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p. 26
& concealing their own frauds by the dark vale of spiritual ignorance, which they dare not lift from before the hearts of their flocks, that the R. C.'s, "of the Continent," have the form, without the real essence, of Religion, & consequently that the loss of a Church or two can only be considered as a temporal [illegible?] & not of material consequence to the cause of the Gospel. [Coblence?] was formerly the residence of the Electors of
p. 27
22d. (File at Hotel: 5.[Frid?]10th)
Rec'd [alive?] I was glad to greet my insufferable [couch?] at an early hour & commence my promenade on the town. [Ablence?] is now in the hands of the [supiders?], whose making extensive fortifications in it's neighbourhood. The streets are narrow, & wretchedly paved, & altogether it was one of the most miserably & uncomfortable towns I had seen on my tour. The Prussians have adopted one of it's Churches for a depositary of military stores, & another has been con-verted into a Granary. It is really lamentable to see such fine buildings so degraded, with many of their side altars still standing, & the columns & pictures as yet bearing mourn- -ful testimony to their former grandeur & design. But per-haps it does not follow, that either the Religion or the morals of the people of Coblence, should be on the decline, because the number of their useless Priests are diminished, on the altars of their idolatrous mode of worship be made subserviant to secular purposes. It is not from the number of sacred edifices, or from the wealth of a Priesthood, that we are to form an estimate of the spiritual condition of a people, but from those virtues, the fruits of sound & real Religion, which shew themselves daily in the common circumstances of life, & give a sacred character to the moral energies of a state. But I have observed, among the R. C.. of the Continent, generally speaking, a piteable absence of that industry activity & above all their cleanliness, & good order, which, themselves [?] next to Godliness, are con-stantly to be found among Prodestants of all Nations. In a protestant village, or town, the houses were clean, wholesome, well arranged, the people industrious & cheerful, their lands well-cultivated & their dress neat. Among the R. C. are found on the contrary idleness, dirt, beggary & misery in their extreme, in fact quite the reverse of what I have said of the Protestant. I conclude therefore, in the teeth of their Many gilded Churches, & imperious Ministry, wallowing in the [sick/rich?] mire of their religious impositions
p. 28
near & Rüdesheim -! About 3 l. [leagues?] from Bingen we came to Bacharach (Bacciaraf on the banks of the nose at the foot of the a steep Mt. The scenery about this is XXX?, & many anecdotes related to prove the excellence of its wine, & their estimation in former times. Generally speaking you always find wines of an inferior quality in the Auberges. Kaub, on the right bank - & Oberwesel, & St. Joan on the left present the most romantic scenery.
p. 29
was once entirely [illegible[, by the [socks?], [illegible] opposed a barrier against the water of the Rhine, forming a lake of immense extent between Ladenburg, [illegible], Mannheim, Mayence, [illegible], + Pfungstadt. This [cast?] heaps of in-closed water, it is said, must have [illegible] highs, than the barrier, +
