wever, adorned with that number of
country-seats which enliven many of our rivers, and a few convents and
palaces only are to be seen; although villages and towns are very
numerous. I must not omit to mention, that I visited the house in which
_Rubens_ was born; his name is given to the street, which, like most
others at Cologne, has little beauty. He had furnished many of the
churches of his native city with paintings, but several of them have
been removed to Paris. He has been called _the Ajax of painters_, and
his great excellence appears in the grandeur of his _compositions_; the
art of colouring was by him carried to the highest pitch. Rubens,
however great his skill, deserves the praise of _modesty_, as, although
he is allowed to have been little inferior to Titian in _landscape_, he
employed Widens and Van-uden when landscapes were introduced into his
paintings, and Snyders for animals, who finished them from his designs.

The country around Cologne is well cultivated, but is unenclosed up to
the walls of the city, and there are none of those elegant villas to be
seen which distinguish the neighbourhood of Frankfort; but it is
impossible for any two places to be more completely the reverse of each
other in every respect.

My next stage was Juliers, the ancient capital of the duchy of the same
name; it is a small city, but is well fortified, and its citadel is said
to be of uncommon strength. As we approached Aix-la-Chapelle the roads
became very indifferent, the soil being a deep sand; they are, however,
in many places paved in the centre.

Aix-la-Chapelle is a large, and, in general, a well-built city. The
windows, in most of the houses, are very large, and give it a peculiar
appearance. It was called by the Romans _Aquisgranum_, or _Urbs
Aquensis_. It has for ages been celebrated for its waters, which
resemble extremely those of Bath; but some of the springs are still
hotter. There are five springs which attract every year much company;
but the season had ended before my arrival. This city was chosen by
_Charlemagne_ as the place of his residence, on account of the
pleasantness of its situation; and, until its incorporation with France,
held the first rank amongst the imperial cities of Germany. According to
the _Golden Bull_ the emperors were to be crowned here; but Charles V
was the last who conformed to that regulation.

The ancient walls of Aix enclose a vast extent of ground, and afford a
pleasant walk