In the Volcanic Eifel. A holiday ramble ... With ... illustrations by T. R. Macquoid, and ... maps

Front matter

Front Endpapers.'] In THE . VOLCANIC EIFEL . . . Schloss Eltz. Page In the . . volcanic EIFEL . . . _t HOLIV:/fr %ytM-BLS . BY Katharine S. & Gilbert S. Macquoid WITH FIFTY-FIVE ILLUSTRATIONS BY THOMAS R. MACQUOID, R.I AND THREE MAPS LONDON HUTCHINSON AND CO 34, PATERNOSTER ROW MDCCCXCVI TO SIR GEORGE GROVE CB. D.C.L., L.L.D. Jfor &nVb Jang <S-giu "Die Eifel hat ihres Gleichen in der Welt nicht; sie wird auch ihrerseits Fiihrer und Lehrer werden, manche andere Gegend zu begreifen, und ihre Kenntniss kann gar nicht umgangen werden, wenn man eine Klare Ansicht der vulkanischen Erscheinungen aus Continenten erhalten will." LEOPOLD VON BUCH. CHAP. pAGE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ix TABLE OF DISTANCES xi INDEX FOR TRAVELLERS xiii I. INTRODUCTORY I II. COLOGNE : GEROLSTEIN : CASSELBURG ... 10 III. DAUN : THE CRATER-LAKES 59 IV.

MANDERSCHEID, "THE PEARL OF THE EIFEL " . 95 V. NEUMtJHLE : HEIDSMtJHLE : THE HORNGRABEN . 134 VI. THE PULVERMAAR : THE MOSENBERG : THE ABBEY OF HIMMEROD 155 VII. KYLLBURG 186 VIII. TREVES 225 IX. ALF : BURG ARRAS : BAD BERTRICH : COCHEJI . 25 1 X. SCHLOSS ELTZ 275 XI. ANDERNACH : MARIA LAACH : THE LAACHER SEE : THE BROHLTHAL 29 1 XII. CLEVES : HOME BY THE HOOK OF HOLLAND. . 317 GENERAL INDEX Drawn by THOMAS R. MACQUOID, R.I. PAGE I. Schloss Eltz Frontispiece 2. Ornament: Contents vii 3. „ List of Illustrations ix 4. „ Table of Distances xi c. n Index for Travellers .... xiii 6. Grapes : Initial letter . . • I 7. Cologne : Market-women : Initial letter 10 8. „ Cathedral and town from river . . . .12 9. „ Spires of the cathedral 15 10. Gerolstein : Shed for shoeing cattle 27 11. „ Crags of the Munterlei and Auburg ... 29 12. „ The street -35 13.

The Monk of Priim : Initial letter 47 14. Beans and tansy: Initial letter 59 15. The Gemiinder Maar . . . , • •" • 83 16. The Schalkenmehrener Maar 93 17. Manderscheid : Old street lamp: Initial letter 95 _8. „ The two castles 99 19. „ The pump Io5 20. „ The Niederburg from the bridge . . . 113 21. Peter and Lisbeth : Initial letter 123 22. Butterfly and lizard : Initial letter 134 23. The Horngraben '37 24. Manderscheid : A watch-tower of the Niederburg . .147 25. Berries: Initial letter '55 26, The Pulvermaar '57 /l&aps X PAGE 27. The Mosenberg: The little lake . . . ... .166 28. The Abbey of Himmerod . . ■ ■ • '73 29. In the Abbey of Himmerod ....... 177 30. Hops: Initial letter 186 31. Kyllburg by the river ........ 203 32. Malberg from the river . . • ■ . ■ 217 33. „ The street 221 34.

Chapter I. Introductory

EARS ago when we were in the Ardennes, some one said, " Now that you are so near, you should go on to the Volcanic Eifel." We wished to follow this advice, but our time in the Ardennes was all too short, and though the map showed us how near the two regions are to one another, we knew we had not time even for a glimpse of the Eifel, and we reluctantly gave up the idea. I am now very glad that we did give it up. The Eifel district, beside the Luxemburg Ardennes, is not, so far as we could judge, to be compared with the interesting and beautiful Volcanic Eifel, or with the more northern part, called the Hohe Eifel, which extends as far as Remagen, on the Rhine. Sn sbe Dolcanlc JEisel 2 We did not, however, forget our friend's sug gestion ; a wish to explore the Eifel went on simmering in our minds, and when we found we could not get any definite information about the region, that, so far as we could learn, no English book had been written dealing in a popular manner with this district of Germany, the semi-mystery that enveloped it changed our exploring wishes into a determination to find out whether the Eifel was worth going to see after all.

