All day they continued down the blue and
rapid water and at three o'clock the next morning landed at Mayence,
where they woke the sleepy inhabitants with rockets and bugles. The run
from Strassburg lasted thirty-six hours; they were glad to get warm
comfortable beds in the hotel where they rested till Monday. Before
leaving Mayence, telegrams poured in from every point on the river
below. One was signed Elizabeth, Princess of Schaumburg-Lippe,
congratulating Paul and inviting him to stop at Wiesbaden.
The party left Mayence on Monday and continued dropping down the river.
From this place on, the banks presented a very thronged and lively
appearance. Perhaps no other river in the world could be found to equal
that from Mayence to Cologne in the variety of its life and the
multiplicity of its associations. Reception after reception was tendered
the voyager and his party and every place seemed to vie with the
others in the warmth and good will of its welcome. At Geisenheim, the
committee who met Paul on the river, insisted that he must come ashore
as a reception was prepared for him. They landed and found a number of
Americans, including Consul General Webster. About twenty lovely
girls dressed in white and carrying baskets of flowers met the party at
the bank.
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