Their Tutor Seemed To Be A
Well-Informed Man And Of Liberal Ideas; He Preferred Speaking German To
French, As He Said He Had Not Much Facility In Expressing Himself In The
Latter Language.
He said if I were going his way he would be happy to have
the pleasure of my company,
To which I very willingly acceded, and we
agreed to start the next morning early so as to arrive at Bonn to
breakfast, and then to go on to Godesberg, where he proposed to remain a
few days.
From the windows of our inn we have a fine view of the river, and I have
not omitted doing hommage to old Father Rhine by taking up some of his
water in the hollow of my hand to drink. The Rhine of later years has been
considered the guardian of Germany against the hostile incursions of the
French, and Schiller represents this river as a Swiss vigilant on his post,
yet in spite of his vigilance and fidelity unable to prevent his restless
neighbour from forcing his safeguard. The following are the lines of
Schiller where the river speaks in a distich:
Treu wie dem Schwfeizer gebuehrt bewach'ich Germaniens Grenze,
Aber der Gallier huepft ueber den duldenden Strom.
In vain my stream I interpose
To guard Germania's realm from foes;
The nimble Gauls my cares deride
And often leap on t'other side.
GODESBERG, 4th July.
The distance from Cologne to Bonn is 18 miles and Godesberg is three miles
further.
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