The following day we visited the Palace of Luxemburg, situated about eight miles from Vienna. A beautiful avenue extends from the city to the palace, making it a pleasant drive in the heat of summer. This palace was the favorite summer retreat of Maria Theresa, and, although very plain and unattractive to one who has seen nearly all the palaces of Europe, it is yet interesting on account of its associations. The grounds are very extensive, and beautifully laid out, containing running streams, lakes, water-falls, Chinese, Grecian and Swiss cottages, etc. On an island, in the centre of one of the lakes, is an old castle, filled with all manner of curiosities. The first room is used for the armory--among which is that of the Emperor Charles V. I tried on his helmet, which is beautifully worked in bas-reliefs, representing the siege of Troy. The collection of weapons taken from the Turks is also very curious. The second room is in the rotunda style, containing the statues of the various Emperors of Austria. We were then conducted through a number of apartments containing representations of tournaments on stamped. leather, and painted glass windows, representing the Golden Fleece. Connected with this old castle is a dungeon, and place where prisoners were tried. The judges sat in a circular tower, above the dungeon, and the poor victim was drawn up on a stick, tied to the end of a rope, and nothing but his head allowed to be seen, which was drawn through a small hole made for the purpose. Here the unfortunate offender was compelled to sit on a small stick, with an open dungeon many feet below him, until the cruel judges pronounced his fate. Thank God, the days when such barbarous practices were tolerated have passed away for ever even in Austria. As we crossed one of the rustic bridges, our guide gave a whistle, and in an instant a thousand fish, of all sizes, rushed towards us, to get the bread which they are accustomed to receive from visitors. A little farther we were shown the place where they formerly held their tournaments. The judge's stand, and lodges for the spectators, are also ornamented with frescoes. The interior is covered with loose sand, and is used, at the present day, for exhibitions, to gratify the taste of royalty.

From Luxemburg we drove to the pretty little village of Baden, celebrated for its warm baths, and a great place of holiday resort for the Viennese. After examining the baths, we drove to the beau

tiful valley of Helen, near by, where we saw the ruins of several old castles, and enjoyed some of the loveliest scenery in Austria. On our return, we had an excellent dinner at one of the hotels in Baden. The table was set in a beautiful arbor of flowers, and the place so inviting, that we remained until William, our guide, informed us that we would be late in getting into the city. We passed through the valley of Brühl, and the village of Modling, on our return, which is remarkable for its enchanting scenery; and just before entering the city, William pointed out the spinning Cross, about which there is a tradition of a lady who sat there until her lover returned from the wars.

The following day we drove to the Palace of Schönbrunn, the Emperor's summer residence. It is about two miles from Vienna, and was begun as a hunting seat for the Emperor Mathias, by Fischer, of Erlach, and finished by Maria Theresa. The interior is well furnished, and contains in the collection of paintings the portraits of Maria Theresa and Maria Antoinette. This palace was occupied by Napoleon in 1809, when the treaty of Schönbrunn was signed there, and his son the Duke of Reichstadt, who died there at the age of twenty-one, in the same apartment in the left wing overlooking the garden, and on the same bed, it is said, which his father had occupied. The place in the window where Strapps, the German student, shot at Napoleon, is shown, and also the grave of the rash youth. The gardens behind the palace are very extensive, and laid out in straight walks; long avenues trimmed and clipped like hedges, to a length of fifty or sixty feet, in the French style, and ornamented with statuary and fountains. The Gloriette, a temple with a colonnade of pillars, situated on an eminence back of the palace, furnishes an admirable view from its summit of Vienna and the surrounding country. There is also a Botanic Garden and Menagerie connected with the establishment. Just outside of the garden gate is the beautiful little village of Heitzing, where the Viennese congregate on Sundays and holidays for amusement. It is composed chiefly of villas and country houses, and in the churchyard I noticed the monument of Baroness Pillersdorf by Canova.

At the Casino of Dommeyer, we had an excellent dinner, in a room magnificently fitted up, and in which more than a thousand persons were dining, and listening to the strains of Strauss's band.

Returning to the city, we stopped at two or three large Beer Halls, where the laboring classes assemble to drink beer and smoke pipes. It is an amusing scene to watch how they enjoy their favorite beverage, and to listen to the good-humored remarks and honest jokes perpetrated on such occasions. Each establishment has a neat garden filled with small tables, at which it is not uncommon to see a German drink ten or a dozen mugs of beer at a sitting, and smoke twice as many pipes of tobacco. After tea we attended one of the balls for which Vienna is celebrated, and which certainly repays a stranger for going. The women generally are very unattractive, but dance and waltz a little faster than any people I ever saw. In length of stride I yield to no one, but in waltzing with a German woman I proved rather a slow coacher, for in an effort to keep time, I lost my balance and drew my partner with me to the floor, much to the amusement of the by-standers. Fortunately they took me to be a Russian, which palliated the matter somewhat, for I disliked the idea of risking the reputation acquired by our countrymen of being equal to any thing.

