I left Munich on the 25th July and arrived on the 6th day of our journey, 30th July, at Vienna, The Floss, or raft, on board of which we embarked, is about as long as the main deck of an eighty-four gun ship and about forty feet in breadth.  It is constructed of strong spars lashed together.  On the spars is constructed a large platform and on the platform several cabins, containing tables and chairs.  Mr F——­, the Poles and myself hired a cabin to ourselves.  On the raft was a great deal of merchandize going to Vienna.  At Vienna the Flossmeister, after landing his passengers and merchandize, sells his raft and returns on horseback to Munich.  A raft is constructed weekly at Munich from wood felled in the Tyrol and floated on the Isar down to Munich.  We arrived the first evening at Freysingen, but it was nearly dark when we arrived; it seemed however as far as we could observe to be a neat village; at any rate, we met with a very comfortable inn there with good fare and good beds.  We met with a very pleasant family on board the raft, bound to Landshut; M. and Mme S. were extremely well-informed people and their two daughters very fine girls.

We arrived the following day at twelve o’clock at Landshut, which is a very fine town.  There is an immense Gothic tower or steeple to the Church of St Martin, about 450 feet in height.  At Deckendorf, where the Isar flows into the Danube, I saluted for the first time that noble river.  We stopped the night at Pillshofen and arrived the following day at twelve o’clock at Passau.  Passau is a large, well built and handsome city, and is situated on the confluent of three rivers, the Inn, the Illst and the Danube; for here the two former flow into the latter, one on each side.  Each of these rivers just before the point of juncture seem to be of different colors; for example the Danube appears blue, the Inn white, and the Illst black.  At Passau we put up at the Wild Man (Zum Wilden Mann), a favorite sign for inns in these parts.

The Cathedral and Residenz-Schloss are striking buildings, and the city has a lively and grand appearance.  The women appear to be in general handsome and well dressed.  We brought to the evening at Engelhardtzell, where the barrier, painted black and yellow, announced our return to the Austrian territory.  We underwent at the Customs house a rigid search for tobacco:  they even took away the tobacco that some passengers had in their pouches.  They were likewise very rigid about our passports.  The English passports do not please them at all, on account of the features of the bearer not being specified therein, and as I answered their questions in German, they supposed me to be a native of that country and asked me what business I had with a British passport.  I replied:  Weil ich ein Englaender bin.—­Sie ein Englaender?  Sie ’sind gewiss aus Nord Deutschland.  Sie sprechen recht gut Deutsch.—­Meine Herren, ich bin ein Englaender:  viele Englaender studieren