mination of the grottos, and also for the guides that conduct the stranger through the mountains: and I would recommend all travellers to demand of their guides a list of the prices, which they are obliged to carry with them; otherwise, their consciences will not restrain them from making double charges.

A part of the ruins of the adjoining castle, Rabenstein, has been recently repaired, for the reception of the best specimens of the fossil remains found in the grottos. Nevertheless, it is to be regretted, that the idea was not suggested, of the propriety of leaving, at least, part of the petrified bones of the animals in their original position, some of the skeletons having been found whole, and upright: the interest would then have been considerably increased, and the impression made upon the fancy far more lively.

We were informed, that an English nobleman recently purchased a cart-load of these fossil petrifactions; but the Bavarian government, having received notice of the transaction, dispatched a band of gensd'armes to intercept them. However, English gold clipped the wings of the warlike Mercuries, for they arrived just in time to see that they had safely passed the frontier!

The valley now became more confined, and gloomy: the river Wiesent roared through its rocky channel; the majestic cliffs on each side assumed the forms of crumbling ruins; and, after following a labyrinth of windings, we perceived an isolated rock, distinguished by its altitude; upon whose summit sat perched, like an eagle's eyrie, the romantic ruin, Rabeneck. The

RUIN OF RABENECK.

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scenery was most sublime, and the grave-like stillness that reigned around was only occasionally broken by the clashing of the distant water-mill. Among the numerous ruined castles that crown almost every peak in this part of the country, Rabeneck was deemed the most formidable; not only on account of the reckless character of its bandit lords, but its inaccessible situation; as the only approach is through an opening at the foot of the rock, barely affording sufficient space for a man of moderate size to pass. From hence, a succession of natural caverns, connected by passages and staircases, lead through the interior of the rock to the summit.

After passing this den of rapine, the valley assumed a wilder character, and the hitherto insignificant stream, swelled by the accession of the waters of the Aufsees, had become a considerable river, roaring furiously as it burst down a precipice of rocks, and now forming a picturesque cataract. Indeed, the valley was most appropriately termed the Schauder-thal (valley of horrors), and the lonely inn which now disclosed itself looked more like the retreat of some bandit chief, than a house of refreshment: but experience proved that a solitary inn may not be a robbers' nest, for the host provided us with a good dinner, to which I had the pleasure of adding an excellent dish of trout from the river which flowed past the door.

When the repast was over, our obliging landlord conducted us to the Riesenberg (giant's castle), of which nature has been the architect and artificer. It is

a rock of most stupendous height, and the number of recesses, corridors, arches, rooms, &c., in its interior is truly astonishing. Our attention was next directed to a most singular freak of nature, the form of a human being of gigantic dimensions in the rocky roof of one of the halls; the head, limbs, and ribs, were distinctly developed. The castle derives its name from this figure.

We now left the Valley of Horrors, and winged our flight to the region of the eagles; at least, it had the advantage of being nearer the sun, for in less than an hour we stood on the highest summit of the mountains, called the Adlerstein (eagle's stone); the prospect it commands, considering its altitude, which is under two thousand feet, is very extensive, and few are more interesting, as it embraces fifteen burghs, fortresses, and ruined castles, together with many charming valleys, villages, and hamlets, among which the numerous pointed crags that start up in all their grotesque forms are not the least striking feature: taken altogether, it is a scene of great beauty, in which the sterner, as well as the gentler aspects of nature, are delightfully blended.

It was with no little difficulty we shaped our course from hence, to the gem of all the grottoes in the neighbourhood, called the Rosenmüller. After descending a ladder of fifty steps, we unexpectedly entered, what might be termed without exaggeration, a fairy temple. It was brilliantly illuminated, and, with little exception, the whole surface glittered with stalactites,

moulded into the most fanciful forms, and although there are several more in the neighbourhood, yet the two I have described possess the greatest interest; the former for its extent, the number of its petrifactions, and fossil remains, and this for the beauty of its stalactites.

CHAPTER XII.

Muggendorf-Scene at the inn-Bamberg-Miracles of Prince Hohenlohe-Erlangen-Students-Anecdote of the King of Bavaria-Nuremberg-Cathedral-Monument by Peter Fischer-An English traveller -Anspach-Wildbad-Werthheim wines-Wurzburg-Legend of the Scottish Saint, Kilian-Public institutions-Wurzburg wines.

THE small town of Muggendorf is generally the pilgrimage of all tourists who visit Franconian Switzerland; for it is not only situated in the centre of all that is picturesque and interesting, but the only place in the whole district containing tolerable accommodation; and as the mountain air is no encourager of abstinence, we hastened thither with feelings of peculiar interest, and hailed the little inn with as much satisfaction as the mariner enters a harbour. But its name? Whether the sign that creaked on its rusty hinges indicated a golden swan, or goose, I defy the most learned ornithologist to determine. We were not a little mortified to find every room in the house occupied; but as the host assured us that capital beds should be arranged for us in the travellers' room, we somewhat reluctantly entered to reconnoitre. It was certainly a room at once airy and spacious, and the number of windows