SAALFELD, a busy little town of Germany, in the eastern horn of the crescent-shaped duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, is picturesquely situated on the left bank of the Saale (here spanned by a bridge), 24 miles south of Weimar and 77 miles south-west of Leipsic. One of the most ancient towns in Thuringia, Saalfeld was the capital of the now extinct duchy of Saxe-Saalfeld, and contains some interesting old buildings. Among these are the former residential palace, built in 1679 on the site of the Benedictine monastery of St Peter, destroyed during the Peasants’ War; the Gothic church of St John, dating from the 13th century; the quaint town-house, built in 1533-37; and the Kitzer-stein, a shooting-lodge said to have been originally erected by the emperor Henry I., though the present building is not older than the 16th century. But perhaps the most interesting relic of the past in Saalfeld is the striking ruin of the Sorbenburg or Hoher Schwarm, a strong castle said to have been built by Charlemagne to protect his borders from the Slavonic hordes. Its destruction took place in 1290, under Rudolf of Hapsburg. Saalfeld is situated in one of the busiest parts of Meiningen, and carries on a number of brisk industries, including the manufacture of sewing-machines, colours, wax-cloth and wire-cloth, brewing, and iron-founding. It has an active trade in iron, slate, wood, and wooden goods, and there are ochre and iron mines in the neighbourhood. The population in 1880 was 7458....