The party arrived at their destination, crossed the river, and walked through a wild region, abounding in narrow passes, deep glens, and headlong steeps. Near the end of the walk they came to a remarkable chasm, which looks like an immense dry dock. It is nearly a thousand feet deep, with perpendicular sides of basaltic rock, like the Giant's Causeway. The students cried out with wonder and admiration as they gazed into the deep abyss, in which they looked far down upon the tops of the tall trees. The party wandered about over rocks, peeping over cliffs, till they came to the hotel on the highest hill. Near it is an observatory, which commands a fine view of the winding Elbe, of Königstein, a fortress on a rock twelve hundred feet high. Crossing a bridge, they stood upon the Bastei, which is a flat rock, surrounded by an iron railing. It rises nearly a thousand feet perpendicularly from the bank of the river, and commands a splendid view of the valley beneath. A precipice extends for miles along the right bank of the Elbe; and nowhere in Europe is so much picturesque scenery crowded into so small a space as in the Saxon Switzerland. The party returned to Dresden by steamer from Schandau, the descent to which from the Bastei is, in part, by a deep ravine over bridges, and through clefts in the rocks, wild and full of interest. The boat passes Pillnitz, the summer residence of the king, and the students saw the palace and grounds. On the following morning the students and the instructors returned to the squadron, arriving at a late hour in the evening. As the vessels were to remain a few days at Swinemünde, Paul Kendall and Shuffles decided to visit Leipzig, Magdeburg, and Hamburg. Lincoln was about to be graduated, and was allowed to remain with them and the Kinnairds, Miss Gurney being the principal attraction to him. CHAPTER XX. GREAT CHANGES IN THE SQUADRON. The party that remained in Dresden went to Leipzig in the afternoon, and found very comfortable quarters in the Hôtel de Pologne. They visited the usual round of sights; but it must be acknowledged that they did so rather from a sense of duty, than because they were interested in most of them. Doubtless they were troubled by that bugbear of travellers--the fear of missing a sight about which some one in the future might inquire. If they failed to see it, tourists more fortunate in their own estimation would assure them they had lost the most interesting object in the city. Lincoln missed his good friend, the doctor, very much, though, as far as company was concerned, Miss Julia Gurney was an excellent substitute. But Mr. Kinnaird was exceedingly well informed, and was able to impart all needed information.