the ascent one of pure delight. The last "Getragen hat mein Weib mich nicht, aber ertragen had been distinguished for wifely devotion | great overarching trees combine to make and peculiar sacrifices. Quick and generous responses came from all parts of Germany; the King of Würtemberg presented the ruins to the League, and the court architect, Von Thouret, was appointed to superintend the restoration. The hill upon the central part of which the castle stands was bought by the League. The old castle path was cleared out, and trees were planted upon each side, and now one enters into the inner court through the shade of a beautiful woody pathway. Steps and walls occur at regular intervals, and resting-places of soft greensward beneath ("Carried me, my wife has not, but has endured that which was a heavier burden than I can tell.") Surrounding the ruins is a circular wall so wide that the chivalric Duke Alexander of Würtemberg once rode over its entire length on horseback. On the inside of the wall, near the entrance, are the follow- | ruins. Near the mass of stones there is a ing names, also cut into the stone, and painted black: “K. [King] Karl v. Würtemberg." "K. [Queen] Olga v. Würtemberg." "F. [Prince] Hohenlohe." "K. [King] Franz I, 1815." "J.S. Potter. U.S. Consul. Juli 4. 1879." These names have been cut into the wall by order of the Frauen-Verein, the League mentioned above, which is responsible to the government of Würtemberg for the condition of the ruins. From the wall one enters through a narrow wicket into the interior of the castle. The southwestern part has suffered most from the ravages of time and warfare. In the foreground there is a round tower which lacks the parapet, but is still quite well preserved. From this tower one obtains the best views of the ruins. From this point also a slightly curved gravel-walk leads to a large strong tower which probably guarded the approach to the castle dungeon. The entrance into the dungeon reveals a splendid arched hall, which Thouret declares to be a Roman work. The opening to this subterranean chamber long remained obscured by rubbish. The guides formerly had a weird story about a robber knight, who was the terror of the whole valley, but who was finally captured by one of the lords of the castle, thrown into this chamber, and there left to die of starvation. It was believed that his wraith dwelt in this cavernous place, and at night rolled the stones from their places in the wall, and tormented the passing traveller. In the earlier days there was no means of ascent from the dungeon. The walls were eighteen feet thick, and the victim whose fate it was once to be lowered into this dismal place well knew that he had entered into a hopeless captivity. The ascent is now easily made by means of steps, placed there by order of the League. Westward from this point there is a great mass of stones, probably the remains of a quadrangular tower, and it may be of the tower known as the Mantel. The old house of the knights is supposed to have joined it, but of the latter no trace now remains. This part of the castle was most severely shattered in the siege, and in a later period ruthless hands have completed its destruction. It is said that the opposite Weisenhof is entirely built with stones which were carried away from the castle. Many remains of the Roman period, such as urns and vases, have been found among the deep excavation, walled in with rock, and covered with an iron grating. This was probably a cistern used in time of siege, for there were no springs upon the hill. It appears to have been the duty of a neighboring village to keep a donkey, which was to drag water every day up the hill to the castle, and in return for this service certain privileges were accorded to the village. To the second division of this part of the ruins there belongs no other roof than that of the blue heavens, and one can easily walk about the upper edge of the half-destroyed tower. Vines have been trained into cupola-shape over the roofless top, and stone seats for the convenience of visitors have been placed in various positions in the interior. In the thick walls are four embrasures, each of which serves as a frame for a magnificent landscape view. The first aperture to the left of the entrance looks out upon the famous Wartburg, and over a part of the Neckar region, while away in the distance, through a gorge in the mountain, there is obtained a glimpse of Steinsberg, near Sinzheim. From the northern aperture may be seen the Scheuerberg, near Neckarsulm, and Erlenbach with its renowned vinecovered hills. The highest of the mountains that are seen from this opening is the Schimmelsberg, over which rushed the terrible tempest that in 1525 completed the destruction of Weinsberg Castle. The northeast embrasure affords the most beautiful view of the Weinsberg Valley. Below is the village of Weinsberg, and in the distance the cloister of Lichtenstein, which was so closely connected with the old dynasties of Weinsberg; and yonder knob of the blue mountain ridge is the Steinglöckle, near Mayensfels, which affords one of the most beautiful views in Würtemberg. In this part of the tower Justinus Kerner placed a number of Æolian harps, which send wailing through the ruins the saddest melodies. Cut into the stone near one of the harps are the following verses by Lenau, before the poet entered upon his sad life in the mad-house: "Leise werd' ich hier umweht Von geheimen frohen