; the humble but contented existence of a little community
estranged from all the shocks and strife of the world; the lovely
scenery; the charming intercourse with gifted and cultivated minds; the
delightful reunions, where Metternich, Chateaubriand, and Humboldt are
nightly to be met, mixing among the rest of the company, and chatting
familiarly with every stranger; the peaceful tranquillity of the
spot--an oasis in the great desert of the world's troubles, where the
exhausted mind and tired spirit may lie down in peace and take its
rest, lulled by the sound of falling water or the strains of German song
--these, I say, cleverly put forward, with 'eight illustrations taken on
the spot,' make pretty books--pleasant to read, but not less dangerous
to follow; while exaggerated catalogues of cures and recoveries, the
restoration from sufferings of a life long, the miraculous list of
sick men made sound ones through the agency of sulphurates and
sub-carbonates, are still more to be guarded against as guides to the
spas of Germany.

Now, I would not for a moment be supposed to throw discredit on the
efficiency of Aix or Ems, Wiesbaden or Toeplitz, or any of them. In some
cases they have done, and will do, it may be hoped, considerable
benefit to many sufferers. I would merely desire to slide in, amidst the
universal paen of praise, a few words of caution respecting the _morale_
of these watering-places; and in doing so I shall be guided entirely by
the same principle I have followed in all the notes of my 'Loiterings,'
rather to touch follies and absurdities than to go deeper down into
the strata of crimes and vices; at the same time, wherever it may be
necessary for my purpose, I shall not scruple to cut into the quick if
the malady need it.

And to begin--imagine in the first place a Grand-Duchy of such moderate
proportions that its sovereign dare not take in the 'Times' newspaper;
for if he opened it, he must intrude upon the territory of his
neighbours. His little kingdom, however, having all the attributes of
a real state, possesses a minister for the home and a minister for
the foreign department; it has a chancellor of the exchequer and a
secretary-at-war; and if there were half a mile of seaboard, would
inevitably have a board of admiralty and a _ministre de la marine_.
It is also provided with a little army, something in the fashion
of Bombastes Furioso's, where each arm of the service has its one
representative,