NEW YORK
HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE
Copyright, 1892, by Harper & Brothers.
—
All rights reserved.
“Wenn ich dann zu Nacht alleine
Dichtend in die Wellen schau’,
Steigt beim blanken Mondenscheine
Auf die schmucke Wasserfrau
Aus der Donau
Aus der schönen, blauen Donau.”
—Beck.
CONTENTS
| [CHAPTER I] | |
|---|---|
| The Black Forest—The Brigach and the Brege—The Highest Sourcesof the Danube—Journey thence from London—Villingen—Arrival atDonaueschingen—The Canoes and Outfit—Arbitrary Source of theDanube | [Page I] |
| [CHAPTER II] | |
| The Start—Swans and Spectators—The First Weir and First Luncheon—Societyfor the Preservation of the Banks of the Danube—Tuttlingenand Max Schneckenburger—First Public Performance at a Weir—FirstNight in Camp and a Spoiled Breakfast—Monastery of Beuronand its Monks—Crags and Castles | [15] |
| [CHAPTER III] | |
| Sigmaringen and Hohenzollern—Nuns at Riedlingen—Haymakers andHaymaking—The Last Weir—A Vigorous Current—The Confluenceof the Iller and the Danube—Ulm and the Danube Rowing Club—Startfrom Ulm—Appointment of Camp-finder | [32] |
| [CHAPTER IV] | |
| Lauingen; Its Architecture and its People—Blenheim and Höchstädt—Donauwörth—Lumber-raftsand our Narrow Escape—VirtuousVohburg—Roman Remains and one of the Scenes in the “Niebelungenlied”—WeltenburgAbbey—The Befreiungshalle and Kelheim—InSight of Ratisbon | [46] |
| [CHAPTER V] | |
| Ratisbon; Its Architecture and its People—The Walhalla—The Plainof Straubing—A Summer Squall—A Typical Bavarian Farm-house—Visitto a Local Freight Flat-boat—Rowing Clubs at Deggendorfand at Winzer | [59] |
| [CHAPTER VI] | |
| Fourth of July at Passau—The Austrian Frontier—Through the Gorgein Rainy Weather—A Curious Ferry—A Brief Halt at Linz and aCamp at the Mouth of the Traun—Shooting the Rapids below Grein—Melkand the Pass below | [74] |
| [CHAPTER VII] | |
| Dürrenstein, the Dungeon of Richard Cœur de Lion—Ruins and Sentiment—AGem of River Scenery—Canalization of the River—Theonly “Blue Danube”—Tulln and its Antiquities—Active River Commerce—OurRaftsmen Friends | [88] |
| [CHAPTER VIII] | |
| Vienna; Its History and Characteristics—The Lia Rowing Club—OurStay at Hainburg and Excursions in the Neighborhood—Theben,the Frontier Town of Hungary—A Model Postmaster | [102] |
| [CHAPTER IX] | |
| Pressburg and the River below—Monotony of Landscape and our Introductionto Dust and Mud—Gran; Its Situation and Attractions—Visegrád—OurHospitable Reception—General Görgei—Our ReluctantParting—Approach to Budapest—The First Accident to theFleet—The Neptune Club—Gypsy Music | [119] |
| [CHAPTER X] | |
| Budapest almost our Capua—The Bridges and Baths—The Great HungarianPlain—Cheery River Folk—Duna Földvár—A Surprise Picnicand a Severe Storm—In the Heart of Hungary—Mohács and aVeteran of Two Wars—Tokay and Patriotic Sentiments | [133] |
| [CHAPTER XI] | |
| The Franzens Canal between the Danube and the Theiss—A HeterogeneousPopulation—Monostorszég and a Peasants’ Dance—CuriousTypes and Costumes—A Spectacular Sunday—First Signs of OrientalLife | [151] |
| [CHAPTER XII] | |
| A Watermelon Metropolis—Our Fleet taken for Torpedo-boats—AGypsy Queen—Peterwardein and Carlowitz—Busy Life on the Banks—InSight of Belgrade—Evening in Camp—The Servian Frontier—Semlinand Belgrade—Oriental Characteristics and Modern Improvements—ASculptor’s Paradise—An Unexpected Encounter | [164] |
| [CHAPTER XIII] | |
| Semendria and its Great Castle—Our Passports are Useless—Bazias andthe Entrance to the Carpathians—The Emperor’s Birthday on aGunboat—Castle of Golubáç—Drenkova and the First Rapids—Escapefrom a Whirlpool and a Dash through the Cataracts | [184] |
| [CHAPTER XIV] | |
| Improvements to Navigation—Rapids of the Jur—The Kasan Defile—RemarkableRiver Scenery—Trajan’s Tablet and Old Roman Roadway—Orsovaand the Herkulesbad—Ada Kaleh, the Turkish Settlement—TheIron Gates—The Danube and the Ister—Origin of theName of the Danube—We Lose our Admiral—The Iron Gates—Capturedby Roumanian Soldiers—Under Military Supervision | [197] |
| [CHAPTER XV] | |
| We are Arrested in a Servian Militia Camp—Barbaric Soldiery andStrange People—We Surrender to a Roumanian Picket—A CharacteristicServian Village—The Frontier of Bulgaria | [211] |
| [CHAPTER XVI] | |
| Kalafat and Widdin—A Gale out of a Clear Sky—Bulgarian Fishermen—Widdinand its People—Quaint Turkish Sailing Craft—TheRiver Landscape and the Bulgarian Villages—Custom-house Annoyances—OurPassports save us | [230] |
| [CHAPTER XVII] | |
| A Grazing Country—Wild-fowl in Abundance—Nicopolis and the FirstReminder of the War of 1877-78—Exodus of Turks at Sistova—Tripto Plevna—Echoes of the War—Rustchuk and Silistria—Monotonyand Mud | [247] |
| [CHAPTER XVIII] | |
| Squally Weather and Head-winds—The Dobrudscha—Trajan’s GreatWall—Our Camp is Besieged, but Peace is soon Declared—A RoumanianVillage—Braila and Galatz—A Tribe of Gypsies | [267] |
| [CHAPTER XIX] | |
| The Danube Delta—The European Commission and its Work—Sulina,a Town on English Soil—We Enter the Territory of the Czar—TheRiver divides and the Delta begins | [280] |
| [CHAPTER XX] | |
| We Fraternize with Russian Soldiers—A Night at a Picket Station—Custom-houseFormalities at Ismail—We Encounter the Police—ADesolate Land—We Camp in the Mud—Kilia—Moldavian Peasantsand Russian Pickets | [295] |
| [CHAPTER XXI] | |
| We reach Vilkoff and Renew our Struggles with the Custom-house—ARemote Town—The Sturgeon Fishery and Caviar—We Push onto the Black Sea—A Gale is Blowing, and We make a Landing withDifficulty—The Roumanian “Cordon”—A Paddle in the Black Sea—Wedismantle our Canoes and reach Sulina | [312] |