_Die schöne Aussicht_ (la Belle Vue) and well does it deserve the name; for
it commands a fine view of the reaches of the river, north and south.
Directly on the opposite bank, abruptly rising, is the superb and
magnificent chain of mountains called the _Sieben Gebirge_ or Seven
Mountains. On the summit of these mountains tower the remains of Gothic
castles or keeps, still majestic, tho' in ruins, and frowning on the plains
below; they bring to one's recollection the legends and chronicles of the
Middle Ages. They bear terrible awe-inspiring names such as Drachenfels,
Löwenberg; the highest of them is called Drachenfels or the Rock of Dragons
and on it stood the Burg or Chateau of a Feudal Count or _Raubgraf_, who
was the terror of the surrounding country, and has given rise to a very
interesting romance called _The Knights of the Seven Mountains_. This
feudal tyrant used to commit all sorts of depredations and descend into the
plains below, in order to intercept the convoys of merchandize passing
between Aix-la-Chapelle and Frankfort. It was to check these abuses and
oppressions that was instituted the famous Secret Tribunal _Das heimliche
Gericht_, the various Governments in Germany being then too weak to protect
their subjects or to punish these depredations. This secret tribunal, from
the summary punishments it inflicted, the mysterious obscurity in which it
was enveloped, and the impossibility of escaping from its pursuit, became
the terror of all Germany. They had agents and combinations everywhere, and
exercised such a system of espionage as to give to their proceedings an
appearance of supernatural agency. A simple accusation was sufficient for
them to act upon, provided the accuser solemnly swore to the truth of it
without reserve, and consented to undergo the same punishment as the
accused was subjected to, in case the accusation should be false; till this
solemnity was gone through, no pursuit was instituted against the offender.
There was scarcely ever an instance of a false accusation, for it was well
known that no power could screen the delator from the exemplary punishment
that awaited him; and there were no means of escaping from the omniscience