by their reception, but soon understood
the reason of it.

At the time I left Iceland another vessel went to Altona, by which I sent
a box of minerals and curiosities to my cousin in Hamburgh. The sailor
who brought the box gave such a description of the wretched vessel in
which I had gone to Copenhagen, that, after having heard nothing of me
for two months, he thought I must have gone to the bottom of the sea with
the ship. I had indeed written from Copenhagen, but the letter had been
lost; and hence their surprise and delight at my arrival.

CHAPTER XI

I had not much time to spare, so that I could only stay a few days with
my relatives in Hamburgh; on the 26th September, I went in a little
steamer from Hamburgh to Harburg, where we arrived in three quarters of
an hour. From thence I proceeded in a stage-carriage to Celle, about
sixty-five miles.

The country is not very interesting; it consists for the most part of
plains, which degenerate into heaths and marshes; but there are a few
fertile spots peeping out here and there.

September 27th.

We arrived at Celle in the night. From here to Lehrte, a distance of
about seven miles, I had to hire a private conveyance, but from Lehrte
the railway goes direct to Berlin. {57} Many larger and smaller towns
are passed on this road; but we saw little of them, as the stations all
lie at some distance, and the railway-train only stops a few minutes.

The first town we passed was Brunswick. Immediately beyond the town lies
the pretty ducal palace, built in the Gothic style, in the centre of a
fine park. Wolfenbuttel seems to be a considerable town, judging by the
quantity of houses and church-steeples. A pretty wooden bridge, with an
elegantly-made iron balustrade, is built here across the Ocker. From the
town, a beautiful lane leads to a gentle hill, on whose top stands a
lovely building, used as a coffee-house.

As soon as one has passed the Hanoverian domains the country, though it
is not richer in natural curiosities, is less abundant in marshes and
heaths, and is very well-cultivated land. Many villages are spread
around, and many a charming town excites the wish to travel through at a
slower pace.

We passed Schepenstadt, Jersheim, and Wegersleben, which latter town
already belongs to Prussia. In Ashersleben and in Magdeburg we changed
carriages. Near Salze we saw some fine buildings wh