"What are the lines?" asked Paul.
Dr. Winstock took his guide-book and read,—
"Ye nymphs who reign o'er sewers and sinks,
The River Rhine, it is well-known,
Doth wash your city of Cologne;
But tell me, nymphs, what power divine
Shall henceforth wash the River Rhine."
"I protest that it is a slander, whatever it may have been in former times."
The next morning the tourists took the train for Dusseldorf, where they spent the forenoon in examining the pictures of the School of Art, which has its headquarters in this place, and in a walk through the beautiful Hofgarten. From this place a ride of two hours brought the party to Aix-la-Chapelle, where they dined at the Hôtel Grand Monarque.
"Aix-la-Chapelle was the birth-place of Charlemagne, who also died here," said Professor Mapps, after dinner. "The German name of the city is Aachen, which is derived from Aachs, meaning a spring. There are several warm medicinal springs here, which have a considerable reputation for their curative properties. The city is called Aix-la-Chapelle from the chapel which Charlemagne built. From him the place derived its chief importance. He raised it to the rank of the second city in his empire, made it the capital of all his dominions north of the Alps, and decreed that the sovereigns of Germany and of the Romans should be crowned here. Between 814 and 1531, the coronations of thirty-seven kings and emperors took place here.