The next evening we procured an open carriage and drove out to the Prater, the Hyde Park of Vienna, only far superior to the pride of London. It consists of a series of low and partly wooded islands, formed by arms of the Danube, which separate from the main trunk to rejoin it lower down. The Prater is very extensive— contains a large number of deer—and is the favorite place for walking, riding, and driving. On our return we met the Queen driving in a beautiful light carriage drawn by four bays in the postillion style.

While in London we did not anticipate visiting Russia, and consequently did not procure the Russian visé on our passports, which rendered it necessary for us to call on the Czar's Ambassador. We made him four visits, but failed to accomplish our wishes at last. The first time we happened to be three minutes too late. The second time we had an interview with the Bear, and he informed us that animals of his nature would not recognise Americans unless endorsed by their Representative. It so happened that our Minister was on a tour in Italy, and we had to get a note from his Secretary, saying that we were good and peaceable citizens. Thinking that we had things right, we made our third visit, and were informed by

the Bear that he did not recognise the act of a cub, and would not visé our passports without the seal and signature of the Minister himself. With our patience nearly exhausted, we hurried to the English Legation and procured the endorsement of Victoria's Ambassador, which proved acceptable to the Bear; after which we gave the old fellow a perfect tornado of abuse, and took particular pains to inform our Minister how we had been treated by his diplomatic friend.

LETTER SIXTY.

MUNICH.

Departure from Vienna-Scenery on the Danube-Linz-Peculiarities of Bavaria-Situation of Munich-Royal Palace-Hofgarten-Churches-Pinacothek-Glyptothek-Royal Library-Public Monuments-Bronze Foundry-Painted Glass Manufactory-Theatre-The King and his People.

FROM Vienna we took passage on a very good steamer of its kind, for the town of Linz, a distance of one hundred and twenty-six miles. The current of the Danube is probably the strongest in the world, and it requires very powerful machinery to propel a boat, and considerable skill to navigate it successfully. The steamers are constructed after the fashion of the old North River boats, and are quite comfortable in fair weather, but exceedingly unpleasant at night and in foul weather.

For the first fifty miles we found the scenery rather monotonous, the banks being low, and the river filled with small islands and sandbars. The appearance changed above this, and precipitious bluffs rise high out of the water, crowned by an old castle or convent, resembling in many respects that part of the Rhine between Cologne and Mayence. The most striking objects that came under our notice during the day, were the Benedictine Convent of Gottwick, an immense quadrangular building, situated on the summit of a hill seven hundred feet high, and presenting a peculiarly fine appearance from the river, founded 1072. The castle of Dunenstein, where in 1192-3 Richard Coeur-de-Lion was imprisoned for fifteen months by Leopold of Austria. The castle of Aggstein, an old feudal ruin perched on a lofty conical rock. The Convent of Molk, another Benedictine monastery, founded A.D. 1707. It is said that during

Napoleon's wars in 1808-9, the cellars of this convent supplied his army for several days in succession with fifteen thousand gallons of wine per day.

We reached Linz the morning after our departure from Vienna, took breakfast at the Archduke Charles, and engaged seats in the diligence (or Eilwagen, as the Germans call it) for this city. Having several hours of leisure before starting, we strolled to the summit of a lofty hill just above the city, which furnishes an excellent view of the romantic scenery of that neighborhood. Linz is well situated, and contains about twenty-six thousand inhabitants. The diligence road runs for some distance along the right bank of the Danube, and then passes through Loinbach, situated on the river Inn. Here we dined, changed diligences, and had our luggage examined at the Bavarian custom-house. The country from Linz to Loinbach is very pretty, moderately undulating, and highly cultivated. Riding all night in a diligence we found to be no joke, for the next morning we were completely worn out, dull and hungry; so much so, that we stopped at a beer-house and ordered a breakfast. Speaking of beer-houses, reminds me to mention that Bavaria is essentially the land of beer. It is as much the staff of life here, as bread in our country. Take their beer from them, and they are done. A Bavarian, it is said, will drink from ten to twelve measures per day, each holding more than a quart. There are in the kingdom upwards. of six thousand establishments for brewing, and about one hundred millions of gallons made annually. The Bavarians are a peculiar people, not only in the quantity of beer they drink, but in their manner of living and dressing, particularly among the peasantry. The men and women wear high green hats shaped somewhat like a cone, with a feather stuck in one side. The men usually have hightopped boots, into which they dispose of a part of their corduroy pants, and wear a roundabout of the same material, ornamented with large flat metal buttons, placed in straight rows. The women wear short petticoats, finished off at the bottom with a broad red or yellow binding, which contrasts strikingly with their long black stockings and high shoes.

Munich is built on the banks of the Iser, in the midst of a plain neither fertile nor picturesque, and in a situation entirely destitute of natural advantages. Previous to the present century it was a place