pass the Weissen Thurm, or white tower, which has given its name to the little village in which it stands. Here Cæsar is believed first to have crossed the Rhine; and here also, during the revolutionary war, the French, three several times, effected the same passage. Near the tower is a simple monument, erected to the memory of General Hoche, under whose command the example of Cæsar was imitated by the soldiers of Napoleon.

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By the time that we reached Coblentz, it was night-fall on the Rhine." The moon rose in a cloudless sky, and lent its mild beauty to the scenery through which we passed. The city of Coblentz derives its name from its position at the confluence of the Rhine and the "blue Moselle." On the former river a bridge of boats connects the city with the celebrated fortress of

Ehrenbreitstein, that

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with her shattered wall,

Black with the miner's blast, upon her height

Yet shows of what she was, when shell and ball,
Rebounding idly, on her strength did light."

The Moselle is also crossed here by a handsome stone bridge, which was built when bishops devised these national improvements and conveniences, and raised their subsidies by the sale of indulgences. Such was the history of the building of this bridge. We took up our quarters at " The Giant," an hotel which well deserves the name it bears, being one of the largest I have ever seen. The public room extended the whole length of the building. When we entered, we found it brilliantly illuminated, and nearly filled with ladies and gentlemen, whose evening meal was enlivened by the music of a good band. The next morning I explored the opposite fortress, said to be one of the strongest in Europe. The view from the battlements is very grand. In front are the city of Coblentz, the Rhine flowing at your feet, and the Moselle winding through a verdant valley. In the rear of the town appears the ancient Chartreuse, on the summit of a height planted with vines and fruit-trees, since it has been fortified, called Fort Alexander; and in the plain below, upwards of thirty towns and villages.

In the afternoon we resumed our progress, going on board a steam-boat for Mentz, passing amongst rich vineyards, wild and rugged rocks, ruined castles, modern chateaux, quaint old towns, rustic villages, rich meadows, orchards and gardens. The chief beauties are certainly those of nature: the appearance of the people does not impress one with the idea of comfort; the streets of nearly all the towns appear to be narrow, dirty, and ill-paved, and the houses very wretched-looking places, being principally formed of misshapen wooden beams filled up with a kind of clay, except here and there a mansion, or an hotel for the accommodation of foreign tourists.

We passed Boppart, with its Roman and Gothic ruins; St. Goar, with its wild and romantic scenery; the Lurleyberg, and its remarkable echo; Oberwesel, and the ruins of Schonberg, the birth-place and residence, for many centuries, of the ancient family from which descended the celebrated Frederick of Schon

berg, or Schomberg as more commonly written in this country, who so remarkably distinguished himself in the Swedish army during the thirty years' war, became subsequently a marshal of France, and when driven from that country by the revocation of the edict of Nantes, entered the service of the Prince of Orange. He was entrusted by that prince with the command of the army serving in Ireland against James the Second, and was shot at the battle of the Boyne. Nearly opposite Schonberg is Caub: on the projection of a rock stands an alcove, whence Gustavus Adolphus, during the thirty years' war, directed an attack upon the Spaniards, who had taken up their position on the opposite shore. Here in the centre of the stream is an ancient tower, and at this spot, on the 1st of January, 1814, the Russian and Prussian armies passed the Rhine under the command of Blucher. From this point to Bingen the river pursues its narrow winding course, hemmed in by lofty and precipitous hills, whose sides the remarkable industry of the people has covered with narrow terraces of earth, rising to the height of a thousand feet, and at this season of the year verdant with rich crops of vines. Here are the celebrated vineyards of Asmanshausen, Ehrenfels, Rudesheim, Geisenheim, and Johannisberg, the latter, the valuable property of Prince Metternich.

