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CHAPTER VII.
We suppose the traveller to have fixed his head-quarters
at Remagen or Sinzig as convenient spots for excursions
into the valley of the Ahr and the volcanic region of the
Eifel. If he crosses the Rhine with a descending steamer
to Kdnigswinter at the foot of the Drachenfels, he finds
himself in a volcanic region, apparently a Continuationof
the chain on the opposite side, and known by the name
of the Seven Hills. The summit of one of these is
crowned by a former convent, now a substantial farm-
house, with a considerable establishment. But we do
not know anything very remarkable to attract the in-
quiring agriculturist up the steep ascent to the Peters-
berg, unless he have plenty of time to devote to the
gratification of his curiosity.
If he will follow us in an excursion into the back
country, taking the road from Bonn to Siegburg and
Altenkirchen, there is not a little to be seen and learnt
that he will find well worthy of attention. At Siegburg
we reach the hills that bound the level valley of the
Lower Rhine, and which grow steeper and more tortuous
in proportion as we follow the road leading northwards.
All the hills are covered with wood, but for the most
part present a very different aspect from the stately plan-
tations of the Upper Ardennes. From Altenkirchen to
Wissen-on-the-Sieg the country becomes more romantic
as we proceed, and at Wissen a wild valley, shut in by
Agricultuee ox the ehine.
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wooded heights, offering a great variety of mountain
scenery, at the bottom of which the river Sieg rolls its
rapid waters, forms a striking contrast both to the broad
vallev of the Rhine and the narrow glens of the Ardennes
in its immediate vicinity. Here the elevation of the
ground and the circumstance of our being on the north
side of the Westerwald, and consequently in a district
exposed to cold winds, with the slope of the hills quite
unfavourable for radiation of heat, forbid the cultiva-
tion of the vine, and render corn-crops precarious and
scanty. The stranger is however at no loss to explain the
number and good appearance of the villages through
which he passes, for the heaps of earth on the mountain
side and the open entrances to galleries carried from low
points into the hill-side, remind him at every turn that
he is traversing a mining district. In the districts of
Sayn and Siegen, that long were cut off from all easy
traffic with the Rhine for want of good roads, a remark-
able spirit of industry and an ingenuity worthy of admi-
ration has been displayed by the inhabitants that must
surprise all to whom the circumstances of these districts
are not known. There is perhaps no district in Europe
of which a minute history for the last three centuries
would be more useful and more entertaining. But the
people have been acting and not reasoning, anj although
the age has in many respects run away from them, yet
they have a right to claim for past times an interesting
position very much in advance of their contemporaries.
Both in agriculture and in many branches of manufacture
the people of Siegen presented, until very recently, a
model for their neighbours. Their agriculture was of
course modified by the circumstances of the country, and