anks of a river so highly celebrated. Our company
in the boat was not numerous, and would have been sufficiently
agreeable, but for the continual _political rhapsodies_ of two
Frenchmen, one of whom was an officer, and spoke with confidence of
recovering all the conquests of France. These Frenchmen, in spite of the
remonstrances of the Germans present, insisted, like the physicians in
Moliere, _that they best knew what was for their good_, and that they
(the Germans) mast be again united to France. One of these politicians
asked me, if I did not think that Talleyrand would demand the left bank
of the Rhine, as _essential_ to France, at the congress of Vienna. I
answered, I did not think it was probable he would ask for countries
which France had so recently relinquished, nor was it to be expected
that the Allies would, to oblige him, depart from their principle of
restraining France within those boundaries, which had, for centuries,
been found as extensive as were consistent with the tranquillity of the
rest of Europe; and that, for my own part, I could not conceive the
acquisition of those provinces to be _essential_ to France, which had
never been more prosperous than at a period when she formed no
pretensions to so great an aggrandizement.

Waving any further discussions on a subject which the _vanity_ of these
gentlemen would have extended _ad infinitum_, or, at least, longer than
I wished, I left them to their own lucubrations, and went on deck to
contemplate the grandeur of the scenery which surrounded us, and which
was reflected in the transparent waters of the Rhine. The river here
resembles a succession of lakes, and is surrounded in many places by
such lofty mountains, that I was often at a loss to guess on which side
we should find an opening to continue our course. The country along the
Rhine is considered as one of the richest districts in Europe; it
abounds with considerable towns, and with villages which, in other
countries, would be considered as towns. Almost every eminence is
crowned with an ancient castle, and there is scarcely a reach of the
river which does not exhibit some ruin in the boldest situation that can
be imagined. The houses too being mostly white, and covered with blue
slates, add considerably to the beauty of the scene.

The _Tour de Souris_ is situated on an island near the _Gulph of
Bingerlock_, where the river presents a curious appearance, being
extremely agitated by hidden rocks,