CHAPTER XVIII.

ALONG the "haunted Valley of the Neckar" the railway swiftly bore us to Heidelberg, so renowned for its great castle and its university, founded in 1386; by far the oldest in Germany. The ruins of the castle are immense. The massive walls and remains of the hanging-gardens yet speak most eloquently of its former grandeur. In spite of fire, and cannon-balls, and the blasting lightning, the outline of its magnificence yet is seen.

We had not time to visit the tomb of Olympia Morata, who, driven from her native Italy, sought refuge at Heidelberg, where her learning and wonderful talent assembled crowds to hear her lecture. She died and was buried there.

At Carlsruhe, a handsome town on a plain, we entered the Duchy of Baden. A long avenue, three miles in length, called the "Poplar Walk," ran parallel with the railway, which passed through an extremely fertile vale. There were great fields of tobacco, of maize, of hemp, and other grains. Every where the land was cultivated by women. Poor creatures! they were often without either shoes or covering for the head; and hard usage and unceasing toil had rendered them perfectly witch-like in appearance. Throughout France, Belgium, and Germany, I have remarked the hard lot of the female peasants. The men go as soldiers in the legions of

foreign lands, or serve in the armies at home; but upon the women falls all the labor of cultivating the soil. In Belgium I have seen a woman ploughing the field, fastened to the same plough with an ox, and often an aged female reaping the grain. It was always a sad spectacle to me, and I thanked the good God my destiny was cast in a land where woman was cherished as the "better portion of creation," loved and cared for in old age as well as youth.

On our right were the mountains of the Black Forest, covered with yew-trees to their summits. On the loftiest were watch-towers, erected in the time of the Romans, and afterwards used as castles for the robber chieftains, whence they made forays upon the valleys, laying them under contribution, which if not instantly paid, they were punished by the sword and fire. These towers are now either desolate or used as hunting-lodges of the German noblemen.

At Carlsruhe we entered the most splendid car I have ever seen. It was like a small parlor, with luxurious sofas, and ottomans, large mirrors, and paintings. While we were waiting the moment of departure, two well-dressed women came in, supporting in their arms an old woman, apparently of ninety. She was attired in India muslin and costly lace, with rich jewels and white satin slippers. She was a perfect mummy; for the yellow skin clung to the bones of her face, and, but for the restless wandering of her eyes, one would have declared her a corpse. Her attendants placed her upon a sofa, and forthwith she began talking in the most vivacious

manner.

At twilight we reached Baden-Baden, and, after driving to several hotels, found lodgings at "the Victoria." The town was overflowing with visitors, and that night there was to be a ball at the Conversationshaus. We therefore made our toilettes quickly after dinner, and attended it. The

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dancing-saloon is really magnificent. The lofty ceiling is supported by columns of white and gold; between each are enormous mirrors, and great vases of natural flowers. Along the wall were raised seats, upon which were seated hundreds of gaily-decked women. The music was exquisite, and multitudes were whirling around in a wild kind of dance, a mélange of the polka and mazurka.

Above the music and the voices, and the rushing sound of the dancers' feet, was constantly heard a sharp, ringing, metallic sound. Upon entering a grand saloon near by, we soon discovered the origin of it. From the gold and silver cast down by the eager gamblers it proceeded. At a large table were seated two or three statue-like men, with features as immovable as though cast in bronze. Before them were mountains of gold, and small Alps of silver. A crowd of persons, some seated at the table, and others leaning over them, were occupied in betting. Not a word was spoken by any one save the dealer, who called out, "Le jeu est fait," (the game is made.) With wondering eyes we gazed around upon the faces of the throng, and felt we had opened a new page in the book of life-never before having seen a gambling-table; and never did I behold human beings so entirely absorbed as these were. It seemed as though all the hopes of existence were merged in the turn of that terrible wheel. With anxious look they watched it, and, when the "silver rake" of the dealer drew in the gold, how the light appeared to desert those eyes, and the face grow haggard and pale. A painful feeling swelled at my heart, and yet a strange fascination kept me there, as much interested in the fate of the gamblers as though the game were my own.

There were many elegant-looking women and lovely girls betting more largely than even the men. Just in front of me, seated in an arm-chair, supported by her two com

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panions, was our old woman of the railway, casting down the gold coin in perfect showers. From a person near me, I found she was a Russian Princess, of great wealth, who had been long paralyzed, but who adored the excitement of a gambler's life. She had come to-night purposely to bet, and at two in the morning, when I looked in at the table, there she still was seated, still pouring out the gold. Although her face was like the face of the dead, her eyes were glowing like globes of flame.

It was only for a time the dancing engaged the attention; soon the ball-room was deserted, and the throng all gathered around the different tables, where Rouge et Noir and Roulette were played. Finding myself quite near the table, by an impulse I could not control, I threw down some money; but happily for me I lost, or else I might have joyed in the game as much as the fair young girl over whose chair I leaned. She had been there for long, long hours, and once she had won eight hundred dollars, but a turn of that fatal wheel, and the gold was all gathered to the dealer. She did not seem more than eighteen. She was superbly drest, and her delicate fingers were glittering with diamonds.

The Conversationshaus is rented to regular gamblers, who pay a fabulous price for it, and then are bound to expend hundreds of thousands of florins in the improvements of the walks and the houses. Their immense profits can well be imagined, when with all this expenditure they yet make colossal fortunes.

About three o'clock in the morning we left the dancingroom, now entirely desolate. The gambling-rooms, however, were still thronged with persons all eager to reach the tables, and to cast down their gold. As we passed down one of the avenues of tall trees we met a youth, whom I had remarked in the early portion of the evening betting very high, and

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losing constantly. His handsome face was now pale, and a wild despair gleamed in his eyes as he leant in the abandonment of anguish against a tree. Ah! well could I imagine the bitterness of his soul; its history was written upon his haggard brow. He was very young, and when I first saw him at the table he was fresh and bright as a newly-blown flower. A few short hours of fierce passion had thus changed him. I no longer wondered at the frequent suicides which sadden this valley.

Among the guests we met several acquaintances, who presented us to their friends, and thus we heard wonderful stories of the losses and winnings of the Conversationshaus. Often the bank permits itself " to be broken." These tidings go abroad, and thousands flock in to try their luck, where only hundreds came before; thus a richer harvest is reaped from this judicious ruse.

August 7th. We spent some days at Baden-Baden, becoming each hour more enraptured with its picturesque beauty. The village is built in a small valley, encircled by the mountains of the Black Forest. A little stream flows through it, called the Oos. The Romans colonized these springs, and their Emperors often sought the "healing balm " of the waters. There are multitudes of elegant hotels and well-furnished lodging-houses. The Conversationshaus is a splendid building, with a row of Corinthian columns in front, and a garden of rare flowers. The Trinkhalle is near it; also a fine edifice, with a fountain in the centre, whence flows the smoking water. It has the taste of warm salt and water. The springs are very numerous, and all burst out just below the Castle terrace; thence they are conveyed to the different bath-houses. Their source is named "hell," as no snow ever remains there, even during the coldest winter. VOL. I.-7