Down the Rhine; Or, Young America in Germany by Oliver Optic (romantic books to read .txt) 📗

I am not going to think of such a thing as not seeing you again," persisted Lady Feodora. "I shudder every time I recall the circumstances under which we met. But for your daring courage and your wonderful skill, both Sir William and myself would have been drowned."

The young baronet looked as though the actual situation was not much improvement upon the possible one suggested by his affianced, if he was to be "cut out" in this extraordinary manner.

"You over-estimate the value of my services; but however you regard them, I shall always rejoice that I was able to serve you. I must leave now."

"But we shall meet again, and very soon, too," said Lady Feodora, as she extended her hand to the young officer.

The other members of the party each in turn took him by the hand. The earl and his lady manifested a warm interest in the young hero, and seconded the wish of their daughter that they might meet again.

"I am really sorry you are going," said Sir William; but it is doubtful whether he was as sincere as his friends. "Couldn't you contrive it some way so as to drop in upon us at Blankville? It would really be a very great pleasure—it would, upon my honor."

"I am afraid it will be impossible," replied Shuffles, as he bowed himself out of the apartment.

Perhaps Sir William was the only happy person in that group, for there was no doubt that he was glad to get rid of the troublesome hero.

The ship's company took the train at the appointed time, and by ten o'clock were in their rooms at the Hôtel Erbprinz, in the capital of the Grand Duchy of Baden. As soon as it was light in the morning, the students were scattered through the streets of the town, which, like those of Washington, radiate from a common centre, where the king's palace is located. The meals of the party at the hotels were usually served separate from those of other guests, and at breakfast Professor Mapps had an opportunity to say a word about the city. He told them, what many of them had already ascertained, that it was a very pretty, but very quiet place. It is of modern growth, being unable to boast of much more than a century's duration. Charles, the Margrave of Baden, built a hunting-seat on the spot in 1715, which, on account of the seclusion of the place, he called "Charles's Rest." In the course of time, his retreat was invaded by others, and a city grew up around him, which was called Karlsruhe—the German for the name the Margrave had given his hunting-seat.

The Schloss, or palace, did not essentially differ from a dozen other similar structures the party had seen. In fact, palaces and cathedrals were getting rather stale with them, and they coveted a new sensation, which they were likely to realize at their next stopping-place. Before noon the tourists reached Baden-Baden, and were pleasantly installed at the Hôtel de l'Europe. As the season was somewhat advanced, there was plenty of room, though the glories of the German watering-place were not seen at their height.

The place is called Baden-Baden to distinguish it from Baden in Austria and Baden in Switzerland. It is beautifully located in a lovely valley surrounded by the hills of the Black Forest. Although it has but seven thousand permanent inhabitants, not less than forty thousand visitors have made their abode within its precincts in a single season. It is the most fashionable, and at the same time the most attractive, of the German watering-places. The nobility and gentry, as well as the blacklegs and swindlers of all the nations of Europe, gather there. The country around the town is romantic and pleasing, and with good roads through the forests and up the hills, there is a great variety of delightful walks and drives. Everything which nature and art could do to make the place and its surroundings an attractive abode, has been done.

On the rocky hills above the town are the old and the new castles of the Grand Duke of Baden. The former is of Roman origin, and was occupied by the reigning dukes in the middle ages. The latter is the summer residence of the present sovereign. At the foot of the rocks on which the modern structure is located are the hot springs, thirteen in number, to which the town owes its origin as a health-giving abode. This part of the place is called "Hell" on account of the heat of the springs, which does not permit the snow, even in the coldest weather, to remain upon it. The hottest of these springs has a temperature of 54° Réaumur, equal to 153½° Fahrenheit. Their water is led by pipes to the "Trinkhalle" and baths in the village, the passage having but little effect upon its temperature. A kind of temple is built over the principal spring, which furnishes the hottest and most copious supply of water. There is sufficient evidence that the Romans used these fountains for vapor baths, and other medicinal purposes. The water is perfectly clear, has a saltish taste, and at the spring is not unlike weak broth, though it has a disagreeable odor. It is beneficial for dyspepsia, gout, rheumatism, and scrofulous diseases.

After dinner the tourists commenced their explorations by a visit to das neue Trinkhalle, or the New Pump Room, opposite the hotel. The spring waters are conveyed to it in pipes, and in the season the place is crowded with visitors, who drink them in the morning.

The Conversationshaus is the grand centre of attraction. It is a magnificent building, surrounded by splendid gardens. In front of it is a Chinese pagoda, intended as a music stand for the band, which plays there twice a day. It contains a large assembly-room, where the company dance at times, a restaurant, a theatre, and other apartments. There are also rooms for gambling, which is the staple amusement, not only for the blacklegs and swindlers, who resort to the establishment, but for the nobility and gentry. The Conversationshaus is rented by the government to a company, who pay fifty-five thousand dollars a year for the monopoly of the gaming tables, and pledge themselves to spend one hundred thousand dollars annually upon the walks and buildings. Of course players must lose vast sums of money to enable the keepers of the establishment to pay these large prices. All classes of people gamble, and about one fourth of those who engage in the seductive play are ladies—or rather women, though they include not a few of the nobility.