A few years ago, at a country garden-party, our hostess asked us to come and talk to one of her friends who had been living in Germany. " She is perfectly enthusiastic," said our hostess, "about a village I never heard of; just the sort of place, 1 fancy, to please you." While we sat listening to the friend's praises of Manderscheid, " the Pearl of the Eifel," we felt inclined at once to start off on our long-deferred journey; but "man proposes" — and until last August our cherished project could not find realisation. Our journey to the Volcanic Eifel is now not only an accomplished fact, but it remains a white stone in our memories ; and should the following in our footsteps bring to some of our readers as much renewed health and energy and the inexhaustible JntroCmctorv 3 store of delightful recollections we now feel enriched by, we shall be well satisfied to have recorded the experiences of our journey through this beautiful Volcanic land.

Few persons seem to know where the Eifel is ; the first question asked when we speak of it is, " Where is the Eifel ? " In recommending it as a resort for travellers, it is better to say that it lies between the valley of the river Rohr on the west and the Moselle valley on the east ; or, broadly speaking, between the Luxemburg Ardennes and the Rhine from Remagen to Coblenz, and the Moselle from Coblenz to Treves. Northwards it includes the Ahr valley, the Brohl thal, and other places ; on the south it extends to Treves. This southern part, which reaches as far north as Gerolstein, is called the Volcanic or Vorder Eifel ; and it was in this beautiful region that we spent most of our time. We returned through part of the Hohe Eifel, and at some future time we hope to revisit this, and to record our impressions of the Ahr valley and its surroundings.

The air of the Eifel is especially pure and bracing ; the water is excellent, for the country abounds in mineral springs. The many sparkling rivers and the frequent crater-lakes afford opportunity both for Sn fbe Dolcanic Etfel 4 fishing and bathing, and the country seems made for walking tourists, there are so many clean and comfortable small inns to be found at every six or eight miles' distance, where a night's rest and breakfast can be had for about two marks. Between the larger places there is always a diligence, or a carriage to be had : in some places there is the railway, by means of which heavy luggage can be sent on. The Eifel railway now runs from Euskirchen to Treves, vid Gerolstein and Kyllburg; and from Gerolstein it is easy to reach Aix-la- Chapelle, vid St. Vith. There is also a line to Andernach on the Rhine, via Daun.

The chief features of the Vorder Eifel, besides its volcanic remains and its crater-lakes, are its afore said lovely streams and their vallies, and the grand forests. These features, nearly grouped together, as they so often are, form a continued series of exquisite landscapes, and make admirable setting for the ruined castles which, with their varied traditions, seem to be ubiquitous in the Eifel. Some of these extinct volcanic hills are fairly high, from the Hohe Acht, nearly two thousand five hundred feet, near Adenau, to Krufter Ofen, near the Laacher See. about fifteen hundred feet above the sea. Snsro&nctorg 5 The most essentially volcanic parts of the country are to be found between Birresborn, near Gerolstein, and the Laacher See. The country exhibits wonderful crater products ; between Daun and Hillesheim there is constant interest for a geologist ; in the country about and around Kelberg and Adenau, in the Hohe Eifel, are to be found strangely shaped masses of basaltic rock ; trachyte and phonolite are also found there.

A wonderful lava stream has flowed from the crater of the Falkenlei, near Bertrich, and has forced its way down into the Uessthal ; this lava stream is said to be more recent than a similar stream close to Gerolstein ; the Gerolstein stream begins at the mouth of the Papenkaul, and can be traced down the hillside till it crosses the bed of the river Kyll. Perhaps the most noteworthy of these singular volcanic streams is to be seen at the Horngraben near Manderscheid, an out-pouring from one of the craters of the Mosenberg. The celebrated German geologist Leopold von Buch wrote in 1820 of this region : " The Eifel has not its like in the world." Charles Kingsley thus wrote of Gerolstein, after travelling thither from Manderscheid : "The most wonderful place I ever was in in my life, and during the last three days I have been stunned with wonders.