Schauern, Wie ein trüber Duft zerflossen. Hält die Seele hier umschlossen. "LENAU." ("Softly am I breathing here Here holds the soul in its embrace.") Near another harp are these lines, also by "Winde hauchen hier so leise, "N. L." ("Winds breathing here so softly, Mystical sounds of deep sadness.") Under an arch beside another harp are these lines, by Eduard Möricke : "Du, einer Luft-geborenen Muse, Geheimnissvolles Saitenspiel, fang' an, fang' ("O wind-begotten Muse, Thy plaintive melody.") On the walls, among other names cut into the stone by order of the League, are: "Varnhagen," and beneath it, "Rahel, 1832"; "Von Arnim, 1822." In a beautiful sheltered niche of the ruins is a stone seat; this was the frequent and beloved resort of the poet Uhland. In the wall above the seat are these lines: "Wand'rer, ziemet dir wohl in den "Wand'rer, it becomes thee well in the castle ruins to slumber; In dreams, perchance, thou'rt rearing them anew for thyself in splendor.") Nearly all the great men of Europe have visited the Weinsberg ru ins. The names of many of them have been carefully cut into the stones of the large round tower by order of the authorities; and here behold the name of Florian Geyer, 1525! Here also are the names of Bretano, Meissner, Liszt, 1822, Schiller, 1793, Schubarth, 1770, Olivia Wildermuth, and many others some accompanied by a line or couplet. Silcher has left this: F. Silcher, 1827. Ku kuk! And this autograph of the musician has furnished the subject of one of Theobald Kerner's most graceful poems. The coat of arms of the house (not the town) of Weinsberg in 1270 was a red field with three silver shields; the helm was of gold, and upon this was the bust of a young woman, half red, half white, and without arms. Her hair was golden, and she wore a golden crown. On the right (white side) was a white fish, whose head was placed toward the side, but the tail was turned upward; on the left (red side) was a red fish in the same position. Heraldry must decide whether this young woman was in any wise connected with the Weibertreue. The arms are still to be seen upon the monuments of Theodoric in the Stifts-Kirche at Aschaffenburg, and on the tomb of Count Georg of Erbach, in Michelstadt, in the Odenwald. Leaving the interior of the ruins, the visitor pauses once more beside the outer circular wall. Yonder rises the old tower of the Wartburg, the famous pleasure resort of the Heilbronners. Beneath him the scene is ever changing-gardens, meadows, fields, vineyards, forests, innumerable villages scattered along the banks of the Neckar, and in the distance an encircling line of mountain ridges. The town at the foot of the castle hill is Weinsbergwhether bearing the original name or that of the castle we know not. It is built in the form of an amphitheatre, and is quaint and picturesque. that the Emperor Probus introduced the culture of the grape into the Roman colonies. He probably gave the name Weinsberg-Vinomontanum-to the castle, and dedicated the temple to these gods of pleasure. Below the frieze are low, narrow, embrasure-shaped windows. Similar windows are in the church itself, although modern ones have been added. The weapons of Weinsberg and Würtemberg appear together upon the walls, and there are inscriptions in uncial letters upon the arches and doorway. In the southeast corner of the tower hall is the narrow stairway where the furious peasants overtook the escaping knights. On the north and south sides are arches for the town archives. The upper story of the tower is supposed to be different from the original, as it now lacks the part upon which Dietrich von Weiler received the shot, and from which he was hurled down into the church-yard below. The three bells date from 1625. A part of the church was entirely destroyed when the castle fell. The foot-path from the castle leads past the old church, directly to the home of the dead poet and ghostseer, Justinus Kerner. Besides sharing the fortunes of the castle, it has had varying experiences of its own. It has suffered from sieges, droughts, famines, and many pestilences. It has been the asylum of foreign troops; it has been taxed for the support of invading armies; and has been in the possession now of one government, now of another. Even the elements seem to have conspired with other hostile forces against it; for we read in an old chronicle of a frightful tempest that in 1760 swept over the town, during which two great balls of fire fell, one into the town, the other into the church. A portion of the old town walls still remains. The tower of the northeastern corner, formerly a prison, is now the Kerner Tower. In the northwest corner stood the Welf Tower, and between these formerly stood a third, which was used as a prison for women. South of the old hospital stood the triple gate that was stoned by the peasants in 1525. This gate formed the means of exit from the lower part of the town, and was connected with a strong tower. The upper gate, the only means of exit from the upper part of the town, was on the east side, and from this gate the walls stretched around to the Kerner Tower, engirting the entire town. Outside the walls the town was encircled by a trench. Beyond this, and entered through the lower gate, lies the meadow in which the captive knights awaited their doom from the lips of the peasants, and where afterward the chapel of atonement was built. This chapel remained until the last century. The old church is