"It is called so because the occupant had seven beautiful daughters, who were sad flirts. All the young knights in the vicinity were bewitched by their beauty, but they were so hard-hearted that they would accept none of them; and, as the penalty of their obduracy, they were changed into seven rocks, and planted in the middle of the river, where you will presently see them."
Passing Oberwesel and the Seven Sisters, the water was considerably agitated where the current had formerly produced a whirlpool, in its course among the rocks, which have now been removed by blasting. There was also a rapid just above it, and the place was very perilous for the long rafts, which were sometimes dashed to pieces upon the sunken rocks. The bank of the river on the right rises abruptly to a great height, and the precipice is called the Lurlei. It has an echo which gives back fifteen repetitions of the original sound. It sometimes makes intelligent replies; and wicked students put to it the question, "Who is the burgomaster of Oberwesel?" To which it responds, "Esel," which, in English, means an ass. The burgomaster intends to have it indicted for slander.
This echo, which repeats the sounds from below, and the wild character of the region, have produced a legend that the place is haunted by a beautiful but wicked water nymph, who lured the voyager, by her witching voice, to the rocks and the whirlpool, where his boat was dashed to pieces.
St. Goar and St. Goarhausen are opposite each other, on little shelves under the brow of the continuous range of hills which wall in the Rhine for miles. The railroad extends along the left bank of the river, in the rear of which is Rheinfels Castle,—the most extensive ruin on the river,—nearly four hundred feet above the water. The Mouse, on the other side, is supposed to have some unpleasant relations with the Cat, farther up the stream. On the right, opposite the small town of Salzig, are two twin castles, which go by the name of the Brothers. Their owners, bearing this relation to each other, unfortunately fell in love with the same beautiful lady, fought for her, and both were killed.
"This is Boppart, a very old place, occupied by the Romans," said Dr. Winstock, as the steamer made a landing. "You have noticed that the shelf of land on each side of the river, grows wider and the hills are farther from the stream. Between this point and Bingen, the Rhine makes its passage through the mountains. Some suppose the river, at a remote period, forced its way through the range, and formed the narrow gorge which we have passed, and that the country as far back as Basle was a vast lake, for various sea shells and fossils are found there. Marksburg Castle, on your right, is very much like the one you saw at Baden-Baden; and a walk through its deep dungeons hewn out of the rock, its torture-rooms, and its subterranean galleries, is enough to inspire a sensation novel."
"Dear me!" yawned Grace, "I am almost tired of castles."
"I think Captain Shuffles is also," added Paul. "I notice that he hardly looks at them. Well, he has something better to look at."
"What?"
"Lady Feodora," laughed Paul.
"The best way to go down the Rhine, if one has the time, is to go from town to town by railway, and then pass through the region in a steamer, to put the effects together. I am sorry you are tired of it," said the surgeon.