Our Wherry in Wendish Lands; from Friesland, through the Mecklenburg Lakes, to Bohemia ... Second edition

Chapter I

— From Friesland. PAGE. Through Friesland and Groninger Land — Adieu ! Netherlands — Where from ? England ! — " You must turn back, Shir!" — Up the River Ems — The River Leda — The Ems-Hunte Canal — Grand Ducal Oldenburg... *7

Chapter V

— Up the Elbe. Mediæval Luneburg. Two thunderstorms — Elbe scenery — A capital townlet, Lauenburg — Old world Luneburg — A stately old town hall — Albrecht Durer — Mediæval burgherdom CONTENTS. 10 CHjAPTER VI.— In Wendish Lands. PAGE. Nausicaa and her maidens — Our Queen's Wendish ancestry — We enter Mecklenburg— On the Neue Elde — " Do we find ourselves here ? " — The wild roe deer — On the Stor Canal ... 108 CHjAPTER VII.— The Lake of Schwerin. Wismar. "Curious in foreigners" — The Grand Duke's capital — The northern lake — Swedish Wismar — A peep at the Baltic 125

CHAPTER VIIL

— Rostock and Lubeck. Sedan Day — Two great Mecklenburgers — Lubeck, Queen of Hansa towns — Two great churches — The spital of the Holy Ghost— The Martinsman — Old German festive ceremonial 140

CHAPTER IX.

— The River Elde. " Wherry Tipsy " — Moltke's birthplace — German bargees — A bad plaish, shir ! — An idyllic stream — Hard aground — Sport in Mecklenburg — Our last day in narrow waters ... 159

CHAPTER X.

— We Reach the Great Lakes The Plauer See — The windows of Malchow — The Kolpin See — The Miiritz See — At Waren — Robel, the goose city — A wonder-working spring 177

CHAPTER XL

— The Queen Lake of GerMj\.ny. What a country for canoeists ! — An old Saga — The end of the Elde — A fair forest— Legends of the lakes — A natural garden — A man-starved land 192

CHAPTER XII.

— Round the Great Lakes Again. The gale of the second of October — The merry greenwood — At Bad-Stuer — A ruined castle CONTENTS. 1 1

CHAPTER XIII.

— An Old City— Neu Brandenburg. PAGE. A distressful history — A sad anniversary — The brave Mecklenburgers — Heathen Rhetra — Our Waren friends 217

CHAPTER XIV

— Our Second Year in Mecklenburg- Freedom and blessedness — Pieter on the sick list — Our party completed — A farmer's family 233

CHAPTER XV

— Upon the Havel Lakes. Mirow, a princely burying place — Princess Charlotte's beech tree — The Schwarzer See — A sudden squall — " Coals nearly all out, sir ! " — A beaut'ful evening — How to nurse "suck-fish"— Very long pedigrees ... 2 43

CHAPTER XVL

— Rheinsberg and Neu Strelitz. Frederick the Great — Polite villagers — Sunday on the Drewen See — Satan's chain — Old German Courts of Decorum — Castle Stargard— The " Maiden's Well " 266

CHAPTER XVII.

xAdieu ! " Old Merry Mecklenburg." Wild Geese on the Wangnitz — Fiirstenburg and Himmelpfort — Another remote town, Lychen — The Upper Havel — -An old walled town, Templin — A Prussian forester ... 284

CHAPTER XVIII.

— Berlin and Potsdam. Zehdenick to Oranienburg — A bit of Wendish folk lore — "Something like life this is!" — Potsdam palaces — A Norfolk wherry lost at sea 301

CHAPTER XIX.

— The Mark of Brandenburg. A German editor — A Wendish battle-fieM — Fine Baltic brick building — The good old days of Faust-recht — The holy blood of Wilsnack — An inquisitive lock keeper CONTENTS. 12

CHAPTER XX.

— Magdeburg and Quedlinburg. PAGE. A chain 47 1 miles long — Tilly and Alva — Editha's church at Magdeburg — The convent church of Our Lady — Mediæval Quedlinburg — A grand old foundation -, -I X 00 '

CHAPTER XXI.

— The Harz and Halberstadt. The Bode-Thal — Harz Legends and Superstitions — Schloss Blankenburg — The little dog and the Devil — Unromantic robbers 345 CHjAPTER XXII.— Through Anhalt into Saxony. Another walled city, Zerbst — Too many petty Sovereigns — The old Dessauer's capital — At Luther's Wittenberg — " Saxon Dukes who grew so fat " — Faust's evil example — Sights on the Elbe 360

CHAPTER XXIII.