Mountains fallen in, $n sbe IDolcanic Etfel 6 and making great lakes in the midst of corn-land ; hills blown up with the wildest perpendicular crags, and roasted into dust ; craters with the lips so perfect, that the fire might have been blazing in them twelve months ago; heaps of slag and cinder two thousand five hundred feet above the sea, on which nothing will grow, so burnt are they ; lava streams pouring down into the valley, meeting with brooks, drying them up, and in the fight foaming up into cliffs, and hurling huge masses of trachyte far into the dells ; mysterious mineral springs boiling up full of carbonic acid, by the road side " The wonderful ridge of extinct volcanoes seems to begin at Goldberg on the north-west, and to stretch across to the north-east as far as Bertrich ; a ridge broken through by the valley of the Kyll near Gerolstein, by the Lieser valley at Daun and Manderscheid, by the vallies of the Als and the Uess at Bertrich.

Among these hills are the craters ofthe Goldberg, the Papenkaul, Kalmberg, Dolm berg, Erresberg or Erensberg, Mosenberg, Mause berg, Falkenlei, and many others. This hilly district is the home of the Volcanic Eifel. The highest Eifel hills are in the eastern range of the Hohe Eifel, a region which includes the 3nsroJmcsorg 7 Laacher See. They are the Niirburg, the Hohe Acht, Aremberg and Landskron. The Rodderberg is the most northern of the volcanic craters ; it lies between Rolandseck and Mehlem on the Rhine. The crater-lakes, as they are called, are especially interesting, but, it is said, they are not all in crater basins. The largest and most beautiful of them is the Laacher See, near Andernach, and this is not in a crater-basin ; the three crater-lakes of Daun, formed among the peaks of the Mauseberg, are the most interesting.

Pulvermaar, near Gillenfeld, next in size to the Laacher See, is full of pike and cray-fish, and is much frequented by wild fowl ; another lake near Gillenfeld, a small one called Holzmaar, is also said to contain plenty of fish. Deep, beautiful woods are everywhere, like lakes of waving greenery, and, in them, forest trees are almost as frequent as the tall, sombre pines. Wild flowers and ferns, some of a rare kind, are plentiful, especially near Gerolstein and Manderscheid; their brilliant luxuriance is in strong contrast with the weird volcanoes and masses of deposit protruding in fantastic form from the broken side of a crater, and with the ruined castles which often crown the once fiery hills. Sn sbe Dolcantc lElsel 8 Many of these castles date from remote ages ; the origin of some of them is unknown.

So much of the country is either wooded or culti vated, that it is difficult to imagine the chaos that reigned in the Eifel when volcanoes flamed there. In the rougher parts, where the ground is not covered with lava and ashes, it is slaty, and this makes scrambling off the beaten tracks rather treacherous and risky. The inhabitants are German, and are chiefly Roman Catholics ; wherever we went, we found them kindly natured, and obliging, and fairly clean. The air felt and proved itself in our case wonderfully health-giving, even in the very hot summer weather of last year. Throughout the Volcanic Eifel the Pension tariff" at the hotels seldom exceeds three marks and a half per day for bed, board, and all extras except attendance. The best and the quickest route to the Eifel is by Harwich and The Hook of Holland, Cologne and Euskirchen to Hillesheim or Gerolstein.

The traveller who wishes to begin with the Hohe Eifel will save time by travelling vid Harwich and The Hook to Cologne and Remagen, and thence through the Ahr valley to Adenau, by rail ; or he can go from Cologne to Andernach, and then by Jnsrobuctorv 9 rail vid Mayen and Ulmen to Daun and Gerolstein : from Daun he can walk or drive to Manderscheid. The steamers to The Hook of Holland are very fine and excellently appointed vessels ; they leave Har wich at ten p.m., and the traveller reaches Cologne next day at five minutes past noon. The legends are chiefly adapted from a collection of Sagen about the Eifel by P. Stolz, said to be gathered " from the lips of the people."

