Postcards from the Past #9: The Rhine River
Instagram Post of July 31, 2020:
As a writer, Catharine was a natural people-watcher and storyteller. One day on a steamboat ride down the Rhine River, she was “struck with the social, simple, and kindly manners” of her “German companions in the steamer” with one notable exception. According to Catharine’s letters, “[t]here was a lady on board who riveted our attention. Without being handsome, she had the ‘air noble,’ that is, perhaps, the best substitute for beauty. Her face was intellectual, and her eyes such as I have never seen except in the head of a certain harpy eagle in the zoological gardens….”
Once in Bonn, Catharine’s traveling party delivered letters of introduction to two people, and guess who showed up in response to one of the letters? Of course, the harpy-eyed lady of the steamer, Madame M., showed up to play their tour guide in Bonn.
To hear what Catharine really thought of Madame M., the “chance-boons” in life, and the beautiful Rhine River, check out today’s Postcards from the Past #9 Facebook post at https://www.facebook.com/awomanofthecentury.
Catharine’s traveling party took a steamer on the Rhine River to get to Bonn, Germany where they stayed at an inn to tour the area with a new friend, Madame M., who they met through their letters of introduction. In the images, see Catharine’s reminder to her readers not to forego the “chance-boons” in life.
