enter its deserted streets. The island Bischofswerder is famous for being, in days of yore, the residence of the hermit, Saint Wicelin, who converted the natives to christianity; tradition still points out the decayed beech, whose ample foliage was the only shelter possessed by the saint against the inclemency of the weather.

Notwithstanding nature has so richly lavished her gifts upon this beautiful district, yet the absence of those traces indicative of a wealthy population are sensibly felt here are no splendid villas, with their extensive parks, and well laid-out grounds, no pleasureboats, with their snowy sails, skimming over the lake to relieve the stillness that reigns around; but the absence of these animating features in rural scenery is principally evident to the inhabitant of Great Britain, who is not accustomed to link the idea of solitude with that of the beauties of nature. However, the careful, not to say diligent cultivation everywhere visible, evidences that he is at least in the neighbourhood of skilful agriculturists; and owing to the mild and paternal character of the Danish government, and the moderation of its fiscal exactions, abject poverty no where obtrudes itself, and he will find the inmates even of the poorest cottages well fed and decently clad. During the whole of my progress through the duchy, I did not encounter a single beggar.

Holstein may with truth be said to be a land flowing with milk and honey; the bees collect the latter in abundance from her numerous wild flowers and extensive heaths; and the produce of the dairy is so abun

dant, that Holstein butter is to be found in the most remote districts of North Germany. I have not unfrequently seen in a dairy from two to three hundred milk-pails, and a dairy-maid has usually the care of from eighteen to twenty cows. I have often met these rosy, round-faced lasses returning from the fields, attended by their donkeys, whom they employ in conveying home the source of their riches. The luxuriant pastures and meadows of this northern Arcadia are equally favourable to the breed of horses, considered the best in Germany for heavy cavalry, and constitute a source of great profit to the landsman. But it is not cattle alone which brings wealth to the landed proprietor; the timber, particularly the oak and beech, are of a most superior quality. I have frequently seen growing from the same parent trunk four or five stately trees, real giants of the forest; it would appear, therefore, that a damp, changeable climate, for such is Holstein, is favourable to their growth, and also tends to the perfection of nature's noblest work; for we find here some of the best grown men and women in the north of Germany.

On my route to Lubeck I passed through Eutin; its diminutive capital (of the same name) is in perfect accordance with the size of the principality, which is eight German miles in circumference, with a population of nineteen thousand, and belongs to the Duke of Oldenburg. It has a most romantic lake, Kellersee, renowned for the delicacy of its eels; and the beauty of the scenery attracts many visitors during the summer months. Among the many points of view with which the neigh

bourhood abounds, that from the summit of the Parinerberg is the most extensive. It commands not only the entire principality, but the town and lake of Ploen, together with Lubeck and its environs; even the Baltic is visible in the distance, as if its bright sparkling waves were wedded to the horizon.

After leaving the agreeable vicinity of Eutin, I soon found that I had left all that could charm the eye; for the country, as I approached Lubeck, wore the flat swampy aspect of that most unpicturesque country, Holland. As such scenery afforded little temptation for a pedestrian tour, I engaged my place in the Lubeck stage, here called a stuhl-wagen. The body of this most primitive carriage was composed of basket-work, and in form somewhat resembled a furniture caravan, but considerably longer and narrower; six seats were suspended across it, by means of stout leather thongs; the whole was painted with the most gaudy colours, and set in motion by the united efforts of a pair of stout Mecklenburg horses, the traces being unusually long, even for Germany. This very outré set-out could not have measured less than sixteen yards in length. Owing to the jolting of the vehicle over a road which might have been paved about a century ago, the passengers appeared in imminent danger of being sent to make a nearer acquaintance than was agreeable with the stones; and it was only by grasping the sides of the vehicle that I was enabled to retain my place: yet such is the force of habit, that my fellow-passengers, who amounted to eighteen, sat as steadily as if they were riding in a carriage of Long Acre manufacture, over a Macadam

ized road, laughing and chatting with the most exemplary German philosophy. Happy people, thought I; if such is your patience under the ordinary evils of life, how easy must be the task of your rulers; you will never, through the magnifying medium of ill-grounded discontent, enlarge the specks upon the state fabric, till they appear mountains.

Lubeck, with its many towers, has a most imposing appearance in the distance; and I could not but admire the noble avenue of linden and chestnut trees that surround the town, whose variegated blossoms not only spread cheerfulness around, but perfumed the air with their aromatic odour. The streets are broad and straight, the squares spacious, and the charm of Dutch cleanliness diffused over the whole.

Among the public buildings, the Rathhaus is the most conspicuous; it is a fine old building, though now merely interesting for containing the hanse-saal, where the deputies from the Hanseatic towns were accustomed to assemble. But it is Saint Mary's church that principally merits attention, for it ranks among the firstrate German ecclesiastical edifices. The interior contains several fine old paintings by Holbein and other artists of the German school: "The Dance of Death” is a curious specimen of the arts in the fifteenth century. The ball commences by two skeletons playing on the flute, followed in succession by twenty-five figures, who represent the various gradations of human existence, all tripping on the light fantastic toe: it has been so often repaired, that it has nearly lost all appearance of originality.

HANSEATIC LEAGUE.

23

The old church clock is considered the most ingenious specimen of early clock-work that has been preserved. It represents the changes of the heavenly bodies until 1875: and, when it strikes twelve, a number of automaton figures are set in motion: the Electors of Germany enter from a small side door, and perform the ceremony of inaugurating the Emperor, who is seated upon a throne in front. Another door is then opened, and Christ appears, when after receiving his benediction, the whole cavalcade retire amidst a flourish of trumpets by a choir of angels. On each side are bas-reliefs, illustrative of passages in the life of our Saviour; in that of the last supper, a mouse is seen peeping from beneath the snow white table-cloth: and be it known to thee, gentle reader, that this little "timorous beastie," has the honour of representing the armorial bearings of the once puissant Lubeck. This epithet may with every justice be applied to the northern Carthage, when we remember that, single handed, she achieved an important victory over the Danes in 1227, and again defied the whole force of that powerful state in refusing to deliver up Gustavus Vasa, to the Nero of the north, Christian II.

In the thirteenth century, Lubeck was elected chief of the Hanseatic League; her burgomaster treated with sovereigns, declared war, and concluded peace. When we recollect, that the treasures of Asia and Africa passed through her ports, and that she held in her hands the sceptre of European commerce, the dreary silence that now reigns in her streets and port, must cause a sigh for the instability of human greatness.