Chapter II. Cologne

: GEROLSTEIN I CASSELBURG. HE day we left England for Germany we wondered whether we should find the, to us, new route bv The Hook of Holland as pleasant as our old and tried way from Harwich to Rotterdam. But when we found ourselves landed at The Hook about three hours earlier than we should have reached Rotterdam, had we stayed in the steamer, we thought the exchange delightful. We had ex cellent coffee at the buffet on the quay close by, and ordered a luncheon-basket to be ready for us at Cleves. We had had such a splendid passage, and we felt so fresh, that my two companions went back, after breakfast, to our fine steamship, the Amster dam, to get a better view of her by daylight than had been possible on the previous evening at Parke- Cologne 11 ston Quay : they came back delighted with all they had seen ; we then took our places in the train for Cologne.

It was interesting to pass through Rotterdam in the early morning, getting peeps ofthe interiors of many homes from our elevated position. The spick-and-span look of the houses renewed our former pleasant impressions of the quaint old city. At Cleves an excellent hot luncheon was brought to our carriage, and we rolled into grand old Cologne just at two o'clock — German time. That was in early August, last year, the speed has now been accelerated, and one reaches the ancient city by 12-5 p.m. We found the Hotel Ernst, by the Dom, so com fortable and restful that we stayed there longer than we had planned ; we might have gone on to Gerol stein, vid Euskirchen, in rather more than three hours. But this time we were bent on seeing more of Cologne, for hitherto we had hurried away from it. It was difficult to shake off the fascination of the magnificent cathedral so as to visit the many curious churches and the other interesting buildings ; each time we went into the Dom it seemed to us more grand and impressive.

Its completion has been long deferred, but the achievement is a masterpiece. Sn sbe Dolcanlc Eifel 12 The view of the cathedral from the river is very impressive by evening light. The Rathhaus of Cologne is well worth a visit, and so are several of the churches ; one side of the interesting old Rathhaus stands in the Alter Markt. This market was filled when we saw it Cathedral and Town from River. with ;a fine show of fruit, vegetables, poultry, iand other country produce ; the stallsjgrouped round the imposing fountain ; this is crowned by a chivalrous and romantic-looking figure of the gallant Johann von Werth, one of the heroes of the Thirty Years' War. Fruit and vegetable stalls extended down the street, and we saw some amusing scenes between buyers and sellers. The fine old Hansa-Saal, and Cologne 13 other rooms in the Rathhaus, are very interesting, the lofty and picturesque Rathhaus Thurm dates from 1407, but the Hansa-Saal is still older ; it is said that the first meeting of the Hanseatic league was held here as long ago as November 19th, 1367.

Owing to its restoration within the last thirty years, the Hansa-Saal has now rather a new appearance. There is an interesting house in the Sternen Strasse, near St. Peter's Church ; for many years this house was supposed to be the birthplace of Rubens ; he was really born at Siegen in Westphalia during his parents' exile from Antwerp. It appears, however, to be certain that Marie de Medicis died in this house in 1642. As we went into the central passage we saw a fine ceiling in the room on our left ; but the house has fallen on evil days ; it is now used as a cafe and beer-shop. It is a pity that the authorities do not rescue so notable a house from its present degradation. In the Comodien Strasse we witnessed a typical instance of German military — we will call it — aplomb. A soldier drove up in a waggon to the barracks, and stopped on the tramway ; he began to deliver pack ages to another man, who took them within the building.

Next moment came the sound ot the Sn tbe Dolcanic JEisel 14 tram-bell violently ringing a warning to clear the course. On came the tram full of passengers, and we looked, expecting that the soldier would move his waggon out of the way. He took no notice, but went on leisurely handing out his parcels, to the disgust and indignation of the people in the tram ; the driver and conductor seemed scarcely to venture on a remonstrance, but several of the passengers got out and walked away. At last the soldier finished his business, and slowly drove off. This was not the first time we had seen in the Fatherland contempt and want of courtesy shown by the soldier to the civilian. There is a very fine view of the cathedral spires from a turning out of the Comodien Strasse. We saw the Neue Stadt, of which Cologners seem to be proud ; but we still missed much that is worth a visit ; we were anxious to find ourselves in the Eifel.

At Call, thirty-nine miles and a half from Cologne, the country became interesting and had something of the Eifel character, being hilly and richly wooded, wi;h occasional glimpses of distant landscape. We went steadily uphill all the way to Schmidtheim, which is nearly one thousand eight hundred feet up. The last station before this was Blankenheim, a name The Spikes of the Cathedral Cologne. Blanftenbeim 17 which became familiar to us as we learned more about the Eifel : it is so often associated with the history and the legends of the region. The fine old ruined castle of Blankenheim lies some miles off the line of railway, and has withstood in its day many severe sieges. The story runs that in the Middle Ages a family of manikins inhabited this castle, and attached themselves devotedly to the reigning Count of Blankenheim and his family.

