Strasburg.

Dear Charley:—

Long before we entered this city, we obtained a fine view of its great glory, the Cathedral spire. What an object! It does not seem as if hammer and chisel had had any thing to do here. I can almost fancy that this spire was thought out and elaborated by mere intellect. It would be long ere I grew weary of looking at this wondrous work of man. The more you examine this edifice, the more you are impressed with its magnificence. Let me tell you about this same minster, as it is called. The spire is four hundred and seventy-four feet high—one hundred and forty feet higher than St. Paul's, and twenty-four feet higher than the Pyramids of Egypt. The architect was Erwin of Steinbach, and his plans survived him. He died in 1318, when the work was carried on by his son. The tower was not finished till four hundred and twenty-five years after the commencement of the building, and then HÜltz, from Cologne, came to effect the undertaking. The tracery of this lofty pinnacle is inimitably beautiful. We ascended the spire, and I can assure you that the prospect amply repays the trouble. We saw the winding, silvery Rhine, the Black Forest, and the long line of the Vosges Mountains. I never felt more keenly my inability to describe a place than when I walked through this gorgeous sanctuary. You must see it, to form an adequate idea of its grandeur. The nave was begun in 1015, and completed in 1275. The choir is yet older, and is thought to belong to the times of Charlemagne. The large rose window, over the front entrance, is thought to be the finest specimen of stained glass now existing. The stone pulpit of 1486 is the grandest we have yet seen, and in better taste than some of the carved wood pulpits in Belgium. The columns are very massive. One of the chief attractions in this church is the mechanical clock, which occupies a large space at the left hand as you enter the building. The true time to see it is at twelve o'clock, when Death strikes the hour, the apostles all pass before you, a large cock up above flaps his wings and crows admirably three times, flags are waved, and the affair ends. Here, close by, is the architect Erwin's effigy, in stone.

We next went to St. Thomas's Church, to see the superb tomb of Marshal Saxe, which is a work of great merit. In a vault we saw the remains of a Count of Nassau and his daughter, who had been coffined down for—I forget how long, but I think more than two centuries. It was here that Guttemburg began his experiments in printing, which he perfected at Mayence. We made some purchases here of embroidery, which we thought very beautiful, and also cheap. General Kleber's tomb and monument are in the Place d'Armes. Of course, we did not visit Strasburg and forget that it furnishes pÂtÉ's des fois gras. We obtained some good engravings of the churches and other points of interest, and, on a fine afternoon, took the railroad for Basle.

Yours affectionately,

george.