proceeds from the soil or from any peculiarity in the grapes I could not learn. The surrounding vineyards call their wine Johannisberger, and on the credit of the name realise high prices. At the restaurant, in the neighbourhood, good wine is charged 5 florins, about 9s. per, bottle. The first view of the vineyards is rather disappointing. We expect to see the vines carried along trellises pendant with grapes, instead of which their culture is almost similar to that of raspberries in Great Britain. They are planted at given distances, about five to six feet apart, and allowed to grow about three to four feet high; each clump is neatly tied to a pole. The old timber is cut out every year, and new wood brought up. They begin bearing the third year after being planted, and if well manured will continue to yield a large produce for twenty years. This year has been most favourable; the produce is large, and the wine good. Previous to the crop being saved, a wine-grower offered to wager that he would make 1,200 bottles of wine from 100 plants, or a dozen from each plant. The wine of 1865 is expected to surpass any made this century, not excepting 1811, which is spoken of as the best year for wine. The superior yield will not depress the price; the quality will be so fine that it will be in demand for storing. The banks of the Moselle which flows into the Rhine at Coblentz, produces a somewhat different wine from that of the Rhine. Each wine-grower makes his own wine, and sells it to the merchant, who mixes it or keeps it separate, as suits the palates of his customers. Opposite Coblentz, the river bank rises precipitously for nearly 400 feet, and at the top is built the powerful fortress of Ehrenbreitstein, the Gibraltar of the Rhine. Is is an imposing structure, and, save by stratagem, has never been taken. I confess, I got rather tired of the sameness of the scenery. I think the river Blackwater, in Ireland, from Youghal to Lismore, is as beautiful as any part of the Rhine, except just about Drachenfels. It has one advantage, the sail only occupies two hours against nine hours down the Rhine. The morning had been lovely and warm, but towards mid-day there was a change in the weather. Dinner was served on the deck under an awning; as it progressed the wind arose, and just as we finished down came the rain; the thunder was heard rolling among the hills, and the vivid lightning lit up the scenery with its momentary flashes. The storm soon passed away, and all around looked fresher for its bath. Baedecker found it necessary to caution passengers not to allow themselves to be imposed upon, and publishes a tariff, in which he states the charge for the table d'hôte at one o'clock, is twenty silver groschen. After the storm passed away, I went to settle for my dinner. The steward said, dinner twenty-five groschen. 'How is that? said I; 'here is the book with the charge.' Oh,' said the varlet, at no loss for an excuse,' 'I thought you had ice. The charge with ice is twenty-five groschen.' This was mere humbug, as there was no ice on the table. We had on board a German band, en route from Munich to Amsterdam, and towards evening the conductor got them together, and they performed many pieces. The castle crag of Drachenfels' rises in one of the most picturesque portions of the river, and the view from the top will well reward the trouble of the ascent. The sun sunk ere we reached Cologne. The gleam of the gas-lamps had a pretty effect upon the waters, which here widen out into a broad river. During the day we had passed numbers of tug steamers, each drawing after it four, five, and even six large barges, which were laden with commodities for the interior, on their way up the stream, from Rotterdam. Cologne has a population of 113,000 inhabitants. It is a strongly fortified place. The unfinished cathedral, commenced upwards of six hundred years ago, attracts the admiration of all. But the master-mind that planned it is unknown; and this splendid piece of architecture is only a portion of that which he conceived. Part of it is finished, principally by the contributions of Protestants, though the service, according to the Roman Catholic form of worship, is celebrated in its grand aisles. I happened to meet at Cologne a German who spoke English very well, and asked him what was the social position of the people and the system of descent of property. I was rather surprised to learn that there was a strict system of espionage kept up by the police, and that there were means of punishing persons for their sentiments, without undergoing a trial. He said, if a man in any of the public rooms expressed himself too freely on political subjects, some busybody present was sure to report it to the police, and he would be sent for the next day and cautioned. Every man is bound to serve a certain time in the army, and if a young man expresses liberal sentiments he is sure to be subjected to severer military discipline, and to be punished for slight offences. The habit of military obedience thus acquired is unfavourable to the free expression of opinion to the same extent as DESCENT OF PROPERTY IN PRUSSIA. 141 is enjoyed in Great Britain. If any language falls from a man which can be construed into disre spect to the Government or to the Burgomaster, he is punished; thus a student's calling his dog 'Bismarck' was made a police offence. The descent of property in Prussia is a very complex question, but under the Prussian law the wife acquires rights to a share of her husband's property in a manner quite foreign to British ideas. Thus if a marriage takes place without any settlement, and the husband subsequently becomes rich, the wife is entitled to half the property, and she can dispose of her half by bequest. This subject is too large, and my information too scanty, to enter minutely into it, but it is very evident that the views which are entertained as to the right of property in Great Britain are very different from those which obtain in Prussia. I only stayed one night in Cologne, and left at an early hour the next morning for Brussels. BELGIUM. ABOUT fifty miles from Cologne you cross the Prussian frontier, and are upon Belgian soil. Before reaching it, a great change takes place in the aspect of the country, and in the appearance of the traffic on the railway. The fields become separated by fences and hedgerows, the cattle are grazing at large, and the country has an English aspect. The railroad trucks show the presence of minerals. Coals are to be seen on the line. This pleasant change continues until the frontier line is passed, and Verviers, the first Belgian town, has quite an English aspect. Here we find men hived together and working in large factories. The tall chimneys, and high buildings, show that the people are working in combination, and not, as in Switzerland, in isolation. Verviers is a town of comparatively recent origin, but it has attained considerable celebrity for its woollen cloths, the annual manufacture of which is about 350,000 pieces, worth over 3,000,000l. sterling. Many of the manufacturers are wealthy. Verviers is in the province of Liege; it has a population of 28,621 inhabitants. At Verviers I witnessed for the first time the procession of the Host; it was preceded by a military band, and the streets were hung with banners, and festooned with coloured calicoes hung from poles. Liege, the chief city of the province, |