The Press.
London, England, 1856-07-26 00:00:00

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master of that sort of knowledge. Although
the subject of the Alps is familiarised to us
all, we think that the author might have given
us more interesting descriptions, and we are
disappointed at the merely matter-of-fact
•character given to his book. The passage
about the Convent of the Great St. Bernard-
merits notice:—
The hospitality of the convent is so proverbial, that one
is almost afraid to give any impression which may seem to
detract from that reputation ; but I must say my own
experience has been—and many travellers have made the
same remark to me—that it is much better to visit the
Hospice accompanied by ladies than as a bachelor. The
next year, my brother and myself breakfasted at the Hospice
one morning, and thought it rather cold comfort altogether.
'The ladies of our party, and the friend in whose charge we
had left them for a dsy or two, while we crossed the Col du
kGesnt, had slept there the night before, and left about ten
minutes before we arrived. We caught 'them at Martigny,
sand found them load in their praises of the abundant
- .. • - good tethers. I
.'s situation " as
their good
that '

evenings
tholes' chat with
Lgentlawn I have ever encountered.
The following melancholy incnient `ties a
solemnity attached to it. We think that the
name of the lady should have been liven.
He is writing of the Vicinity of Interlaken:—
Sees from below, the slope appears so gentle that this
-description weed scarcely be credited—but it is strictly
.sceurate. A melanchaly accident which occurred in 1850,
.on the oilier side, where the descent is of the same cha-
racter, but more rapid still, attests its truth. An English
lady staying at Interlaken, one day took the path, and
wandered on till she came to the summit. Here she met
:an Italian courier belonging to another party, also at
Interlaken, and pleased at her exploit, begged him to cut
,her initials on a tree, that she might thus prove to her
ifriends how far she had rambled. He complied, but in
,doing so, broke his knife ; with the superstition common
Ito his race, startled at the omen, he implored her to turn
'back, saying that some calamity was impending. She
laughed at the prognostication, and having induced him to
complete his task, strolled on along the ridge. She never
reamed, and next day her mangled remains were found,
some thousands of feet below, on the other aide of the
mountain. Her( foot had slipped and she had begun to roll ;
site had seized a young sapling, hoping to arrest her pro-
Seem, but the imp Sus wee too great; it snapped,, and was
found in her grasp when the body was discovered. Her
toney„ jewe e, and watch were safe; the watch' having
en st 'OM httiMirit received, wafted the hour of
,I;the accid B"ihoted.l that it tooleidaee butca. few
"ihitutes itlfitritted from the otaltiorr.o "tif 5-
/
The ascent. of the Wetterhorn iatiAkt4t;
resat, feat perfumed by the author.. "Wu
'Basel bookii.si istates that it was ascendedl3l4
1855, by Me Opar, a Scotch gentleman, and it
I ••
he aesigtedYelsenthere that the guides once
aseentied,it. The feat is vaatty difficult, and
reflects. snub 'credit on Mr ..,Wills's athletic
powersi, 'Mei has. written..Joilhis exertions in a

modest style, quite free from "brag" The
,Whapter recording the aneentis the best in, the
wbook. The party had almost began told '
"Ispaitr" ofl4eaehing the 'summit; One ofith
8 tguides. ilas !tutting &air ' war with a hatable
es
0-through the? ionI:1--: .rt Ili, 1,1., • f' map!
'' we all lixoltiticroi.iti)bittathless anxiety; for it depended
t!ttepon the Itigeeetis ofthie assault, whether that impregnable
fortress was to be ours, or whether we were to return
4slowly and sadly, foiled by its calm and massive strength.
' Suddenly, a startling cry of surprise and triumph rang
'through the air. A great block of ice bounded from the top
•of the parapet, And before it had well lighted on the glacier
Lauener exclaimed, " Ich schaue den blauen himme!! "
0(I see bl sky!) A thrill of astonishment and delight
TIM thro
iti
our frames. Our enterprise had succeeded !
' !ire were ° oat upon the actual summit. That wave above
'liiiiY.froxeln, ' it sOemed, in the act of falling over into a
`",tlfirsirige eta motionless magnificence was the very peak
X'llheilf! tauenet's blows fie* with redo'ohled energy. In a
:liltety minutes a practicable breach was made, through which
~I(cr disappeared and in a moment more the sound of his
X'' e was heard behind the battlement under whose cover
b ''we stood'. In his excitement he had forgotten us, and
•U'•ery soon the whole mass would have come crashing upon
~,. our heads. A. loud shout of warning from Sampson, who
~'2, Slow occupied the gap; was echoed by five other eager
":, •olces, and he tattled hii"ektergies in a safer direction. It
'' ' 'was not long before Liiiieeer and Sampson together had
widened the opening, and then, at length, we crept slowly
rovn. As ,I took the hist Stage *alma disappeared fromi my
-%tliagitt is my lefithoulfif ipmed apAnat the angle of the lay
3 ''llnil)r!'elge' 'Mueer MI lirt OW% all filfiltirx fell abruptly

hospitality and delicate attentious of the good fathers. I
Bare no doubt whatever that,, were one's situation such as
4 ini4se ()Fr stsn,cli any
,vcal need of their good offices,
7;o-trouble nr'iitten n would be spared, and that theimost
careful iind nfi4»edlftintkindness would be lavislied on the
humblest sufferer. I am -speaking only of the want of that
external cordiality mad warmth of reception which are so
delightful in strange lands and strange places, and which,
in the coarse of a few hours, produce an impression, to
which the memory clings gratefully and gladly for years
afterwards. Such a reception I certainly experienced at
the St. Bernard, on the only occasion on which I had the
good fortune to visit the Hospice in company with a lady;
and such a reception I once met wish, when not provided
•with that excellent letter of recommendation, at the Ilos.
Fel
Lice of the Simplon, wb I passed one of the most agree.
mole evenings of my I4e, and bad the pleasure of some
khoers' chat with one, ot,t7pe most refined and accomplished
.J 1