Here I
could for the first time see the whole extent of the calamity. Many
houses had been completely torn down, and the crops, and even the
loose alluvial earth swept away; as we glided by each dreary scene
of devastation, another yet more dismal would appear in its place.
This continued till we reached Melnick, where the trees become
higher, and groups of houses peer forth from among the innumerable
vineyards. Opposite this little town the Moldau falls into the
Elbe. On the left, in the far distance, the traveller can descry
St. George's Mount, from which, as the story goes, Czech took
possession of all Bohemia.
Below the little town of Raudnitz the hills gave place to mountains,
and as many enthusiasts can only find those regions romantic where
the mountains are crowned with half-ruined castles and strongholds,
good old Time has taken care to plant there two fine ruins,
Hafenberg and Skalt, for the delectation of such sentimental
observers.
Near Leitmeritz, a small town with a handsome castle, and a church
and convent, the Eger flows into the Elbe, and a high-arched wooden
bridge connects the two banks. Here our poor sailors had difficult
work to lower the mast and the funnel.
The rather pretty village of Gross-Czernoseck is remarkable for its
gigantic cellars, hewn out of the rock. A post-carriage could
easily turn round in one of these. The vats are of course
proportioned to the cellars, particularly the barrels called the
"twelve apostles," each of which holds between three and four
thousand gallons. It would be no more than fair to stop here
awhile, to give every hero of the bottle an opportunity to enjoy a
sight of these palace-cellars, and to offer a libation to the twelve
apostles; but the steamer passed on, and we were obliged to make the
most of the descriptions furnished by those who were more at home in
these parts, and had no doubt frequently emerged in an inspired
state from the depths of the cellars in question.
The view now becomes more and more charming: the mountains appear
to draw closer together, and shut in the bed of the stream; romantic
groups of rocks, with summits crowned by rains yet more romantic,
tower between. The ancient but well-preserved castle of
Schreckenstein, built on a rock rising boldly out of the Elbe, is
particularly striking; the approaches to it are by serpentine walks
hewn out of the rock.
Near the small town of Aussig we find the most considerable coal-
mines in Bohemia. In their neighbourhood is situated the little
mountain estate Paschkal, which produces a kind of wine said to
resemble champagne.
The mountains now become higher and higher, but above them all
towers the gigantic Jungfernsprung (Maiden's Leap). The beauty of
this region is only surpassed by the situation of the town and
castle of Tetschen.
