innumerable steeples figuring in detail upon the pale western sky. To my
left rose, like the giant of Cologne, the high spire of St. Martin's,
with its two towers; and, almost in front, the somber apsed cathedral,
with its many sharp-pointed spires, resembling a monstrous hedgehog, the
crane forming the tail, and near the base two lights, which appeared
like two eyes sparkling with fire. Nothing disturbed the stillness of
the night but the rustling of the waters at my feet, the heavy tramp of
a horse's hoofs upon the bridge, and the sound of a blacksmith's hammer.
A long stream of fire that issued from the forge caused the adjoining
windows to sparkle; then, as if hastening to its opposite element,
disappeared in the water.

[Footnote A: From "The Rhine." Translated by D.M. Aird.]

[Footnote B: One of the illustrations that accompany this volume shows
the spires in their completed state.]




ROUND ABOUT COBLENZ[A]

BY LADY BLANCHE MURPHY


Coblenz is the place which many years ago gave me my first associations
with the Rhine. From a neighboring town we often drove to Coblenz, and
the wide, calm flow of the river, the low, massive bridge of boats and
the commonplace outskirts of a busy city contributed to make up a very
different picture from that of the poetic "castled" Rhine of German song