n was imprisoned by the Duke of Austria, and where Blondel,
his faithful minstrel, sang the ballad which discovered the retreat of
the noble captive.

From the Carl Platz, an open square at the upper end of the city, two
paths lead directly up to the castle. By the first walk we ascend a
flight of steps to the western gate; passing through which, we enter a
delightful garden, between the outer walls of the castle and the huge
moat which surrounds it. Great linden, oak and beech trees shadow the
walk, and in secluded nooks little mountain-streams spring from the side
of the wall into stone basins. There is a tower over the moat on the
south side, next the mountain, where the portcullis still hangs with its
sharp teeth as it was last drawn up; on each side stand two grim knights
guarding the entrance. In one of the wooded walks is an old tree brought
from America in the year 1618. It is of the kind called "arbor vitae,"
and uncommonly tall and slender for one of this species; yet it does not
seem to thrive well in a foreign soil. I noticed that persons had cut
many slips off the lower branches, and I would have been tempted to do
the same myself if there had been any I could reach. In the curve of the
mountain is a handsome pavilion surrounded with beds of flowers and
fountains; here all classes meet together in the afternoon to sit with
their refreshments in the shade, while frequently a fine band of music
gives them their invariable recreation. All this, with the scenery
around them, leaves nothing unfinished to their present enjoyment. The
Germans enjoy life under all circumstances, and in this way they make
themselves much happier than we who have far greater means of being so.

At the end of the terrace built for the Princess Elizabeth of England is
one of the round towers which was split in twain by the French. Half has
fallen entirely away, and the other semicircular shell, which joins the
terrace and part of the castle-buildings, clings firmly together, altho
part of its foundation is gone, so that its outer ends actually hang in
the air. Some idea of the strength of the castle may be obtained when I
state that the walls of this tower are twenty-two feet thick, and that a
staircase has been made through them to the top, where one can sit under
the lindens growing upon it or look down on the city below with the
pleasant consciousness that the great mass upon which he stands is only
prevented from crashing down with