— Through Meissen and Dresden. Meissen Castle and Cathedral — Dresden from a new point of view — Our Ultima Thule ... 375 CHjAPTER XXIV — The Saxon Switzerland. A "girl's summer" — Our village 387

CHAPTER XXV

— Bohemian Switzerland. Old knightly pillagers — Poor women of burden — Alas ! Adieu! LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE The Gipsy on the Plauer See . . . Frontispiece. Under Sail (initial letter) . . . .17 An Ems Boat . . . . 22 Curiosity . . . . .31 A Roland (initial letter) ... 34 The Oldest Englishman in Bremen . . -37 On the River Jumme .... 44 Emden Rathhaus . . . .47 At Wilhelmshaven {initial letter) . . 50 German Jack Tars . . . .56 In the Saloon . . . . bi Pieter the Marketer (initial letter) . . 69 Street in Stade . . . . 73 An Elbe Fishing Boat at Blankenese . . 78 Street in Old Hamburg . . . 81 A Vierlanderin (initial letter) . . .87 At Over on the Elbe .... 89 Am Sande, Luneburg . . . -95 Street Architecture, Luneburg . . 99 Laube, Luneburg Rathhaus . . .103 The Election Chamber, Luneburg Rathhaus . 105 An Elbe Raft (initial letter) . . . .108 Looking Aft — Our Crew . . . 11 1 Our Critics . . . . .117 Swans (initial letter) . . . . 125 The Castle of Schwerin from the Lake . . 127 An Old House, Wismar . . .

LLST OF LLLUSTRATLONS. 14 PAGE Lubeck Cathedral (initial letter) . . .140 The First Sight of Lubeck . . . 145 Lubeck Burg Thor . . .151 Roe Deer (initial letter) . . . 159 A Mecklenburg Bridge . . . .165 The Cloister Church, Malchow (initial letter) . 177 Overlooking Us . . . . .181 Waren, from the Fischer Bucht . . 1S7 Shore of the Muritz (initial letter) . . .192 The Muritz See . . . . 202 A Wild Boar (initial letter) . . . .207 Within the Walls, Neu Brandenburg (initial letter) 217 A City Gate, Neu Brandenburg . . .219 The Outer Friedlander Gate, Neu Brandenburg 223 The Outer Treptower Gate, Neu Brandenburg . 225 a\ Mecklenburg Zillh (initial letter) . . 233 Doctor Koch's Paint-Box . . . .241 The Water-Shed (initial letter) . . 243 The Leppiner See .... 245 The Shores of the Schwarz See . . 251 The Zootzen See from the Scharfenberg . . 259 Frederick the Great's Study, Rheinsberg (initial letter) 266 The Gipsy off Schloss Rheinsberg . . . 269 Castle Stargard . . . . 279 A City Gate, Lychen (initial letter) . . . 284 On the Upper Havel . . . . 291 A Walled Town, Templin . . .295 A Town Gate, Templin . . 298 " ICH BIN EIN JAGER'S MANN " . . . 299 Goats (initial letter) . . . . 301 The Havel near Potsdam .... 308 A Prussian Warrior (initial letter) . . 3I2 At Caputh . . . 313 The Mill-Gate Tower, Brandenburg . . 315 Baltic Brick Work, St. Katharine's Church, Brandenburg . . . . .319 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 15 PAGE A Fleet of Barges, Plaue See . . . 323 Magdeburg Cathedral (initial letter) . . . 331 Editha's Tomb in Magdeburg Cathedral . 336 The Well-House Premontratensian Church, Magdeburg ... -33S Street Architecture, Quedlinburg . . 340 Klopstock's House, Quedlinburg (initial letter) . 345 The Bode Thal, Harz Mountains . . 349 An Old House, Halberstadt . . -353 A Romanesque Church, Halberstadt . . 357 In the Market Place, Halberstadt . . 358 The Chain Steamer (initial letter) . . 360 In the Fish Market, Zerbst . . . 362 Schloss Coswig on the Elbe . . . 367 Schloss Bresch on the Elbe . . 371 Schloss Hirschstein on the Elbe (initial litter) . 375 The Albrechtsburg, Meissen . . . 377 Passing Dresden .... 380 The Gipsy at Rathen (Saxon Switzerland) . . 383 Saxon Peasants (initial letter) . . . 387 Saxon Ox Cart ..... 389 The Polensthal (Saxon Switzerland) . . 392 The Prebischthor (initial letter) (Saxon Switzerland) . 395 The Schreckenstein on the Elbe, Bohemia . 396 Schloss Tetschen on the Elbe, Bohemia . 398 From below the Prebischthor, Bohemia . . 400 The Prebischkegel, Bohemia . . .401 A Bohemian Canon .... 4°3 MAPS.

