contain nothing else, is sure to furnish an abundant supply of dead
animals, which you might easily mistake for cats that have perished by
atrophy.

Being fully aware of these important particulars, we expressed neither
surprise nor regret when the solemn announcement was made to us, that
we might have roasted veal for supper; but having ordered it to be
prepared, together with an eyer-kuchen, or egg-souffle, as a supporter,
we set about changing our attire preparatory to a ramble through the
town. My friend, the Honourable Francis Scott, having kindly introduced
me to Count Thun, I sent my card by the waiter to the castle, and
learned, to my great disappointment, that the family were all in
Prague. It is needless to add, that, in the absence of the owners, I
was conducted over the castle and grounds by a very intelligent
domestic, or that, returning on another occasion, I stand indebted to
its owner for much kindness. I do not think, however, that there is any
justification for the practice which too much prevails, of first
accepting the hospitality of a stranger, and then describing the mode
in which it was dispensed. I content myself, therefore, with stating
that everything in the household of Count Thun corresponds to his high
rank and cultivated tastes; and that he who has once enjoyed, even for
a brief space, as I did, the pleasure of his conversation, will desire
few things more earnestly, than that another opportunity of so doing
shall occur.

The castle of Tetchen is a very noble thing, and its situation
magnificent. It crowns the summit of a rock overhanging the Elbe, and
commands, from its windows, one of the most glorious prospects on
which, even in this land of glorious scenery, the eye need desire to
rest. Originally a baronial hold, it has, in the progress of time and
events, gradually changed its character. It now resembles a college or
palace, more than a castle. You approach it from the town by a long
gallery, walled in on both sides, though open to the sky, and are
conducted to an extensive quadrangle, round which the buildings are
erected. They do not belong to any particular school, unless that
deserve to be so designated, which the Italian architects, some century
and a-half ago, introduced, to the decided misfortune of the
proprietors, into Germany. Thus, the schloss of which I am speaking, is
not only cut up into different suites of apartments, but each suite,
besides being accessible by a do