appear to be extremely well educated. I observe many of them in their
morning walks with a book in their hand either of poetry or a novel.
Schiller is the favourite poet among them and Augustus Lafontaine the
favourite novel writer.[25] He is a very agreeable author were he not so
prolix; yet we English have no right to complain of this fault, since there
is no novel in all Germany to compare in point of prolixity with Clarissa,
Sit Charles Grandison, or Tom Jones. The great fault of Augustus Lafontaine
is that of including in one novel the history of two or three generations.
A beautiful and very interesting tale of his, however, is entirely free
from this defect and is founded on a fact. It is called _Dankbarkeit und
Liebe_ (Gratitude and Love). There is more real pathos in this novelette
than in the _Nouvelle Héloïse_ of Rousseau.


EHRENBREITSTEIN, 8 July.

After a _sèjour_ of three days at Godesberg, we left that delightful
residence and proceeded to Neuwied to deposit the boys. We stopped,
however, for an hour or two at Andernach, which is situated in a beautiful
valley on the left bank. We viewed the remains of the palace of the Kings
of Austrasia and the church where the body of the Emperor Valentinian is
preserved embalmed.

Andernach is remarkable for being the exact spot where Julius Caesar first
crossed the Rhine to make war on the German nations. Directly opposite
Neuwied, which is on the right bank, stands close to the village of
Weissenthurm the monument erected to the French General Hoche. We crossed
over to Neuwied in a boat. Neuwied is a regular, well-built town, but
rather of a sombre melancholy appearance and is only remarkable for its
university. Science could not chuse a more tranquil abode. This University