Sketch Map Shewing the Gipsy's Route . faeing 17 Rough Sketch Map of the Lake Schwerin . 160 Map of the Elde Chain of Lakes . facing 177 Map of Part of the Havel Chain of Lakes „ 243 Map of the Potsdam Waters . . „ INTRODUCTORY. Our Norfolk wherry, the Gipsy, had been laid up for the winter — the winter of 1889 — at Leeuwarden, in Friesland. During two previous summers we had sailed over all the Friesland meres, and made the circuit of the other Netherlands. It was time fur us gipsies to move on, and so we cast about to find new cruising grounds. What we aspired to was, ground not new to our selves merely, but absolutely fresh waters — if such existed in Europe — accessible to a Norfolk wherry, yet unexplored by any English yacht before. We studied many maps, and one, a German map on a large scale, disclosed a labyrinth of lakes in Meck lenburg.

Anxious to learn what was known about them I searched books carefully; but found nothing. No English writer had, so far as I could find, dipped pen in ink on the subject. We asked our travelled friends. No one had seen them ; few had even heard of them — they lie out of the currents of tourists. It seemed the very adventure we sought. But were these unknown lakes get-at-able ? I procured the best water map I could hear of — Sympher and Maschke's " Karte der Deutschen Wasserstrassen," compiled from official sources, under commission from the Prussian Minister of Public Works, and dated 1887 — and by its help made out a line of waterways whereby it did seem possible to reach the lakes of Mecklenburg. From Leeuwarden, canals through Friesland and Groningen would take us to the seaport of Delfzijl.

From there we could sail up the Ems to the mouth of the Hunte-Ems canal, which on the map led through the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, into another river, the Weser. From Bremerhaven on the Weser, the river Geeste and its prolongation, the Geeste-Hadelner canal, appeared to connect with the Elbe. Up the Elbe we must sail something like 150 miles against stream to Domitz, whence the Neue Elde might be available to the Schweriner See ; and from that first of the great lakes, the river Elde seemed to lead to a long chain of further lakes. We made out that the locks on the canals were large enough, the depth of water probably enough — we might have to take the keel off; but there was an uncertainty — as to the height and whether fixed or otherwise — about bridges. The wherry might have to be left in Mecklenburg for one winter, but once there, it seemed possible to make our way another year — it will be seen we did make it — by the Havel into the Upper Elbe ; and up that river, passing by historic towns and near the Harz Mountains, beyond Dresden, and even perhaps, beyond Saxony, into Bohemia.

Such were our plans. IN TROD UCTOR Y. 15 We may be honoured by readers who have not, through the narratives of her earlier adventures, made acquaintance with the Gipsy. She belongs to a county family — Norfolk wherries, which have for centuries been growing in adaptability for their calling, and at last have attained, I think, practical perfection. Thousands of miles of fresh water have we now sailed in the Gipsy, in Norfolk and the Netherlands, and Germany; and where we went we certainly could not have gone in any other kind of habitable sailing craft. She is strong and a graceful model, clinker built. Her length 53 feet, her beam 13 feet 6 inches, her draught 3 feet, or with her shifting keel off, only two. Her one mast, very far forward, is as high nearly as her length, and balanced in a tabernacle with a ton and more of lead, could be lowered and raised by the strength of a child.

Few bridges are too low for her. Her rigging is of the simplest, there are no shrouds ; but one sail with very high peak and an enormous gaff; no boom. And as to accommodation : — A low deck house extends from just abaft the mast to within a few feet of the sternpost, leaving only a small cockpit ; the after, lower, end of this is the kitchen and men's cabin ; in it a modern kitchener. Forward of that the roof rises higher, with a row of windows along each side. Within there are two main cabins, the saloon, and ladies' cabin. Between the two, one companion-ladder, and abaft the saloon, another ; room for a bath in each companion way. Opposite the after ladder is the pantry with storage almost inconceivable, and a filter. The ladies' cabin has four beds, not one above the other, but end on, two on each side ; cold water is laid on, and there is a dressing table, a cheval glass, and two capacious chests of drawers.

