ith the Rhine. It is strongly fortified, on the land side,
with works which it required twenty years to build, and there are forts
all around the city, which is intended to be a stronghold for the
defence of Prussia against an invading army from France.

The Church of St. Castor, at the confluence of the rivers, is a very
ancient structure, in which the grandchildren of Charlemagne met to
make a division of the empire. Napoleon, on his march to invade Russia,
caused a fountain to be erected in front of this church, bearing an
inscription commemorating the event. The French army was overwhelmed,
and a Russian force, pursuing the remnant of it, arrived at Coblenz.
The general saw the obnoxious record, but instead of erasing it, he
added the sarcastic sentence, "Seen and approved by us, the Russian
commandant of the city of Coblenz," which remains to this day.

The party visited some of the principal edifices in the city, including
the palace, in which the King of Prussia sometimes resides, and then
crossed the Rhine on the bridge of boats to the immense fortress called
Ehrenbreitstein, the meaning of which is "honor's bright stone." It was
a fortress in the middle ages, and was unsuccessfully besieged by the
French in 1688, though it was less fortunate in 1799, when the garrison
was starved into a surrender, and it was blown up. In 1814 the
Prussians commenced the work of restoring it, and since that time they
have been continually strengthening and enlarging it. The series of
military works, of which this fortress is the principal, are capable of
holding one hundred thousand men, but five thousand are sufficient to
garrison them. The magazine will hold provisions enough to supply eight
thousand men ten years. It mounts four hundred pieces of cannon. The
rocks have been hewn out into bomb-proofs and battlements, and art has
done its utmost to strengthen the place.

The parade is on the top of the rock, beneath which vast cisterns have
been constructed, which will contain a three years' supply of water. In
addition to these, a well, four hundred feet deep, cut in the rock,
communicates with the Rhine, which is to be used only on an emergency,
as the river water is unwholesome. The river seen from the parade is
very beautiful, but the company were obliged to hasten back to Coblenz,
in order to dine in season for the afternoon steamer to Cologne.

At one o'clock the voyage down the Rhine was renewed, and the students,
aft