They were very tiny, they wore grey clothing and scarlet caps, and they had the power of remaining invisible when they disliked, or were not sure of their company. Count Richard of Blankenheim took these little inmates of his ancestral home under his special protection ; he ordered food to be left out for them at night, and he threatened with severe punishment any one who should interfere with the little people. The Count had one child, a little girl. Sophie and the chief of the manikins were dear friends ; they used to play together, and whatever she wished for in the shape of bird or insect, or any natural object, the manikin was sure to bring her : he seemed to guess the sweet child's thoughts before she uttered them. The Count of Blankenheim was known to be as Sn tbe Dolcantc lEtsel 18 rich as he was powerful, but as he was of a peaceable nature, he had few enemies.

One day a grey-bearded, decrepit-looking pilgrim came to the castle wrapped in a long monkish garment ; he asked for supper and a night's lodging, and said he had lately returned from the Holy Land, and was exhausted by hunger and fatigue. Tales from the Holy Land were then greatly prized, especially in secluded castles like Blanken heim. Before the pilgrim had been three days in the castle, he had become the Count's favourite companion. Count Rudolph sat long over his wine listening to the wonderful stories he told. The stranger said he had been a soldier till his wounds and his infirm condition obliged him to give up active service ; he was now compelled to beg his way. But he could talk of sieges, and the horrors endured in them, of hair-breadth escapes and valiant deeds, till the Count's ears tingled, and his eyes shone with sympathy for the brave Crusaders.

The pilgrim soon found his way to the nursery, where the little Sophie at once took him into favour ; he knew wonderful nursery-tales too, and would keep the child a rapt listener. When in return she prattled to him, he could not understand her allusions to her little grey friends ; for although Blanfeenbeim 19 Sophie could plainly see her friendly manikin, he and his brethren were invisible to the pilgrim. Till now the grey men had been Sophie's only playmates, and they were so jealous of her liking for this new comer that they heartily disliked the pilgrim. Meantime the venerable man smiled, and told himself the child made up her fairy-stories about her grey-coated friends. After a time the Count took a journey, and one day during his absence the little girl's waiting-maid left her charge playing in the garden while she went to talk to one of the lads in the courtyard.

The pilgrim presently found his way to the garden, and seeing the child alone, he asked her if she would like to come a little way with him to find a present he had ready for her. " Yes, yes," the child cried out joyfully, " I will come ; take me to see it." The pilgrim raised her from the ground, and flung his long, flowing cloak over her, so that no one could have guessed what lay beneath it. But the manikins were watching ; hidden now behind a rose-hedge, now behind a rosemary-bush, they had seen the pilgrim's action, and they guessed his purpose ; they had always disliked and mis trusted him, and now their opportunity had come. Sn tbe IDolcantc Eifel 20 " Be nimble ; he must not leave the garden," said the chief manikin to his band. In an instant the tiny company were swarming up the legs and the back of the unsuspecting pilgrim.

He struggled violently against his invisible assailants ; Sophie slipped from his arms, and he fell to the ground. He was so shaken by his fall and stung by the blows of innumerable switches on his face and head, while little voices yelled in his ears, "Thief! Robber! we have you safe this time," that he could neither hear nor see. The man vainly tried to free himself ; but tiny as were the hands that gripped him, they seemed numberless, and they gripped tightly ; they harassed him till they had pulled off his wig, his false beard, and had torn away his flowing garment and disclosed his girdle stuck full of weapons. Though the manikins could not be seen by their victim, their outcry reached the castle, and several of the household and the Countess herself came running to see what was happening in the garden.

The Countess was amazed at the strange meta morphosis before her : the venerable pilgrim had disappeared, and in his place she saw an evil looking young man. " So-phie ! Where are you, Sophie ? " she cried. JBlanfeenbeim 21 " I am here." And under the shade of a linden tree Sophie, to whom the manikins were always visible, sat sobbing for the rough usage which they had dealt to her friend the pilgrim. " He said he would take me with him," she sobbed ; " he said he had got a present for me, but the cruel little men have hurt him." Then the Countess understood her guest's treach ery, and the good turn the manikins had done to her child. She commanded the man to be put in the dungeon till her husband's return. Next day the Count came home ; when they told him, he was alarmed at the danger that had menaced his little daughter, for he recognised in the prisoner a notorious robber who had already marauded his territory, and he guessed that the man had introduced himself at the castle so that he might steal the little Sophie for the sake of the ransom which he knew would be offered for her.