At the dining-table in the saloon is room for eight ; hooks for two hammocks are in the beams overhead. In both cabins lockers and drawers are everywhere. In the fore peak, under the deck before the mast, is one man's bed, and stowage for empty boxes, ropes, blocks, and odds and ends of the ship's gear. Her fittings were originally planned to take her owner, his four daughters and two sons, one steward, and two sailor men, with clothes and all stores for three months. She does it well. In 1890, our party consisted of two of my daughters, myself — skipper, and the same three good men who served under me in former cruises — our butler, Ifould, who acts as cook and steward afloat ; Wilson, a fisher man from a coast village in Suffolk ; and a Friesch sailorman, Pieter de Vries. We took only one boat, the Snail.

On the 26th of July, 1890, we embarked at Harwich, travelled from Rotterdam by Amsterdam to Enk huizen, thence crossed the Zuider Zee, took the railway from Stavoren, and joined our little Gipsy at Leeu warden. Note.— The substance of the six following chapters and part of Chapter vii. ha appeared in the columns of the Field. JARROLD m SONS, PUBLISHERS, LONDON and NORWICH.

Chapter I

. FROM FRIESLAND. " Do think sor a moment of those fellow-creatures . . . that are pinioned at dinner tables, or stuck up in ball rooms, or cruelly planted in pews — only think of these, and so remembering how many poor devils are living in a state of utter respectability, you will glory the more in your own delightful escape." Eothen. " Then take thy way adventurous skiff, More daring far than Hippogriff, And be thy own delight." Wordsworth. BUSY day of unpacking, and then, trim with fresh paint, white deck, and new white sail, our wherry was quanted through the water streets of Leeu warden. At the bridge by the Beurs we had a few minutes to wait ; time to admire the fresh-faced Boerins i in gorgeous bonnets over golden casques, who, passing over, stopped to smile at us. And then, once through the Potmarge, a fair delicious breeze and beautiful sunshine were our portion, as we glided along through surely the greenest of all the green fields of the world.

We sailed along the Lange Meer, the Wijde Ee* through the bridge at Bergummer Dam, till at length we emerged upon Bergummer Meer. We should have made more use of the fair wind, but the fair lake was irresistible ; we could not find it in our hearts to part at once from her. After sailing about an hour or so, our anchor was dropped off the mouth of the Suameerder Meer. It was an evening of evenings. Two girl rowers pulled our small boat ancl an indolent passenger into the little mere. By jungles of bulrush and flowering rush, by beds of bogbean foliage, rumpling the green floating carpet of lily leaves, leisurely we went. Wild fowl, duck, whimbrel, and curlew flew softly over us, coots hoarsely croaked from the thick reeds, terns skimmed screaming about our heads. Later, the round moon shed her effulgence on everything.

The wherry floated alone motionless. Night reigned serene and still. Sweet peace-haven ! the fret and clatter of the world could not disturb — so far as we were from its whirring wheels — even the lightest of our dreams. Next morning, an unchanged fair breeze wafted us * The same word Ea, meaning water, occurs in East Anglian names of places— e.g., Popham's Ea, St. John's Ea (drains from the Bedford level into the Ouse), and query the town Eye, which lends its name to the parliamentary division in which the writer lives. THROUGH FRIESLAND & GRONINGEN LAND. 19 up the Caspar Robles Diep towards Groningen ; but a lock at the city end of the canal was closed, under repair, and a detour had to be made up the Aduarder Diep. We all but came to grief before the turn. A bridge was open, the waterway seemed all clear on the other side.

We sailed through, round a bend — to be confronted by a total block. Four steamers, tightly packed together, filled the entire breadth of the canal. Stop in time we could not, collision appeared imminent; but one steamer turned a moment ahead, another backed a turn or two, and we did just, and only just, shave through. They were all coming the same way, and should of course have left a fair way clear for meeting craft. We progressed but slowly up the Aduarder Diep, following, when we quanted, a trekschuit, and followed hy her when we sailed. She blew a horn for all the farmhouses, stopping when called upon to embark or land goods or passengers. These Groningen farmhouses are enormous. More corn is grown than in Friesland ; and much produce involves a huge structure when barns and byres and dwelling house have to be covered by a single roof.

