At Linz we find ourselves again in a wine country.  Linz is renowned for the beauty of its women, and we had a most favorable specimen in our landlord’s daughter, one of the most beautiful girls I ever beheld.  We talked to her a great deal, and a scene ridiculous enough occurred.  She has very beautiful arms which we all seemed to admire; and all at once, by instinct as it were, the two Poles lifted up one arm and I the other, and our respective lips were fastened on either arm at the same moment as if by word of command.  We apologized for the liberty we took, saying that her arms were perfectly irresistible and that we had never seen such fine ones before.  She accepted our excuse with the utmost good nature, and laughed very heartily.  Her father is a man of information and a good classical scholar, a thing which is by no means uncommon among the inn-keepers of Germany.  We stopped here that night, and the ensuing forenoon.  We had an excellent supper, very good wine, and we drank to the health of the fair Amalia, the host’s daughter.  Our host, who was a friend of Mr F——­’s, gave us the best of every thing, and our expences did not amount to more than seven florins Wiener Waehrung, for supper, bed, breakfast and dinner.  We passed the forenoon in visiting the different parts of the city and we were struck with the appearance of opulence and industry that prevails.

Before we arrived at Moelk, which is the next important place, we passed the town of Ens and beyond that the famous Strudel or Whirlpool which is dangerous at times for boats.  Our raft was completely whirled round.  This whirlpool is caused by rocks rising abruptly out of the water.  The popular tradition is that this whirlpool is the abode of a very malicious and spiteful Wassernixe, Undine or Water Goblin, who delighted in drowning passengers.  The scenery hereabouts is more wild and romantic than what we have hitherto passed and bears a great resemblance to the landscape on the Rhine between Mayence and Coblentz.  Moelk is an Abbey and a very magnificent edifice it is, situated on an eminence which forms the angle with the river and rises quite a pio from the water’s edge; it lies quite en face to those who approach it, descending the stream, so that the river seems to be terminated by it.  It commands a noble prospect.  I had only time to inspect hastily the church.  Beyond Moelk is a range of rocks that bear a great resemblance to a wall, and jut out a great deal towards the river.  It is called the Devil’s wall from the tradition of the Devil having endeavoured to make a wall to dam up the river.  Above this wall is the famous castle and vineyard called Spitz am Platz, and further on is the castle of Dierenstein, situated on a mountain on the left bank of the Danube.  The ascent is very steep; this castle, now in ruins, was the place where Richard Coeur de Lion was confined.  The walls only of the castle and part of the chapel are all that remain; we did not fail to visit a place of such celebrity.  A convent lies below it.