ten or twelve years more to finish it, as the season for outdoor labor
in that mountainous region is necessarily short.. The surrounding
scenery is magnificent: lakes, mountains, gorges, waterfalls, gloomy
forests, sunny meadows, all that is grand and beautiful in Nature, are
here comprised within a single view.

The present castle stands on the spur of an adjacent hill, and
commands the same extensive prospect. Though of moderate size (too
small, indeed, to accommodate at the same time the king and the
queen-mother with their respective suites, for which reason it is
occupied by each only during the absence of the other), the appearance
of the castle is imposing, and its interior decorations render it
a most interesting point for the tourist, as well as a delightful
residence for its proprietors. The walls of all the principal
apartments are adorned with frescoes painted by some of the best
German artists, each room being devoted to a special subject. There is
the "Hall of the Swan-Knight," containing illustrations of that
most charming legend, the foundation of the world's best opera,
_Lohengrin_; the "Schwangau Chamber," with pictures concerning the
history of the locality; the "Bertha Chamber," containing the story of
the parents of Charlemagne; the "Ladies' Chamber," portraying the
life of German women in the Middle Ages, the principal figure being
a portrait of Agnes, wife of Otto von Wittelsbach, an ancestor of the
royal house; the "Hall of Heroes," containing illustrations of the
Vilkina Saga, Dietrich of Berne being supposed to have lived at
Hohenschwangau; the "Knights' Chamber," representing the knightly
customs of the Middle Ages; the "Oriental Chamber," with frescoes
recalling King Maximilian's travels in the East; and several other
rooms, in each of which is commemorated some striking point of German
history or some interesting record of national manners. The furniture