supposed to have been built about the ninth century; its stones are blackened with age, and a grave-like silence enshrouds it. In its yard stands a monument to Ecolampadius, who was born in Weinsberg in 1482, and died there in 1531. The church has always been an object of great interest to the archæologist. The frieze is ornament-government-house, and this was the builded with lilies, masked faces, and grotesque animals. Its style is a mixture of pagan and Christian architecture; the greater part is probably Byzantine. The symbols of Comus, Silenus, and Bacchus are plainly seen in its decorations. It is known Kerner, the restorer of the Weibertreue, was a true child of the enthusiastic, passionate - hearted Suabian land. He was born in Ludwigsburg, September 18, 1786. This city was then the gay capital of Karl Eugen, who once, within five minutes, spent 50,000 thalers for ornaments which he gave to the ladies present at one of his fêtes. The city owes its existence to the nightingales that once inhabited its woods. Long ago Eberhard Ludwig, delighted by the melodies of these forest songsters, ordered some rooms to be fitted up in a palace that stood in the midst of the forest. Here the duke and his retinue spent their nights when they came to the forest to hunt. A hunting castle was afterward built, and finally a city was laid out. A ducal order was issued commanding that all the cities and magistracies of the country should, at their own expense, erect a house in the newly laid-out city. It fell to the lot of Weinsberg to build the chief ing in which Kerner was born. "And thus," writes Kerner, "Weinsberg, without knowing it, lent me a place for my cradle, as it soon will give me a place for my coffin." Kerner's father was one of the government councillors. His mother possessed many graces of character, and her wonderful beauty has been celebrated by Schubarth in a poem which the latter dedicated to her when she came as a bride to Ludwigsburg. His grandfather was ennobled by the Emperor Maximilian. Kerner was still a boy when his father died, and the widowed mother discussed with her friends many projects for her son's future. The boy objected to all that was proposed to him, and when it was suggested that his poetic and artistic talent might be made available in a sugar bakery, where original designs would be very welcome, his opposition was stronger than ever. He finally entered the ducal cloth manufactory at Ludwigsburg, where, between the cutting and sewing of cloth goods, he wrote poetry, read the German poets, and studied works on natural science. In 1804 he entered the Tübingen University, where he formed a lasting friendship with Varnhagen von Ense and his gifted wife Rahel. Varnhagen describes Kerner as being a handsome, slender, well-developed youth, who lived in familiar intercourse with animals, reptiles, and insects, of which he always had a great number in his rooms. About this time began his experiments in animal magnetism, which probably led to his ultimate belief in spiritualism. He took his degree of Doctor of Medicine at Tübingen in 1808. In 1812 he was married to his "Rickele," and in 1819 went as chief physician to Weinsberg; and here began, at the foot of the old Weibertreue ruins, that rich poetic life which ended only with his death. Here, too, he entered, first as a poet, afterward as a physician and investigator, into the realm of somnambulism. His work, The Prophetess of Prevorst, published in 1822, quickly found its way over land and sea. In it Kerner refers to no less than twenty apparitions that had been seen by himself. The "seeress," Frederike Hauffe, was born in 1801 at Prevorst, a village near Löwenstein, and died there in 1829. At a very early age she professed to be in communication with the spirit world, and later she appeared to be constantly in a magnetic condition. Life became a torture to her, and finally, when she had become wasted almost to a skeleton, and was in such a nervous condition that she appeared more like a spirit herself than a human being, she was taken to Kerner's home in Weinsberg, and remained there under his medical care for two years. Kerner wrote a number of works bearing upon the phenomena of the spirit world, and his influence upon the superstitious and imaginative was felt throughout Southern Germany. Kerner's power is said to have been in his personality. Strauss tells us that he possessed a poetic charm which is not to be described, but which was felt by every one that came into his presence. "People," he says, "of every class in life, from the king to the beggar, of every age and every degree of culture, people of all civilized countries, felt and acknowledged it. If the annals of the Kerner house in Weinsberg had been kept during the forty years of Kerner's life there, what would they not reveal to us of the men that have passed in and out of its doors, of the conversations that were held there, of the impressions that were mutually wrought upon the gifted beings so often assembled there?.... The traveller," continues Strauss, "scarcely believed himself to have been in Suabia, if he had not visited the Kerner home, and once having been there, he went up again, if possible, or sent others, whose curiosity had been aroused by his account; and thus the little house became a place of pilgrimage, an asylum where stimulus for spirit and heart, consolation for grief, and refreshment for weariness of life, were sought and found." |