of the houses extended over a very wide area, and among them
there was seen a dark square tower, very high, and crowned, as Rollo had
said, with what seemed to be a spire, only it was bent over half way;
and there it lay at an angle at which no spire could possibly stand.

"What can it mean?" asked Rollo.

"I am sure I do not know," said Mr. George.

Next to Rollo, on the banquette, was seated a young man, who had mounted
up there about an hour before, though Rollo had not yet spoken to him.
Rollo now, however, turned to him, and asked him, in English, if he
spoke English.

The young man smiled and shook his head, implying that he did not
understand.

Rollo then asked him, in French, if he spoke French.

The young man said, "_Nein_."[2]

[Footnote 2: Pronounced _nine_.]

Rollo knew that _nein_ was the German word for _no_, and he presumed
that the language of his fellow-traveller was German. So he pointed to
the steeple, and asked,--

"_Was ist das?_"

This phrase, _Was[3] ist das?_ is the German of What is that? Rollo knew
very little of German, but he had learned this question long before,
having had occasion to ask it a great many times. It is true he seldom
or never could understand the answers he got to it, but that did not
prevent him from asking it continually whenever there was occasion. He
said it was some satisfaction to find that the people could understand
his question, even if he could not understand what they said in reply to
it.

[Footnote 3: The _w_ is pronounced like _v_.]

The man immediately commenced an earnest explanation; but Rollo could
not understand one word of it, from beginning to end.

The truth of the case was, that the supposed leaning spire, which Rollo
saw, was in reality a monstrous _crane_ that was mounted on one of the
towers of the celebrated unfinished cathedral at Cologne. This cathedral
was commenced about six hundred years ago, and was meant to be the
grandest edifice of the kind in the world. They laid out the plan of it
five hundred feet long, and two hundred and fifty feet wide, and
designed to carry up the towers and spires five hundred feet high. You
can see now how long this church was to be by going out into the road,
or to any other smooth and level place, and there measuring off two
hundred and fifty paces by walking. The pace--that is, the _long
step_--of a boy of ten or twelve years old is probably about two feet.
That of a full grown man is reckoned at