Thence we turned right-handed into the great Reit Diep, which from the Lauwer Zee flows into Groningen. It is most deadly dull to sail upon, flowing as " Lethe without coil, Softly, like a stream of oil," low down between its wind-excluding, sight-imprisoning dykes. Along the busy water streets of Groningen we then threaded our way, quanted through the green-sided gracht, wherein we should have lain but did not lie last year, and, passing the last city bridge, hoisted sail in the ship canal to Delfzijl. People, as always in summer, were busy haymaking along the banks; and on one farm, men were threshing out rape seed in the fields. A tilt was spread upon the ground, the stalks heaped upon it, and round and round over the heap horses dragged a roller or cylinder, made smaller at one end than the other, so as to rotate always in a circle.

After some miles of this fine waterway, we turned southwards into a narrow cut, which led, we hoped and found, to the Schild Meer ; and that night we lay at anchor for the last time upon a Netherlandish lake. In the morning we weighed early, and beat up some miles of the mere, ruffled and foam-flecked by the strong west wind, bearing up at last for a bridge on the east side of it, which spanned, as we had guessed it would, the entrance ofa small canal to Delfzijl. At the suburbs of Delfzijl we arrived before noon, stopping before a closed sluice-gate. It would not be opened, we learned, till three o'clock, when the sea outside and the fresh water inside would come level. I had then at once to decide. Should we sail out that day as soon as the sluice-gate opened? I looked over what is merely an estuary, but has more the semblance of open sea.

We ought to clear the harbour before four. The sun would set at half-past seven, so we could reckon on, say, good four hours of light. We had no chart of the river, but the obliging " sluis wachter" helped me with all he knew. It was obstructed a good deal by sands. Beyond two red buoys at the harbour's mouth, I should have to cross ADIEU'. NETHERLANDS. 21 over and strike a line of black buoys, not far from the opposite shore; them I must keep all the way up on my port hand. Yes, of course we could bring up any where, but he would advise me not to anchor till past Emden at all events. It was about an hour and a half of distance to Emden. The ebb ran strong, three or four knots, but with so fine a breeze we ought to reach the German guardship, which lay above Emden, before dark. Had we not better engage a pilot ?

Weighing all this, there was time, I reckoned, to get past the Dollart at all events, and reach a comfortable anchorage by dusk. We might wait for ever for finer weather. This west wind suited us, we drew little water, our friend's directions seemed quite plain. I concluded to try our luck, and not to bow my neck to the yoke of a spoil-sport pilot. This being determined, we walked into the town to make our final purchases. Two hours more, and the familiar Netherlands would be only a memory, and gipsying on German waters an actual present fact. There was time to change our Dutch into German money, and I invested in a new hemp cable. Good ground tackle would be wanted in the tides of such great rivers as the Ems, the Weser, the Elbe. True to time the huge gate opened, and we were soon sailing down the harbour.

Two English steamers were unloading alongside the wharf. Their crews stared hard at the strange little craft, pointing to our blue ensign and yacht club burgee. Even at English ports, other than Yarmouth or Lowestoft, a Norfolk wherry would be wondered at ; they are quite special to Broadland. Strange indeed must we have looked on the Ems, where no craft of like build and rig has been seen since "the time of Jamblicus." Clearing the two red buoys, we steered a compass course. Our sail had only one reef in. There was a stronger breeze than we had thought. Wind against tide knocked up a choppy sea. Presently the unlucky Snail, sheering about astern of us, began to sill, and oars and mast and bottom boards floated out of her and away. Down went the helm, we lay to, hauled the boat up alongside, emptied and baled the water out of her, and then started in quest of the lost gear.

In the rough water, it was hard to see such small objects, but Wilson's keen sight spotted one thing after another, and finally we, I should rather say he, succeeded in salvaging everything. By-and-bye the river narrowed ; great breakwaters appeared, built it seemed on islands, upon our right ; mud flats, as in the Humber at low tide, and beyond them a green dyke, on our left. Then came red roofs and two church towers, which must, we took it, be Emden. A few vessels lay in this part of the river, and some square-ended German craft sailed up stream in our company. Their rig was odd — sprit sails, with the sprit's heel projecting on the weather side, like a cock-billed loAver yardarm. WHERE FROM I ENGLAND'. 23 We sailed on into the unknown, till at last we spied a vessel at anchor, a flag flying at her peak, amid a crowd of country craft.

