LETTER SIXTY-NINE. HANOVER. Voyage from Copenhagen to Kiel-Hamburg-The Alster Basin-The Bourse-Trip to Hanover-The Theatre-Royal Palace-Waterloo Column, etc. Ar Copenhagen we took passage on a splendid iron steamer belonging to a company in Lubec for Kiel in the Holstein. As we were coming out of the harbor I noticed four new yachts belonging to the English Royal Club. They were very handsomely fitted out, and were returning to London, one of them having won the cup in the regatta at St. Petersburg. During the day we ran close to the low coast of Denmark, and the following morning we were landed safely at Kiel, where we took the railroad for Hamburg. The country between the two places is rather flat, but in a high state of cultivation, and produces well. There is a great deal of bog land on the line, and seeing the peasantry cutting and piling up the peat, reminded me forcibly of my tour through the South of Ireland. Reached Hamburg, or Altona, its suburb, in three hours, and took apartments at one of the hotels on the Alster, in the new and most beautiful part of the city. The Alster is a large and splendid basin, covered with pleasure boats, fowls of nearly every description, and other objects pleasing to the eye. An avenue of trees extends entirely around it, forming a delightful shade over the promenade, on which pavilions and other places of public resort are erected. The hotels on the Alster are numerous, and far superior to any in Europe. The most prominent object in the old part of the city is St. Michael's Church, from which can be obtained the best view of Hamburg and the surrounding country. It has one of the loftiest steeples in Europe, being four hundred and fifty feet in height, and used as the station of the fire watch. Every hour the watchman blows a trumpet from the windows to let the people know that he is vigilant. Hamburg is situated about eighty miles from the mouth of the Elbe. It is one of the four remaining Free Towns, and is chiefly remarkable as the first trading seaport of Germany, being to the north what Trieste is to the south. It is intersected by canals, called Fleethen, (Fleet ditches,) and in this respect, in the antiquated appearance of its houses in the old city, and in the trees growing in its streets, bears a resemblance to the towns in Holland. Four thousand vessels enter the port yearly, and more emigrants sail for the United States than from any other port, except Liverpool. It was once a fortified town, and was twice occupied by the French under Davoust in 1813. The ramparts no longer exist, being levelled and converted into delightful boulevards or gardens, neatly laid out, which extend nearly round the town and between the two Alster basins. The Bourse of Hamburg is situated in the new part of the city on the Adolphs Platz, and is one of the largest and most convenient establishments of its kind on the Continent. One o'clock is the hour when the merchants assemble, at which time from five to six thousand may be seen on any day dealing in stocks. Near the Exchange is the Merchants' Bank, a very superb structure, with the vault under ground and covered with water. I noticed also in this neighborhood a building with an engraved front. The figures are engraved in the stone, and the effect is very fine. At Hamburg we took a steamer for a small town above, where the railroad terminates, and reached Hanover in eight hours, passing through an undulating and highly cultivated country. The capital of this kingdom is situated in a plain on the Leine, a small stream, and has about forty-five thousand inhabitants. It does not present an imposing appearance at a distance, and there are but few objects within to attract the stranger. The new theatre, not yet finished, is a very large building, and externally the finest in Europe. The finest buildings are collected around a square called Waterloo Platz, which serves also as a parade ground. In the centre of this square is the Waterloo Column, one hundred and sixty-two feet high, surmounted by a figure of Victory, and inscribed with the names of the Hanoverians, privates as well as officers, who fell in that battle. On either side of it are extensive barracks. The Royal Palace is also on this platz, a very extensive building and well furnished. In the plate-room I noticed a collection of mediaval antiquities, relics, etc., some of them brought from Palestine by Henry the Lion, under the care of the Ober Hof-Commissar. In a small circular temple near the palace we saw Leibnitz's bust, much injured by persons throwing stones at it. In the old town several antique Gothic houses still exist, and are curiously ornamented. Leibnitz's house, with stone ornaments and scriptural bas-reliefs on its front, is considered one of the most interesting objects in the city. Like most of the towns in Germany, Hanover boasts of her avenues and gardens of public resort. A grand double avenue of limes, more than two miles long, extends from the town to the Royal Palace of Herrenhausen, the favorite residence of George I. and II. The building is now deserted and out of order, but the gardens are still kept in beautiful style, and contain statues, hot-houses, and jets d'eau. In the Mausoleum we saw a monumental effigy of the late Queen Frederica, by Rauch, and our guide pointed out the spot where the Electress Sophia, mother of George I., and granddaughter of James I., fell dead while taking her evening walk. LETTER SEVENTY. AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. Trip from Hanover to Aix-la-Chapelle-The Baths-The Redoute-The Dom Kirche-Hôtel de Ville-Summary of my Tour-Conclusion. Ar Hanover a young German from St. Louis, who had emigrated some years ago from Baden, got into the same car with us, on his way to his mother home to visit