of Birkstein, he continued to hold the office several years; and dying at an advanced age was, by his own desire, buried in a grave which he had dug out for himself in one of the cells on the rock. Such are the circumstances which have contributed to cast into the shade the ancient and warlike name of this curious piece of architecture, and to describe as a hermit's cell, what was, in point of fact, one of the strongest among the many and strong baronial castles with which Bohemia abounds. The hermits have not sat in the seats of armed men so long, without leaving numerous traces of their sojourn behind them. Three or four caves are hollowed out in the rock, one of which contains a skull, a rosary, and a narrow stone bedstead, overlaid with moss. In another, besides the usual ornaments, such as crucifixes, &c., we found an image of Brother Antony Mueller, arrayed in his brown robe and hood, with beads, a long gray beard, and bare feet, just as he is stated to have exhibited himself in the land of the living. A third cave, or cell, contains a representation of the same hermit's dead body, as it lay in state,--for to the rock the corpse was carried both for exhibition and interment; and finally, we have his grave,--a small heap of stones, with a stone cross erected over them, and an epitaph inscribed on the rock at his feet. I subjoin the original, and give, for the benefit of such as may not be acquainted with the German, a loose translation. Du haellst den Tod fuer deinen feind, Du irrst; er ist dein bestest Freund: Er ummt dir alle leibin ab Und legt dich sanft in's stille grab. Befreit dich von dir falschen wilt Und wenn es dir nur selbst gefaellt So fuehst er dich in himmel ein Sag wellcher Freund kaun besser seyn. Thou holdest death thy foe to be, No foe, but best of friends, is he. He lifts the evil from thy lot, Lays thee where sorrow reacheth not. From the false world he sets the free, And if the progress pleaseth thee, Guides thee to regions of the blest; Of friends, then, is he not the best?