In course of time the robber came to his reward, the gallows. The manikins were more cherished than ever ; and when after many years the race of Counts became extinct, and the Castle of Blan kenheim fell into ruins, the voices of the little people used to be heard weeping and wailing for the loss of their kind protectors. After Schmidtheim the road descends on its way to Jiinkerath ; the country about here and so far as Hillesheim is beautiful and well worth exploring on foot. There is a ruined castle at Jiinkerath, which it is said was never lived in; it was destroyed by lightning as soon as the building was completed. The castle appears to have been built in the Kyll thal (which the line enters after passing Dahlem), by a Count of Manderscheid and Blankenheim, a scion of the mighty race which at one time seems to have possessed the Eifel.

The legend narrates of this count that he had small enjoyment of his newly-built castle. He was very proud of it and invited guests from all parts of the province to come and celebrate its completion. A splendid banquet had been prepared, and all the guests were feasted to their heart's content. Such a grand entertainment had never before been held in the Eifel. The richest and most costly wines flowed lavishly, and soon began to tell on those who drank them. The new hall rang with joyful uproar, and sounds of music echoed through the vast rooms that led from the hall, and Jiinkeratb 23 along the passages ; the strains of dance music seemed to invite the noble couples to leave the banquet. Unhappily the guests were not content with innocent merry-making ; they became heated by the strength of the wine so copiously served to them, and their mirth quickly degenerated into licence : wanton glances were interchanged, and more than one intoxicated figure was seen to stumble along the passages ; appetite yielded to excess, and the flood of golden wine bewildered the senses of the guests.

Instead of the lawful consecration of a new home, this scene of riot and debauchery boded ill for the future of these hitherto undwelt in chambers. So mad was the moDd of the unlicensed company, that each moment increased their utter self-abandonment. Their revelry suddenly ended. A fearful flash of forked lightning blazed through the hall, and then a crash of thunder rocked and split the castle walls from top to bottom. For awhile black smoke hid the burning rooms, then fierce red flames burst forth, and soon destroyed the splendid building ; only heaps of charred fragments we releft of the castle of Jiinkerath and of its mad revellers. The legend adds, "And what God so openly asserted His power to punish and destroy, no man since that day has ever dared to rebuild. The ruins stand ; they are silent, and yet eloquent."

We came next to Hillesheim ; the little town said to be named after the Empress Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, is at some distance from the station. It seems to begin the Volcanic Eifel, and we were told that it is a most health-giving " Sommer-frische." It is called " the Nice of the Eifel." There are plenty of woods around it, and near it is a huge volcanic hill, the Kyller Hohe, with a small, dried-up lake ; the top of this hill commands a fine view over the Volcanic Eifel. After Hillesheim the country becomes more and more interesting, and the Kyll, at first a tiny stream, quickly grows larger. Soon, high above us on the right, we saw the romantic-looking towers of Casselburg (more than fifteen hundred feet above sea-level) sheltered by the adjoining beech-forest ; on our left was the village of Pelm. t A few minutes later, under shelter of the weird crags of Munterlei, we arrived at the picturesque station of Gerolstein, where we had decided to make our first halt.

The afternoon was one to be remembered ; it wanted a few minutes to four o'clock, the heat was Gerolstein 25 intense, and as the sunshine blazed down on the unsheltered road that led from the station, we were dismayed when the station-master told us that, as we had not ordered a carriage to meet us, we must walk to our hotel. The brown-faced porter grinned. " It is not far," he said encouragingly ; and he quickly mounted our luggage on his heavy truck, and went on before us. At first the road was level, and we soon came to a double row of poplars and a bridge over the Kyll, beside which river our way had so far taken us. From the bridge we had a very picturesque view of Gerolstein rising steeply up the hill above the Kyll ; but when the porter pointed out our hotel we groaned at the climb that lay before us, for the Post Hotel was near the top of the ascent.