the friends of his youth. From his appearance and conversation we soon learned that he was a mechanic, of small means, but strict honesty. At Minden our passports were examined, and his found without the visé of the proper authorities in Hamburg. The officers would not allow him to proceed, and his funds were so near exhausted that any detention would leave him without a dollar. Our sympathies were aroused in his behalf, and we expostulated with the officers, but without effect. Seeing that he had no other alternative but to return to Hanover, we made up a purse for him, and explained what the law required. I shall never forget the remark he made when he bade us good bye. With a firm grasp of the hand, and a countenance beaming with gratitude, he exclaimed, " Gentlemen, you have my heartfelt thanks for your kindness. There is no country like America; and if God spares me to return, I will never make another track on this continent!" A ride of ten hours from Hanover brought us to the banks of the beautiful Rhine, and the ancient city of Cologne. We stopped at the Bellevue, the same hotel that we occupied more than a year ago, while on our way to Switzerland. This is the first time we have crossed our track, and as I described Cologne before, I will pass on to the curiosities of this renowned watering place. Aix-la-Chapelle was called Aquis Granum by the Romans, and remains of their baths are still to be found near the warm springs. Charlemagne raised it to the rank of second city in his empire, and made it the capital of his northern dominions, appointing it the place of coronation for the German emperors. In the middle ages it was honored with the privileges of a Free Imperial City, and acquired considerable importance as a manufacturing town, especially in the manufacture of cloth, for which it is celebrated even to the present day. It was the scene of many Diets of the Empire, and of several councils of the Church; and in later times it has been distinguished by the congresses held there. After the Peace of Paris it was taken from France, to which it had been united by Napoleon, and made a part of the dominions of the King of Prussia. Agreeably to recommendation, we stopped at Mullen's Hotel, opposite the great fountain. The situation is good, because we can see all the élite and fashion of this renowned place assembled every morning and evening to drink the mineral waters. Most of the springs are hot, and the magnificent baths throughout the city are supplied directly from the main fountain. A walk of nearly a mile through a beautiful avenue brought us to a little town called Borcette, that boasts of two of the largest and best springs in the vicinity of Aix. The water of one is so hot that I could not hold the glass in my fingers, and that of the other pleasantly cool. This place is patronized by the poor, who are unable to stand the high prices in the city. On the way a noble viaduct is passed, which carries the Cologne railway over the valley of Burtscheid. It is very lofty, constructed of brick, and contains a great number of arches. About half a mile north of Aix, on the opposite side of Borcette, beyond the Sandkard Thor, is the hill called Louisberg, two hundred feet high, surmounted by a pyramid or obelisk raised for trigonometrical purposes. The view from the summit is extensive, and the country exceedingly beautiful. On the lower slope stands a hand some restaurant and café, the Belvidere, with a saloon commanding a noble prospect. Returning to Aix, we visited the Redoute, or gaming-house, which corresponds with what they call the Kursaal at other watering places. The building is quite inferior compared with those at Baden and Wiesbaden. Games of hazard, rouge-et-noir, roulette, etc., are carried on very extensively night and day. The tables are let out to a company by the government, who are compelled to apply a large portion of their profits to the improvement of the town. "He The most interesting object in Aix-la-Chapelle is the Munster or Dom Kirche, (Cathedral,) which occupies the spot where Charlemagne had erected "the chapel" after which the city was named. designed it to be a burial place for himself, causing it to be constructed in the form of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. It was consecrated by Pope Leo III., with a ceremony worthy of its spendor. The original church was destroyed by the Normans, and rebuilt as it now stands by the Emperor Otho III. in 983, in conformity with the old plan. The tomb, in which once reposed the remains of Charlemagne, is marked under the centre of the dome by a large slab of marble, with the words 'Carolo Magno' inscribed upon it. A massive brazen chandelier hangs above it, the gift of the Emperor Frederic Barbarossa. In the vault below, the body of Charlemagne was seated on his throne, as one alive, clothed in the imperial robes, bearing the sceptre in his hand, and on his knee a copy of the Gospels. On his fleshless brow was the crown, the imperial mantle covered his shoulders, the sword Joyeuse was by his side, and the pilgrim's pouch, which he had borne always while living, was still fastened to his girdle." These precious relics were taken from the vault by Barbarossa and used in the coronation of succeeding Emperors of Germany. They are now preserved at Vienna. The throne in which the body of Charlemagne was seated alone remains here. It is an arm-chair, made of slabs of white marble, which during the coronation were covered with gold. The choir of the church contains a pulpit, covered with plates of silver gilt, richly ornamented with carvings in ivory and precious stones. cristy is very rich in relics, such as the skull of Charlemagne inclosed in a silver gilt case something like a barber's block, and his arm-bone, The sa |