"'Large streams from little fountains flow,'" replied Paul.
"Yes; and from a great many of them," added the surgeon. "The country in this vicinity is like a sponge, it is so full of springs, which feed the great river. The Neckar rises a few miles north of us. We are, therefore, on the summit of the water-shed of Europe; for of two drops of rain which fall side by side near us, one may find its way into the Danube, and be carried down to the Black Sea, while the other, by the Neckar and the Rhine, may reach the North Sea."
The students wandered about the town till it was too dark to see anything, and most of them were tired enough to sleep, even under the feather beds which the Germans insist upon using as a coverlet. In the morning the journey was renewed in the diligences. The scenery was still very fine, and from the top of a high hill called the Rande, the students obtained a splendid view of the mountains of Switzerland, of the broad expanse of Lake Constance, and the towers of the city. Descending the long hill, the tourists entered Switzerland, and at five o'clock were set down at the Schweitzer Hof in Schaffhausen, near the falls.
The students had been riding so long that they were glad to be at liberty again, and hastened into the hotel gardens, which extend down to the river. It was rather late to visit the falls, and the company were piped together around a kind of kiosk, in which Professor Mapps presented himself.
"Do not be alarmed, young gentlemen," said the instructor, good-naturedly. "I will not detain you long, but I am reminded that I have not given you the Rhine in detail. Here on its banks, and in sight of its grandest cataract, I will say a few words to you about it. The river rises in two small lakes in the mountains near St. Gothard, seventy-five hundred feet above the sea. It descends four thousand feet in going twelve miles. Fifty miles from its source, at Reicherau, it is two hundred and fifty feet wide, and becomes navigable for river boats. Its volume of waters is continually increased by the flow from its branches, till it discharges itself into Lake Constance, which may be regarded as a widening of the river.
The Adventure on Lake Constance.—Page 227.
"The lake is forty-four miles long and nine miles wide. Its greatest depth is nine hundred and sixty-four feet. Its waters are dark-green in color, and very clear. Twenty-five different kinds of fish are mentioned as caught in the lake. It is navigated by steamers, eight or ten of which ply between the various ports, and carry on considerable commerce. It is thirteen hundred and forty-four feet above the level of the sea.
"The Rhine issues from the lake at Constance, and flowing a few miles westward, again expands into the Unter See, which is thirty feet lower than the upper lake. It gradually contracts till the stream is about three hundred feet wide at this point. Steamers formerly ran from Constance to Schaffhausen; but since the completion of the railroad they have discontinued their trips. The falls which you see, and will visit on Monday morning, are seventy feet high. Below the cataract the river is navigable for boats without obstacles as far as Laufenburg, where its width is reduced to fifty feet, and its waters rush down a series of rapids. Here boats ascend and descend by the aid of ropes, after their cargoes have been discharged. At this place the young Lord Montague, the last male of his line, was drowned while his boat was descending the rapids in this manner. On the same day his family mansion in England was destroyed by fire. From this point to Basle the fall is only fifty feet.
"From Basle to Mayence, a distance of two hundred miles, the Rhine flows in a northerly direction. The current is very swift as far as Strasburg, to which place it is navigable for vessels of one hundred tons, though they are "tracked" by horses on the upward passage. The bed of the river is wide in this part, and contains numerous islands. At Mayence the course of the river changes to west, and again at Bingen to the north-west, where the mountains again force it into a narrow channel; and for fifty miles the stream flows through a beautiful region, where the hills extend to its very banks, and many of their summits are crowned with old castles. Below Cologne, the Rhine runs through a low and flat country. The lower part of the river I have already described in Holland."