and England; upon which the quick-witted Corsican answered with much tact

"Dans ce cas à la vous n'êtes plus une puissance!"

This ill-starred commander, whose very name, of Hebrew origin, is Macka (misfortune), rose from the ranks to be field-marshal, and enjoyed the confidence of Laudon and several others of Austria's greatest commanders; but at that period of the war it was too frequently the misfortune of Austrian troops to be led by men, who, though possessed of great military science, were but scantily endowed with decision or personal bravery.

At Ulm, the Danube, or, as it is more descriptively termed by the Germans, Don-au, (the roaring river,) begins to be navigable. There is, however, as much contention respecting the origin of its name as that of the spring from which it derives its source. It was called by the ancients the Ister, and Danubius: some writers pretend that it borrows its appellation from the numerous heathen altars that were erected on its banks, and consecrated by the Romans to Diana Abnoba.

With regard to the source, some contend that it owes its origin to the diminutive rivulets Brigach and Breg; but as this, like other doubtful matters, will ever be disputed, I shall declare myself in favour of the tiny spring in the schloss of Prince Fürstenberg Donauschingen, and which can be covered with the palm of the hand-at least it sounds romantic, and what is

still more, it bears the name of Donau (Danube) from the commencement.

The whole extent of the Danube, from the source to the Black Sea, is computed to be about seven hundred leagues, and receives a hundred and fifty rivers and rivulets in its progress. From Ulm to Vienna, a distance of seventy-eight German miles, it passes through a succession of the most picturesque scenery; but the rapidity of the river, the frequent interruption of gulfs, shoals, whirlpools, &c. render the navigation somewhat difficult. Nearly the whole of this route, the river is walled in by two chains of mountains, and the roaring of the water, as it breaks over its rocky impediments, may be heard at a considerable distance. Many travellers prefer the scenery of the Rhine to that of the Danube. De gustibus non disputandum-the banks of both are very beautiful; but I doubt if any part of the scenery of the Rhine is comparable to that around the convent of Weltenburg, the neighbourhood of Passau, and Lintz, in Upper Austria, neither does it possess the wildness of the Danube whirlpools; the rocks are also inferior in altitude, and the river in majestic volume: for the expanse of water is so vast between Vienna and Belgrade, that it has frequently been the theatre of naval combats between the Christians and Turks.

CHAPTER XVII.

Voyage down the Danube-Departure from Ulm-Blenheim, Donauwerth -Melancholy Fate of Maria of Brabant-Ingoldstadt-General TillyWeltenburg-Ratisbon-Passau-Anecdote of a French SurgeonEngelhardszell-Austrian Custom House-Danube Fogs-Lintz — Danube Whirlpools-Hurricane-Ruins of Aggstein-DürrensteinGreiffenstein-Abbot of Neuburg-Nussdorf-Vienna.

CONFORMABLY with my resolution of taking an aquatic route to Vienna, I left Ulm in one of the regular Danube packets; but how to describe this specimen of German boat-building, is the difficulty; for nothing that I ever beheld, whether ship, barge, boat, or canoe, bore the slightest resemblance to it. Let my readers, then, imagine a large mass of unplaned, unpainted deal boards, or, rather, beams, in some places nailed, in others bound together by willow ropes, into something that bore a distant resemblance to a boat. Its internal arrangements corresponded with its exterior. A small square enclosure, about four feet high, was the substitute for a cabin, and the furniture being limited to a plank for a table, and two long boards, supported by casks, for seats. The freight was of the most miscella

neous description; we had quantities of Swiss cheese, bales of raw cotton, sour Neckar wine on its way to Vienna to be converted into Rhenish, and an endless variety of other packages. The live stock was confined to human beings, with the exception of four dogs, two cats, and a quantity of snails. A few empty sacks were spread as substitutes for cushions, upon which the passengers seated themselves sans cérémonie. I had now leisure to examine my fellow prisoners, for such I considered them, and, truly, a more motley assemblage I have rarely seen. We had a French milliner, bound for Vienna; her little family consisted of a white poodle, and a large grey Angora cat, one or other of which constantly reposed on her lap: we had also two young English ladies, and their father; a German baron, and a count of the Holy Roman Empire; the remainder consisted of students, actors, artisans, peasants, a few soldiers and their wives, and a pretty round number of frail lassies, on a pilgrimage to the Maison d'Accouchement at Vienna; in short, I verily believe that specimens might be found of every shade and variety of the middling and lower classes of German society.

I waited with some degree of impatience to see in what manner the unwieldy machine was to be set in motion: this was at length slowly effected, after much vociferation among the boatmen, who were not the most adroit of their profession, and I then found that the propelling impetus was to consist of very large oars, each pulled by six or seven men, and occasionally

by a greater number, as several of the passengers, especially the students, volunteered their services; we were also aided by the great rapidity of the stream, which runs down a descent of six hundred and sixty feet, that being the difference between the height of the Danube here, and at Vienna.

We now glided onwards for several hours very pleasantly, until late in the evening, when, to the infinite dismay of all on board, it was discovered we were stranded; the ill-directed and abortive efforts of the crew, to set the vessel once more floating, were continued for an hour, when the daylight, and the patience of the passengers, failing at the same time, we demanded of the captain, how far it was to the village in which he intended to pass the night? He answered, "Several miles;-but about half an hour's walk from hence," added he, " is a small hamlet, in which it is probable you may find accommodation; but there is no way of getting to it, except by wading through the marshes on the banks of the river." This was not very agreeable information for hungry travellers: however, there was no alternative, especially as it was now nearly dark.

The students, and indeed all the Germans, were soon in motion, and rapidly disappeared through the thick wood of sedges on the margin of the river; but when the plan was proposed to the English ladies and the little Parisienne, they almost screamed with horror, and declared their intention of sitting all night in their cloaks, in the cabin: they were, however, persuaded to