Having been previously warned not to attempt to enter Mayence, which, as it is now incorporated with France, I shall call by that name, on account of the unusual rigour exercised by the police towards strangers, in consequence of the city being the great military depot of the French on the Rhine, and the greatest skill of their engineers having been lavished on its fortifications, I was content to view it from Cassel, and to receive some little account of it from a very intelligent German, who had resided there some years, as we looked upon the city from our hotel window. The electoral palace, of red brick, by the side of which the Rhine flows, where Bonaparte resided during his stay in Mayence, in 1804, presented a very noble appearance. The dome or cathedral, which rose with awful dignity before us, is a vast gothic pile, having four unequal towers: it had once a lofty spire, but a thunder-storm, many years since, beat it down with lightning, and burnt a considerable part of the edifice. Few cities have suffered more than this by the ravages of war; most of its civil and sacred buildings have been at one period or another damaged or destroyed by cannon, the ruins of which still remain. My intelligent friend informed me that this city was celebrated for the great beauty of its female inhabitants, and that before the French took possession of it the electoral court threw a brilliant lustre over the place, which was unrivalled by any city on the Rhine for its gaiety, elegance, and splendor; characteristics which have been impaired, but far from annihilated. It contains colleges, lyceums, a theatre, and ball and concert rooms, all of which continue to be well attended.