Balls, concerts, promenades, and the theatre, as well as the exciting amusement of the gaming tables, keep the visitors well employed during the season; and when they weary of the din of gayety, a walk of five minutes will lead them to the solitudes of the forests and the mountains. There is a library and reading-room in operation, in the midst of the scene of the revelry. The students spent the afternoon in wandering through these brilliant halls; and some of them observed, with a feeling akin to terror, the operations of rouge-et-noir and roulette. No one spoke at the tables, and no one but players were allowed to be seated. If any of the boys, after the exciting sport had become familiar to them, were tempted to try their hand, they had not money enough to make it an object, which proved the wisdom of the principal's policy in managing their finances for them.

The next forenoon was devoted to a visit to the two castles above the town. Only the ancient one has any special interest, and this is noted for the curious dungeons in the rock beneath it. The castellan, or keeper, conducted the party down a winding staircase, to an ancient Roman bath, by a passage made in modern times; for originally the only access to the dungeons was by a perpendicular shaft in the centre of the castle, which is still in existence. Tradition declares that the prisoners, blindfolded, and lashed to an armchair, were lowered through this shaft to the gloomy vaults hewn out of the solid rock. The dark and mysterious dungeons were closed by a stone slab, revolving on a pivot, and weighing from half a ton to a ton. One room, larger than the others, was the rack-chamber, which contained the instrument of torture; and in the wall several iron rings still remain.

In a passage-way there is a deep aperture, now boarded over, but formerly covered by a trap-door. The victim doomed to the rack was led to the passage, at the end of which was an image of the Virgin, which he was required to kiss. In approaching it, he stepped upon the trap, and was precipitated into the depths below upon a wheel armed with knives, upon which he was torn in pieces. The story is, that this horrible pit was discovered in searching for a little dog which had fallen through the planking, when the wheel was found, with its knives rusty, the fragments of bones and garments still clinging to them. But people who go to see sights ought not to be disappointed—and some allowance should be made before accepting all the stories of guides and keepers of mysterious dungeons. Doubtless these subterranean apartments were the meeting-places of some secret tribunals, such as the Vehmic courts, which existed in the middle ages in Westphalia. Scott and Göthe have made use of these dungeons in their works, and our students regarded them as a splendid field for the later writers of sensational fiction.

The party walked through the upper portion of the castle, and obtained a fine view of the surrounding country from its openings. The rest of the day was spent in the gardens, assembly-rooms, and other places of interest. In the first train, the next morning, the excursionists went to Heidelberg, fifty-eight miles distant.

 

CHAPTER XVI.

UP THE MEDITERRANEAN.

The Josephine still sped on her course, southwest by west; and still the mystery of her destination remained unsolved. Little was hopeful, while Ibbotson was despondent. Mr. Fluxion planked the quarter-deck as industriously as though he were walking on a wager, or had the dyspepsia, which could only be cured by plenty of exercise.

"What do you suppose this means?" said Perth, when the port watch had gone below.

"I don't know: it's a poser to me," replied Herman, as he seated himself under the shelter of the top-gallant forecastle. "But I can't think it is anything more than a short cruise for the sake of the discipline."

"It can't be a long cruise, for no provisions and water were taken in," added Perth. "I think, if we behave first rate, we shall return to Brest in a day or two."

"We will be as proper as the lambs themselves."

"How is it about Fluxion's going to Italy?" asked Perth.

"I know only what the fellows say. Everybody believes that he has to go there to see some friend who is sick."

"Where are we going, Mr. Briskett?" inquired Perth, as the head steward came forward to take a look ahead.

"Going to sea," replied he.

"Where are we bound?"

"Bound to sea."

"But how long are we to be out?" persisted Perth.

"Well, I don't know; but I am fully of the opinion that we shall be out till we go into port again."

"Won't you tell us, Mr. Briskett?" interposed Herman.

"Tell you what?"

"Where the vessel is going."

"Going to sea," answered the head steward, good-naturedly; for he rather enjoyed the perplexity of the crew.

"Is there any secret about the ship's destination?"

"You must ask Mr. Fluxion. He is on the quarterdeck, and I dare say he will be very happy to give you any information he thinks it is proper for you to have."

Mr. Briskett, having taken his long look ahead, turned on his heel, and went aft again.

"Where are we going, Mr. Bitts?" said Herman, to the carpenter, who had been within hearing during the dialogue with the head steward.

"Going