No signal was made to stop us, but plainly she was the guardship; light was failing; this seemed a good billet ; so I rounded to, and dropped anchor for the night. As their boats followed each other back from the Customs ship, the country craft successively got their anchors, and with the way they had — the tide had turned — swung round and made sail up river. By-and bye a boat boarded us, and a besworded " pelting petty officer" commanded me to go on board the " wacht schiff" with him. They showed me into a stuffy "bureau," full of perspiring mariners. Two rough speaking but civil-meaning Customs officials, who evidently thought I must be deaf, put me through my paces. Where was my manifest? How many pounds of preserved meat, how much wine and spirits had we on board ? My name ? My ship's name ?

Where from ? England! What way came you? Through Holland first, and now, to-day, from Delfzijl. Ja wohl ! But how came you from England to Holland ? By sea. Nein ? I delicately suggested, was not England an island, and therefore, must we not have come by sea ? Ach so ! They looked puzzled, but at last grasped the fact. It is then a sea ship! Well, they must go and see the pounds of meat and wine bottles, and I must pay. "But do you make yachts pay for stores to be consumed on board?" Yacht, so ? Belong you to a yacht club ? " Yes, the Royal Harwich Yacht Club "Harrvisch! Harrvisch ! Is that Hollandisch or Deutsche yacht club ? " They went back with me to the wherry, looked at some of the stores, drank glasses of sherry with much gusto, and finally said, stridently, "All right." A receipt and clearance should be made out.

Still, I should have to pay. I enquired, apprehensively, how much ? How many twenty-mark pieces were in my thoughts. "You — shall — have — to — pay," they slowly and severely said, "ninety-five pfennige ! " So near the Netherlands, the craft using the Lower Ems are hybrid in their character ; not as many pure Dutch vessels as one might look to find, but many Dutch-like German ones. Old Pieter, our Dutch sailor man, would not admit the resemblance. No more like Netherlandish craft, he insisted, than the Gipsy was like a square-rigger. Patriot as he is, he thinks a Friesch tjalk a paragon of naval architecture. Through the evening, vessels kept slipping up with the flood tide, each dousing sail and letting her chain cable clatter out as she came near abreast of us. As they dropped anchor they put their tillers across, and the tide swirled them round at a tremendous pace as they brought up.

Before the men's supper I sent Pieter on board one of these craft— his Dutch ought to be understanded more or less by speakers of Platt Deutsch— with instructions to glean what hints he could about our "YOU MUST TURN BACK, SHIR'.' 25 route to Oldenburg. The map showed the river to branch just above Leer, and that out of the eastern branch led the Ems and Hunte Canal ; but it gave no useful details respecting pilotage. After a protracted pow-wow, he came back quite placid and pleased looking. "Well, Pieter!" Oh ! You must turn back, Shir." I thought, for one moment only, that he was drunk What on earth do you mean ?" I gasped. "The Captain, he say, Shir, there is no way to Oldenburg." " No way to Oldenburg ? You can't have under stood. Did the skipper speak Dutch ? " "No, Shir; but I speak German language just as well as English language.

He is a man of fifty years. He has been on the river all his life. He says you shall not get to Oldenburg." Pieter could not explain what was the obstacle. The captain had told him, but he could not carry such strange names in his head. The burden of his tale, however, was always " You shall not go to Oldenburg." I had at home worked out our route with minute care. Mr. Stanford had kindly informed me, on the authority of "German Waterways, 1873," that the canals between the Ems and Lower Elbe were navi gable for a vessel of our size, and that the Ems-Hunte Canal would take boats from one to five metres deep, five metres broad, ancl 1,200 to 1,600c. capacity, which was enough for us ; and this the map from Berlin had confirmed. I now referred to it again. It was plain, unmistakable. Startling, to say the least, was such a conflict of authority.

The skipper of an Ems craft ought to know ; but then local advice had often misled us before ; besides this only reached me secondhand through a perhaps incompetent interpreter. I myself took the map to the Wacht Schiff. The chief officer was very civil. He had not himself heard of a canal to Oldenburg, yet he saw it was plain on the face of the German map. He kindly sent a boat fora skipper who, he said, knew the river perfectly. Sir Oracle came, scratched his head, looked hard at me, pretended hard to understand the map, and finally forced his jaws open and got out: "Nein! No canal to Oldenburg!" The customs officer deemed this quite conclusive. " You cannot do it, sir, the map is wrong." I went back to the Gipsy seeling rather sick ; but, nevertheless, when the flood made next morning I weighed anchor and started up the river toward Leer.