The cathedral church of St. Bartholomew, which belongs to the catholics, is another venerable relic of antiquity: it is reported to have been built by Pepin, king of France, in 756, enriched by Charlemagne, and plundered by Lewis of Bavaria, on account of its chapter adhering to the Pope. Strange to relate, although the coronation of the Emperor used to take place in it, there is not one object within its walls, either of sacred splendor, or monumental celebrity, worthy of notice. In the year 1792, when the French entered this city as conquerors, their commanding officers went with great military pomp to this cathedral; where, being attended by the senators, the commander in chief closed an address by exclaiming, “Under the roof of this venerable temple have not many of you witnessed the coronation of the Emperor of the Romans?” to which no answer was given. “I demand a reply to my question,” exclaimed the general with some warmth; “Yes” was faintly answered; “Then,” replied he, “you will never see him more in this place.” This prophecy issued from an oracle which possessed the means of consummating its prediction. I was pleased with the fair, although it fell far short of my expectation; the principal booths which were erected near the Römer, and also parallel with the river Maine, formed a very agreeable and sprightly street, entirely covered with canvass awnings: here all sorts of goods, the productions of various parts of the globe, were exposed to sale; and here were also several booksellers’ stalls, where the most eminent works are sold folded in sheets, for the purchase of lesser merchants in the trade. No press in the world is so prolific as the German: the number of ingenious works which it annually yields, amongst which are many able productions, are astonishing. I was informed that the fair had wasted almost to nothing, in consequence of the various injuries it has sustained from the war, and the severe policy of Bonaparte respecting the introduction of English manufacture, very little of which was to be found at this mart. In the printers’ stalls, which used to be well supplied from the English school of engraving, were very few prints worthy of attention. I saw several execrable imitations of some from the exquisite pencil of Westall. At the end of the principal street of the fair, close to the river, were rows of immense tubs, in which, like Diogenes, many poor German tradesmen and their families very sagaciously eat and slept, for want of a better habitation. CHAPTER XXVI. BEAUTIFUL VILLAGE OF OFFENBACH ... BRAVERY OF THE HESSIANS ... ANECDOTES OF MARESCHAL AUGERAU ... EXCURSION TO DARMSTADT ... MINUTE-POSTS ... DARMSTADT ... LAW’S DELAY IN GERMANY ... AGREEABLE MANNERS OF THE GERMANS ... NATIONAL ANTIPATHIES ... RETURN TO FRANCFORT ... GLOOMY APPEARANCE OF THE CONTINENT ... FRENCH ARMY ON ITS MARCH AGAINST THE PRUSSIANS ... RETURN TO LONDON.