Beneath us lay the city of Coblentz, its
spires and domes shining like gilded bronze as the rays of the setting
sun fell upon them; the Moselle swept along one side of the town till it
mingled its eddies with the broad Rhine, now one sheet of liquid gold;
the long pontoon bridge, against whose dark cutwaters the bright stream
broke in sparkling circles, trembled beneath the dull roll of artillery
and baggage-wagons, which might be seen issuing from the town, and
serpentining their course along the river's edge for miles, till they
were lost in the narrow glen by which the Lahn flows into the Rhine.
Beyond rose the great precipice of rock, with its crowning fortress
of Ehrenbreitstein, along whose battlemented walls, almost lost in the
heavy clouds of evening, might be seen dark specks moving from place to
place,--the soldiers of the garrison looking down from their eyrie on
the war-tide that flowed beneath. Lower down the river many boats were
crossing, in which, as the sunlight shone, one could mark the glancing
of arms and the glitter of uniforms; while farther again, and in deep
shadow, rose the solitary towers of the ruined castle of Lahneck, its
shattered walls and grass-grown battlements standing clearly out against
the evening sky.

Far as we were oif, every breeze that stirred bore towards us the
softened swell of military music, which, even when too faint to trace,
made the air tremulous with its martial sounds. Along the ramparts of
the city were crowds of townspeople, gazing with anxious wonderment at
the spectacle; for none knew, save the generals in command of divisions,
the destination of that mighty force, the greatest Europe had ever
seen up to that period. Such indeed were the measures taken to ensure
secrecy, that none were permitted to cross the frontier without a
special authority from the Minister for Foreign Affairs; the letters in
the various post-offices were detained, and even travellers were denied
post-horses on the great roads to the eastward, lest intelligence
might be conveyed to Germany of the movement in progress. Meanwhile,
at Manheim, at Spire, at Strasburg, and at Coblentz, the long columns
streamed forth whose eagles were soon destined to meet in the great
plains of Southern Germany.

Such was the gorgeous spectacle that each moment grew more palpable to
our astonished senses,--more brilliant far than anything painting could
realize,--more spirit-stirring than the grandest words that