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Frankfurt. 20./84

My darling little Emmie.

We started from Brussels after writing our letters. It began to snow soon after we left and when we got to Cologne there was 3 or 4 inches on the ground. They piled us out when we got about half way there but we had no trouble as they spoke french. We got lunch and jumped into the other train and have had german strait ever since! We got into Cologne at 5 in the morn, snowing like everything; one poor old frame of a horse in a large hack. I thought he was going to die every minute. It was as black as ink and when we got to the Hotel; which was in a little narrow street, it was as silent as the grave, not a light to be seen. After banging at the door for an hour or two a duch porter came to the door and showed us up to our room. May be it was'nt cold, but I guess it was. We took off our boots and jumped into bed with our big coats on. Graves said he nearly froze his feet off there. We thought when the cabby drove down the back street that he was up to some trick but it seems that the hotel fronted on the quay and was right at the landing


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I expected to find it. After you leave Cologne it is flat and uninteresting till you get to Bon. which takes about 3 hours. Then it begins to be bold and rocky in some places coming straight down to the water 4 or 5 or feet with a ruined castle on top. In other places it is more sloping with vinyards from the water to the summit. Sometimes a ruined castle sits in the middle of the river on a little island and at other times it is half way up the mountains. I must say they did not impress me as they might. They remind me of the ones I use to have in Noah's arks. The railroad from Goblence follows the river most way to Frankfurt and of course you see all the other side and a good deal of the one you are on as the river turns and twists as only a duch river can. It is much the same thing all the way up from Bon. Castles, vinyards, old ruins, and steamers loaded with beer. Beer is not so poetic as ruined castles but is much more to the point. The Germans all wear caps like this - [[image - sketch of German man wearing cap]]  and crooked pipes with a picture of their native village painted on the bowl. The pipes hold enough tobacco to break an ordinary american to fill them once. But after they are filled they last for the rest of your natural life. Tobacco is cheap here and they all have American cigars and cigarettes. They also have Singers sewing machines. You see the signs pasted up all over Europe.

We hav'nt had a bit of trouble coming so far and hope we wont. We have had a stunning time and laughter more than a little. If I could only have seen you or had you with me my happiness would have been complete. I often think how nice it would be to drop in and see the folks. I wonder if they would be glad to see me?  A fellow gets