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WILDBAD.

CHAPT. III.

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thcir brethren of the feather.— The samc deleterious prin- ciple spreads all around, destructive alike to plants and animals; no species of sbrubs grow liere; a few decrepid trecs are all fhe Vegetation secn at a certain distance. The people of the neighbourhood will teil you niany wond- rous lcgends concerning the Wild lake: Many lumdred years ago it was inhabited by fairy ladies, who nsed to flirt with the shepherd boys, to teach tliem songs and then unawares draw theni into their watery palace. Sonietimes too tlicy came to the forest huts by night, and silently assisted the good wife in spinning.—A lnusician is said to play by night on the bottom of the lake, but whenever he begins it is a sign of some niisfortune. — One day a gentleman on a fine horsc was seen to plnnge into the lake, where he immediately disappeared; his hat floated for some time upon the surface, but soon followed its proprietor.—

Tliere are othcr lakes in this vast inorass, which all present the same melancholy aspect; some are very decp and of good size; they general ly go by the naine of Mum­melsee, or lake of the fairy. Not far from the Wild lake tliere is the Badisches Jägerhaus , a foresters habitation, 2645 F. aliove the sea lcvel, where the scarchers of the picturesque will find cxcellent fare. —

Issuing forth again in the afternoon in a Western di- rection, you arrive at an open space, overgrown with furze, formerly the bed of a lake ( Hohloh-see ) from which a short ascent brings you to the top of the Hohlohkupf. Here an immense view opens to the enraptured eye. You see at your feet the valley of the Mourg with the eastle ofNeu- Eberstein, the town of Gernsbach, the Mercury-hill near Baden, and the ruins of Old-Eberstein as well, astlie fortress ofRastadtin the Rhine-valley, with the river Stretching like a silver-band, from Strasburg to Mannheim. Far away in

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