The choir is interesting in a high degree.  At the extremity of it is an altar—­indicative of the Lutheran form of worship being carried on within the church—­upon which are oil paintings upon wood, emblazoned with gilt backgrounds—­of the time of Hans Burgmair, and of others at the revival of the art of painting in Germany.  These pictures turn upon hinges, so as to shut up, or be thrown open; and are in the highest state of preservation.  Their subjects are entirely Scriptural; and perhaps old John Holbein, the father of the famous Hans Holbein, might have had a share in some of them.  Perhaps they may come down to the time of Lucas Cranach.  Wherever, or by whomsoever executed, this series of paintings, upon the high altar of the Cathedral of Ulm, can not be viewed without considerable satisfaction.  They were the first choice specimens of early art which I had seen on this side of the Rhine; and I, of course, contemplated them with the hungry eye of an antiquary.

After a careful survey of the interior, the whole of which had quite the air of English cleanliness and order, we prepared to mount the famous tower.  Our valet, Rohfritsch, led the way; counting the steps as he mounted, and finding them to be about 378 in number.  He was succeeded by the guide.  Mr. Lewis and myself followed in a more leisurely manner; peeping through the interstices which presented themselves in the open fretwork of the ornaments, and finding, as we continued to ascend, that the inhabitants and dwelling houses of Ulm diminished gradually in size.  At length we gained the summit, which is surrounded by a parapet wall of some three or four feet in height.  We paused a minute, to recover our breath, and to look at the prospect which surrounded us.  The town, at our feet, looked like the metropolis of Laputa.  Yet the high ground, by which we had descended into the town—­and upon which Bonaparte’s army was formerly encamped—­seemed to be more lofty than the spot whereon we stood.  On the opposite side flowed the Danube; not broad, nor, as I learned, very deep; but rapid and in a serpentine direction.

Upon the whole, the Cathedral of Ulm is a noble ecclesiastical edifice; uniting simplicity and purity with massiveness of composition.  Few cathedrals are more uniform in the style of their architecture.  It seems to be, to borrow technical language, all of a piece.  Near it, forming the foreground of the Munich print, are a chapel and a house surrounded by trees.  The Chapel is very small, and, as I learned, not used for religious purposes.  The house (so Professor Veesenmeyer informed me) is supposed to have been the residence and offices of business of John Zeiner, the well-known printer, who commenced his typographical labors about the year 1740, and who uniformly printed at Ulm; while his brother Gunther as uniformly exercised his art in the city whence I am now addressing you.  They were both natives of Reutlingen, a town of some note between Tuebingen and Ulm.