e boats sail up and down the river, the railway trains move on this
side and on that, and persons from all countries, and in every relation
of life, get refreshment from the view.

There thou wouldst like to dwell, many a one thinks, and to pass away
thy days in the regular and constant enjoyment of nature, and in
voluntary labor, solitary, or in the society of congenial persons.

The banks of the Rhine have the appearance of being charming seats of
repose, while they also furnish enough of stirring life. The high-road
of intercourse with the world lies before the very threshold of the
house; and from the midst of solitude, every hour can unite itself with
the great world's varied and bustling activity.

Cheerful towns and villages along the banks, with their castles and
vineyards, their beautiful and well-kept country-seats, are everywhere
seen, forming an almost unbroken chain.

From town to town, and from house to house, stories are narrated of the
narrow escapes of the inhabitants, who saved themselves with resolute
strength from the ingulfing flood, or with the last energy of despair
reached the shore, many being dashed with violence upon the bank.

He who comes an entire stranger from abroad, and makes his home here,
can feel assured that it is at his option to cultivate an acquaintance
with the old residents, or to remain by himself. The continual current
of strangers, coming and going, allows him who remains to abide in
complete isolation.

Whose is that beautiful country-house yonder, which looks to the
passer-by, with its tower gleaming from a distance, like a white swan
nestling in the green bank? Travellers on the boats passing up and down
the river often ask this question, and receive the reply, that the
villa is called Eden, and that it is a real Eden, as far as one can
judge from the outside, for it is all shut up and guarded, with
spring-guns and steel traps the whole length of the garden walls. The
servants have permission to show the house and park only when the owner
is away on a journey, and then they take in a great deal of money.

One praises the wonderful stables with marble mangers; another, the
hot-houses all in bloom; a third, the beautiful arrangement of the
interior of the house; a fourth, the fruit-garden and the park, each
one according to his own peculiar taste. The owner is a rich American,
who has built this house, laid out the shady park, and changed the
half-swampy, ragged, and