at Paris. Ladislas and Ferdinand I. continued the works, which were completed under MariaTheresa. It was several times besieged and sacked by the Hussites. It is of little interest. The greater part of the treasures once contained in it have been removed to other palaces. Part was occupied by the late Emperor Ferdinand (uncle of Franz Joseph), who abdicated in 1848. Many of the apartments are open to the public, from 11 to 1 o'clock. Entrance by the third court, on the right of the Cathedral: fee, 30 kr.

The railing which closes the court of honour is ornamented with groups of gladiators. The principal entrance-gate was built in the Doric style, by Scamozzi, in 1614; the great staircase is very handsome. The second court is adorned with a monumental basin; in the third court, on the terrace adjoining the Cathedral, is a superb equestrian bronze statue of St George, of the 14th century. Among the principal salons are: The Throne-Room, or chamber of Ladislas; the Landtagsual, the ancient hall of the High Court of Justice, containing eleven flags taken from the enemy by the Archduke Charles, three standards of the kingdom, portraits of Maria Theresa, Joseph II., Leopold II., the Archduke Francis, and the Emperor Francis I. The apartments occupied by the Emperor Ferdinand have been decorated anew since the fire of 1855. The Chapel has been splendidly restored, 1852-7, it is adorned with frescoes by Kandler, and statues by Max. The Spanish Chapel and the German Chapel may be formed into one, capable of containing 2,000 persons; they are lighted by 3,600 candles. The Landstube, on the third floor of the south wing, is the most interesting apartment

in the Palace; from its window, upwards of 60 ft. from the ground, were precipitated, on the 23rd of May, 1618, the imperial counsellors, Martinitz and Slawata, and the private secretary Platter; two small pyramids, erected in the fosse, beneath the window, record the fact that the victims of this outrage miraculously escaped with their lives. The apartment is adorned with portraits of these officials, and of fourteen sovereigns of the House of Hapsburg. From this point there is a magnificent view of the city.

The Church of St George, in the square of the same name, behind the Cathedral, was founded in 912, by Wratislaw I., on the site of the castle of Lebussa; it was restored after the fire of 1142. It contains the tombs of Wratislaw, the Dukes Boleslas II. and Odalric, and many others.

The Hradschin is bounded on the north by the Hirschgraben, across which a bridge leads to the gardens. We go by the gardens to the exercise ground of the artillery, and enter the Chotekstrasse, in which is the Belvedere or Fernandeum, the summer residence built by Ferdinand I., in 1534, for his wife Anna, in the style of the Renaissance. The great hall is used for exhibitions of paintings; the Society of Fine Arts have adorned it with frescoes, after the cartoons of Rubens. They represent the baptism of Boriwoj; the murder of St Venceslas; the removal of the relics of St Adalbert to Prague; the coronation of Wratislaw, first King of Bohemia; the abdication of Ladislas in favour of Przemysl Ottakar I.; King Vencelas I. as a minstrel; the foundation of the University of Prague, by Charles IV.; and Joseph II. at Prague, during the plague. From the balcony is a

fine panoramic view. The garden reaches, on the north-east, the Volksgarten, at the eastern extremity of which is the BelvedereHohe, from which another fine view is obtained.

From the Kleinseite we go by the square of the Walsche-Spital, to the Lawrenzberg, a wooded hill on which stands the Church of St Lawrence, surrounded by the fourteen stations of the cross, painted by Fuhrich. Before reaching the summit of the hill, we pass the Neuenmarkt, where stands the palace of the Count Schönborn, with a beautiful park. In the square of the WalcheSpital is the palace of Prince Lobkowitz, which has a good picture-gallery, a fine library, and a magnificent garden.

Prague has often been exposed to the calamities of war. It was besieged and taken six times before 1249. In the war of the Hussites, it was taken, burned, plundered and sacked with a ferocity to which the records of religious fanaticism furnish no parallel. The Thirty Years' War began and ended within its walls. During its progress the city was three times in possession of the enemy. In 1620 the battle was fought at the White Mountain, near the city, in which the Elector Palatine, Frederick V. known as the Winter King, and son-in-law of James I. of England, was defeated and compelled to renounce his assumed crown and give up the town. During the Seven Years' War it fell into the hands of different victors, having been compelled, in 1744, to capitulate to Frederick the Great of Prussia, and until the war of deliverance in Germany and the downfall of Napoleon, the city continued to suffer from the troubles in which the house of Austria had been in

volved. During the last sixty years it has enjoyed prosperity

and quiet, except in 1848, when the meeting of the Slavonic Congress within its walls called forth a demonstration from the national party, which the government was compelled to suppress by bombarding the city.

