all towers the
gigantic Jungfernsprung (Maiden's Leap). The beauty of this region is
only surpassed by the situation of the town and castle of Tetschen. The
castle stands on a rock, between twenty and thirty feet high, which seems
to rise out of the Elbe; it is surrounded by hot-houses and charming
gardens, shelving downwards as far as the town, which lies in a blooming
valley, near a little harbour. The valley itself, encompassed by a chain
of lofty mountains, seems quite shut out from the rest of the world.

The left bank of the river is here so crowded with masses and walls of
rock, that there is only room at intervals for an isolated farm or hut.
Suddenly the tops of masts appear between the high rocks, a phenomenon
which is soon explained; a large gap in one of the rocky walls forms a
beautiful basin.

And now we come to Schandau, a place consisting only of a few houses; it
is a frontier town of the Saxon dominions. Custom-house officers, a race
of beings ever associated with frontier towns, here boarded our vessel,
and rummaged every thing. My daguerreotype apparatus, which I had locked
up in a small box, was looked upon with an eye of suspicion; but upon my
assertion that it was exclusively intended for my own use, I and my
apparatus were graciously dismissed.

In our onward journey we frequently observed rocks of peculiar shapes,
which have appropriate names, such as the "Zirkelstein," "Lilienstein,"
&c. The Konigstein is a collection of jagged masses of rock, on which is
built the fortress of the same name, used at present as a prison for
great criminals. At the foot of the rocks lies the little town of
Konigstein. Not far off, on the right bank, a huge rock, resting on
others, bears a striking resemblance to a human head. The more distant
groups of rocks are called those of "Rathen," but are considered as
belonging to Saxon Switzerland. The "Basteien" (Bastions) of this
Switzerland, close by which we now pass, are most wonderful
superpositions of lofty and fantastically shaped rocks. Unfortunately,
the steamer whirled us so rapidly on our way, that whilst we contemplated
one bank, the beauteous scenes on the opposite side had already glided
from our view. In much too short a time we had passed the town of Pirna,
situate at the commencement of this range of mountains. The very ancient
gate of this town towers far above all the other buildings.

Lastly we see the great castle Sonnenstein, built o