MAYENCE.

gfax-ia

mm

MAYENCE may be considered as the point at which themost interesting part of the scenery of the Rhine commences,The river, after flowing through a vast extent of flat andunpicturesque country, is here joined by the Maine ; andthe united streams, forming one majestic current, glide bythe city walls in their way down to the richly cultivatedregion of the Rhingau, whose hills bound the horizon. Theannexed view of this once important ecclesiastical city, istaken from a spot where the elector’s palace, called theFavorite, formerly stood: a mass of ruins and rubbish arenow the only traces of the prince’s residence. A bridge ofboats is seen stretching across the river to the little town ofCassel, on the right bank.

Mayence stands on the site of the Roman Moguntia or Ma-gontiacum, and many Roman monuments, coins, etc., have, atvarious times, been dug up within the city and in its vicinity.Below the bridge of boats are several floating water mills ; anticlose to these, when the river is low, may be seen the ruinsof an ancient bridge, said to be of Roman construction.

Mayence is the renowned birth-place of the art of printing :the house of Guttenberg, its inventor, is shown as one of thecuriosities of the city, and is now appropriately made use ofas a public reading room.