On leaving Prague we cross a viaduct of 88 arches, 3,500 ft. long. Near Bubentsch is the Baumgarten, greatly frequented by the Viennese in the summer months.

RAUDNITZ (298 miles) is picturesquely situated on the Elbe. The castle is the property of Prince Lobkowitz. The collection of paintings from the time of Charles V. to the Thirty Years' War is very valuable. Prince Lewis of Baden, a general who distinguished himself against the Turks, was married here to a princess of Saxony in 1669. The celebrated Cola di Rienzi, "The Last of the Tribunes," was confined in this castle for a year by the Emperor Charles IV.

AUSSIG (321 miles) was the birthplace of Raphael Mengs, the celebrated painter. Biehanj, a height west of the town, was the scene of the great Hussite battle in 1426. A steamer leaves Aussig twice daily for Dresden, in six to seven hours. The district through which we pass, along the valley of the Elbe, is very beautiful, and is commonly known as "the Saxon Switzerland.' BODENBACH (336 miles) is the frontier station, where luggage destined to Saxony is examined. Passing some other places of no interest, we reach DRESDEN (375 miles). (See Route 130.)

ROUTE 154.

PRAGUE TO NUREMBURG BY PILSEN.

To Nuremberg, 220 miles; 1st class, 33 m. 95; 2nd, 24 m. 95.

N leaving Prague we pass, on the right, the White Hill, where Maximilian of Bavaria and the Catholic League gained a victory in 1620 over the Protestant forces of Frederick V. of Bohemia. Near Karlstein we see, on an eminence, the fine Castle, which was built for the Emperor Charles IV., and was, for a long time, a residence of the Kings of Bohemia. It is still in fair preservation. The Donjon Tower is 121 ft. high. The Kreuzkapelle formerly contained the Bohemian regalia. It was secured by four iron doors and no less than thirteen locks. The Church of the Ascension is ornamented with frescoes. In the Chapel of St Catherine is a fine painting of the Madonna and Child, with kneeling figures of the Emperor Charles IV. and his wife. Beraun (23 miles) is a walled town situated on the river of the name. Near Horowitz (33 miles) are extensive silver and lead mines. Near Rokitzan (49 miles) are some considerable iron-stone mines and iron works. From Chrast (60 miles, a branch line turns off to the coal mines of Radnitz. We next reach

PILSEN (67 miles) (Hotel: Kaiser von Oesterreich). The Church of St Bartholomew, in the Gothic style, is attributed to the 14th century. The Rathhaus is in the style of the Renaissance. The house occupied by Wallen

stein immediately before his death, and his arms, are shown.

In the neighbourhood of Staab (84 miles) are extensive coalfields. Passing Furth (106 miles) the last Austrian station, we reach Cham (119 miles), situated on a branch of the Regen. In the vicinity are extensive forests, amid which are glass and iron works. At SCHWANDORF JUNCTION (149 miles) the line branches to RATISBON, 26 miles.

Continuing on we pass Amberg, Hersbruck, and some other small stations, and reach NUREMBERG, for description of which see Route 144.

ROUTE 155

FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MAIN TO CARLSBAD. (BY NUREMBERG).

Distance, 265 miles; fares: first class, 47.70; second, 35 20.

For that part of the route from Frankfort to Nuremberg, see Route 144.

EAVING Nuremberg, we pass Hersbruck, 164 miles from Frankfort. Vilseck and several other stations are passed, and we reach WEIDEN (196 miles), where a line goes off to Baireuth. The next station of importance is EGER (232 miles), on the river of the same name. Its castle was built in 1180, by Frederick Barbarossa, and it has a beautiful church of the 13th century. Thirty-three miles farther, we reach CARLSBAD. (Hotels: see "HOTEL LIST"). ENGLISH

CHURCH, services in the new

church at 11 and 3.

It is romantically situated on the River Tepel, near its junction with the Eger. This is one of the most celebrated watering - places in Germany, and its springs are the hottest in Europe. The temperature varies from 117 degrees to 165 degrees Fahr. The principal and hottest spring the Sprudel

has a very large volume, and is forced up to a height of 3 ft. above the ground. Altogether, the daily flow of the springs, of which there are nine, is estimated at two million gallons. They were known in the 7th century, but were lost sight of till 1347, when, according to a tradition of the country, they were re-discovered by Charles IV., whose attention was drawn to the spot, while hunting, by the cries of one of the hounds, which had fallen into a hot spring when pursuing a stag. He subsequently established regular baths here, to which he gave his name.