As you leave this narrow ravine the river widens into a broad and sparkling stream, rejoicing in the clear shining of the sun, and reflecting more brightly the face of heaven. The town of Bingen and the bridge over the Nahe appear in sight, the mountains retreat from the shore, and the stream pursues a more direct course to Bieberich, and the bridge of boats which connects the city of Mayence, or Mentz, with the opposite town of Cassel. Here we stopped for the night, taking up our abode at the Three Crowns, an ancient dwelling that has been an inn for nearly five hundred years. What changes have passed over this city and the whole continent of Europe since the first christians visited this very town. It is stated that immediately after the conquest of Jerusalem by Titus, the twenty-second legion which had been engaged in the siege, came to garrison Mayence; with them, either among their number or under their protection, came some who preached the name of Jesus. During the fierce struggles which took place subsequently between the Germans

and the Romans, Mayence suffered considerably, and for a long period remained buried in ruins, until it was rebuilt by the kings of the Franks. A new and brilliant epoch in its history commenced with Boniface, the apostle of the Germans, who was the first bishop. Towards the close of the thirteenth century the town attained its greatest splendour, and the arts and sciences were in the most flourishing state; but its greatest honor is connected with the name of the distinguished man whose fine bronze statue ornaments one of the principal squares, called after his name-John von Gutenberg, the inventor of printing with moveable types. But for the labors of Gutenberg, Faust, and Schoeffer, how few of us would have been the wiser for the learning of Erasmus, or the energetic and fervid zeal of Luther! Nay, more, how few comparatively could have known the message of mercy to a lost world, rejoiced in the history of incarnate love, or derived saving advantage from the labors of the apostles of the Lamb!

It was with deep interest that I sought out the house of Faust, in a small quadrangle leading out of a narrow street; it is distinguished from the rest by a tablet with a latin inscription. But the genius of Thorwaldsen has been employed to erect a memorial of Gutenberg in the statue which adorns the square that bears his name. Thus has posterity endeavored in some degree to make amends for the ingratitude of his contemporaries, who twice expelled him from the city in which his monument now stands, and where he died in peace in 1468.

Having visited the famous cathedral in which Luther's old enemy, the archbishop of Mentz, has often appeared in all the episcopal state of the Romish church of the middle ages, and explored the principal streets of the city, we crossed the fine bridge of boats to Cassel, where is the terminus of the railroad to Wiesbaden and Frankfort. I have no time to philosophize, or this would be a fine theme. The fort Magontiacum, and this bustling terminus ;-Cæsar and Germanicus, and the directors of the railroad; the fierce Catti of the Hercynian forest, and the stokers and engine-drivers of these trains ;—the intrenchments of the Romans, and the elegant waiting rooms and convenient offices of modern Cassel;-how strange the contrast; and yet there the old river rolls, still as fresh and unchanged as though it had but yesterday started first from its fountain.

We went first to Wiesbaden, the ancient "Fontes Mattiaci," but times have changed since Tacitus described the people as "attached to the Roman government; and resembling the Batavi in every respect, except that they imbibe a greater share of ferocity from the soil and air of their country." If the air and soil have any thing to do with the general character of the present inhabitants, they must be considered as producing a peculiar modification of ferocity, which manifests itself at the gaming-table instead of the hunting-ground and field of battle. Here are fine buildings, and a lovely neighbourhood, but a considerable amount of gaiety and dissipation. We reached Frankfort on the evening of Saturday, and took up our abode at the Hotel d'Angleterre. We attended the English service on the Sabbath morning, at the church of the Weissen Frauen, and on Monday made the tour of the city.

It was with deep interest that we stood in the Kaiser saal, or hall of the Emperors; where, when the destinies of Europe appeared to tremble in the balance, it was arranged by Divine Providence that the iron crown of Charlemagne should be placed upon the youthful brow of Charles V. The architecture of the building is not remarkable, but there attaches to it great historical interest; and we were carried back in imagination to the many important meetings of the Electors of Germany, which those walls had witnessed, and the grave and earnest discussions to which they had echoed. At the library is a very fine statue of Goethe, lately erected by his fellow citizens.

On Tuesday we once more set our faces towards home. After bidding farewell to the Rhine, we saw the Hall of Congress in the ancient palace of Charlemagne, at Aix la Chapelle, and the Cathedral in which the Emperors of Germany were crowned.

On Thursday afternoon we reached this place. It stands, as you know, on the east bank of the Scheldt, about twenty-five miles north of Brussels. It is a fine old city, and " it is impossible to enter through an ancient gateway into its narrow streets, bounded by lofty houses, with their high gable ends or pediments of several stories of windows, and ascending by steps on each side to a point, without being attracted by their remarkable, but at the same time, picturesque appearance." The most striking object in Antwerp is its cathedral, which, besides its