in a peasant's cart, whom I had some difficulty in recognizing, so widely had he departed from the costume I had been accustomed to see him in at Manheim. His person, which was much inclined to embonpoint, was enveloped in the scanty folds of a German reisekittel; his umbrella, sandwich-box, wine-flask, tobaccopouch, and pipe, were slung half before and half behind his back, and his large round face was trying to shade itself under the narrow brim of a German student's cap. Knowing him, notwithstanding his eccentricities, to be a very worthy man, I was heartily glad to meet with such a companion.

EXCURSION TO MARIA-ZELL.

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CHAPTER XXIII.

Excursion to the shrine of Maria-Zell-Legend of the Miraculous ImageSaltzkammer-Gut-Berchtoldsgaden-Wildbad-Gastein-Excursion to the Alp Gross-Glockner-Salzburg-Journey to Munich - Bavarian Wedding.

THE elders of the Church of Rome could not have selected a more appropriate spot for the residence of the miraculous Madonna than Maria-zell, or one more adapted to exalt the feelings of the devotee to the wildest enthusiasm. Approach the holy city from which route you may, whether from Vienna, Lintz, Saltzburg, Eisenertz, or Leoben, you pass through the most romantic scenery: the overhanging rocks come so nearly in contact, and the wood entangles itself so thickly around the steep acclivities, that we only emerge from one ravine to enter another, till the summit of the holy mountain appears, crowned with its sacred pile, like a vision of enchantment in the wilderness. At every turn we see the emblems of believing piety-crucifixes, chapels, saints, and Madonnas; and

at the same time, the number of booths for the sale of schnapps show that the pilgrims are not inattentive to another mode of spiritual refreshment.

On arriving at the foot of the mountain, a new scene presented itself; numerous bands of pilgrims were ascending, some on their knees,-and others, who seemed to think labour an essential part of devotion, were dragging up huge crosses; in one place they were singing in chorus, in another lay stretched on the earth in silence the whole of the men were uncovered, and the hair of the women dishevelled, forming altogether a spectacle, which none other, not even Loretto, can parallel.

The holy city is built, like Rome, upon seven hills; its ordinary population is about fifteen hundred, but during the seasons of the pilgrimages, it accommodates fifty thousand, and it is said, that the number of the visitors before the reign of Joseph averaged a hundred thousand, and at the celebration of the sixteenth jubilee of the miraculous image in 1757, three hundred and eighty thousand pilgrims paid their homage. This calculation seems doubtful from the size of the town, but we must remember that every house on these occasions is converted into an inn; and the immense size of the beds, and the number in each room, show how large a share of patience is inspired by piety. About half a dozen years previous to our visit, the church was consumed by fire; but the means to rebuild it with increased splendour were speedily afforded by a generous emperor, and the contributions of the faithful;

from which it would appear, that the influence of Maria of the Zell has not very sensibly declined. The chapel selected for her dwelling is small and gloomy, situated in the centre of the church, and dimly lighted by a single lamp, whose faint radiance is eclipsed by the lustre of the gems with which she is adorned, and the gold candelabra and silver angels that surround her.

The entrance is guarded by a costly silver fence, around which the kneeling devotees are seen supplicating their various boons from the miraculous image within, which is only indistinctly visible; we, however, soon discover the Virgin, supporting the infant Jesus in her arms; and as she stands, glittering with diamonds, she might be taken for the queen, not of heaven, but Lilliput, for she is only a foot and a half in stature. Why St. Luke, whom the faithful believe to have been the artist, preferred such miniature proportions, and a sable complexion, remains a mystery, even beyond the voluminous traditionary lore of the Sacristan to explain.

This gigantic son of the Church, whom nature seemed to have formed rather for a grenadier than a lazy monk, now commenced enlightening us with the veritable history of the miraculous image. It appears, some ten or twelve centuries ago, that a horde of barbarous Wends made an irruption into Styria, and not only plundered the inhabitants, but burned the towns and villages; amidst the general conflagration one object escaped unhurt, the sacred image which now sheds her sanctity over Maria-Zell. She was conveyed by a

priest to this mountain, and a rude church reared as quickly as possible for the holy visitor; when, however, divine service was about to commence, a heavenly light shone forth from the clouds, and the Madonna appeared, with the infant Jesus in her arms: at the same time, a voice was heard like the rushing of mighty waters, saying that "the mountain should be for ever blessed, and that her ear would always be open to the supplications of the faithful." As the fame of the miracle soon spread through Christendom, a splendid monastery and church were erected, a thousand acres of land were assigned for her support, and she continued to receive the most costly presents till the reign of Joseph II., when the shrine of Maria-Zell was exceeded in wealth and splendour only by the Madonna of Loretto; but that heretical unbeliever Joseph most profanely applied the treasury of the holy Maria to the service of the state, melted down not only the four massive silver angels that guarded the high altar, but, like an unnatural son, even the figures of his father, mother, brothers, and sisters, the votive offerings of the pious Maria Theresa.

These sacrilegious spoliations were, however, in some degree replaced by his more devotional successors; and one of the first acts of the present emperor and empress was a propitiatory pilgrimage to this all-powerful dispenser of prosperity. "The treasures," said the communicative sacristan, are "unguarded, save by the sanctity of the queen of heaven; for such is the awe the image inspires, that the most hardened bandit trembles in her