Near the Sprudel is another spring in the same arcade. Another gallery encircles the springs called the Muhlbrunnen, the Neubrunnen, the Thereseinbrunnen, the Bernhardsbrunnen, and the Felsenquelle. Between these two groups are the Schlossbrunnen, the Marcbrunnen, and at the Town Hall, where there is a statue of Charles IV., the springs called the Emperor and the Charles.

The Kurhaus has baths on the ground floor, and on the first floor conversation and readingrooms (charge, 80 kr. per week). A band plays in the grounds several times a day. Visitors remaining at Carlsbad for more than a week, are required to pay tax for music, etc., according to a fixed and moderate tariff. The promenades in the neighbour

hood are very pleasant, the most frequented being that along the Tepel. Carlsbad is supposed to be placed over an immense reservoir of boiling mineral water, the vapour of which escaping through fissures forms a concrete which has to be removed once in three months. It is a remarkable fact that, after the earthquake at Lisbon in 1755, these springs ceased to flow for three days.

The springs vary in temperature from 117° to 165°, and contain the same mineral constituents,sulphates and carbonates of soda, lime, potash, etc., highly useful in dyspepsia, gout, rheumatism, liver complaint, gravel, stone, hypochondriasis, dysentery, constipation, etc.; the course is generally four weeks. The number of visitors is about 27,000 each season, April to October.

About 19 miles from Eger (see above) is MARIENBAD (Hotels: Klingers, Neptune), in a valley surrounded with pine-clad hills.

It is celebrated for its mineral waters and mud baths. The waters resemble those of Carlsbad except that they are cooler; they are efficacious in diseases of the skin. The season extends from May to August. They are visited by 9,000 persons every year.

FRANZENBAD (Hotels: British, Gisela) is a much frequented and aristocratic bath, about 3 miles from Eger (see above). It is rapidly growing in popularity, and bids fair to become a rival of Carlsbad. It has been called "Carlsbad cooled." It has mud and gas baths. The yearly number of bathers is 9,000.

ROUTE 156.

The ducal castle of the family of Babenburg is now a military academy, founded by Maria Theresa in 1752. GLOGGNITZ (46 miles), at the base of the Semmering. The Schloss on an

VENICE.

N leaving Vienna we pass (3 miles) the Schonbrunn Palace. The first place express trains stop at is BADEN (153 miles), which is reached in less than an hour. It has sulphur springs which are much resorted to by the Viennese. The railway lies at a considerable elevation, affording fine views of Vienna and numerous villas and villages. On the left is seen the column erected in 1542, now called the Spinnerin am Kreuz. On the right is seen the Gloriette in the park of Schönbrunn. At Voslau the best wine of Austria is produced. NEUSTADT (28 miles) Hotel: Hirsch) was the birthplace of Emperor Frederick IV. and Maximilian I. The town was almost completely destroyed by fire in 1834. The parish church contains several tombstones with well-executed reliefs.

At

dictine abbey, suppressed in 1803. The Castle of Wartenstein is on a height to the left. Gloggnitz the celebrated Semmering Railway, the most remarkable structure of the kind in Europe, commences. This portion of the railway, 25 miles in length, cost upwards of one and a half million pounds sterling. It is carried along the face of precipices by means of fifteen tunnels and fifteen bridges. On the left rises the Semmering with its three peaks. The views, for a long distance, are very grand. At the Semmering Station 70 miles) the railway reaches its highest point. Here we pass through a tunnel 4,518 ft. long, upwards of 2,800 ft. above the

sea.

We now begin to descend the opposite slopes of the Semmering Alp, and reach MURZZUSCHLAG (80 miles), situated on the Murz, at the foot of the mountain range. Keeping along the right bank of the river, and passing through highly picturesque scenery, we cross the Murz near its confluence with the Mur, and reach BRUCK (106) miles). (This is the junction of the railway from Klagenfurt). Our route goes along the left bank of the Mur, beneath steep precipices, for a considerable distance. We presently leave the ravine, and enter upon a beautiful and richly cultivated plain, in the centre of which is

GRATZ (139 miles) (Hotels: Elephant, Erzherzog Johann), a picturesque old town, built on both sides of the river Mur, and encircled by fine gardens and pleasure-grounds. The SCHLOSS