Washington sentinel., 1853-12-21
Correspondents ofthe New York Observer.
Irenneus Letters from Switzerland.

Correspondence Of the New York Observer.
Ircnseus Letters from Switzerland.
GRINDELwALD. lfr rts&,Is
There was no room for us at the ann. We
paused first at the Eagle, a very good looking
establishment, and the balcony running across
the front oft was filed with good looking peo
pie, but there were as many there as the house
would hold, and we had to go on to the Bear
And the Bear would not let us in. The very
best the landlord could do, was to give us a
room with three beds in it, in cottage across
the way, where we would be quiet and comfort
able. We went over. Up stairs, by as dark,
narrow, dirty, ricketty, dangerous and disagree
able passage as / had made among the noun
tains we were led by tall, skinny, satternly
woman with tallow candle in her fingers, and
| shown into our treble chamber. For the first
| time we were in such house as the better class
OF peasants occupy in Switzerland. 1t had
been taken by the proprietor of the hotel, as a
sort of a make shift when his hotel was over
| flowing-the lower part of it was his bake and
washhouse, and this room was reserved for
lodgings.
Twas worn out with the journey of the day,
and glad enough to stretch myself on anything
that ventured to call itself a bed. The walls of
the chamber around and above were rude
boards, and the bare floor had been trodden q
hundred years without feeling it. The furni
ture was a mixture of the broken chairs of the
hotel and the superannuated relics of the cot
tage, an amusing study, which helped to pass
away half an hour, while our prison keeper,
the ugly old woman, was soaring up something
for US to eat. Bread and milk with some
cheese, SO strong that we begged her to take it
off, made frugal repast but sweet to a hun
CRY man; this mountaineering does give man
an appetite; and then he sleeps so well after
| eating. Alas my dreams were short a band
of blood-thirsty williams attacked me in the dead
of night, and for four hours / fought them
tooth and nail. The battle made realthe poets
description of another scene,
"Though hundreds thousands bleed
Still hundreds, thousands more succeed
How many of the foe found that night bed
of death in my bed, | cannot say, as we took
no account of the slain, but the conflict was
sanguinary and the destruction of life was i'm
mense. The sun rose upon the battle field, but
it was hard to say which was the victor. Ex-
hausted quite as much by the nights exertions
as by the travels of the previous day, rose to
address myself to the journey. The rapacious
landlord Of the Bear charged us the same price
| for our lodgings that was paid by those who had
| the best rooms in his house, and told him we
were willing topay him for the privilege of hunt
III RIOuuuS1 Which, We Idu eHlOyeu lOT sew
eral hours. He was slow to take my meaning,
but when he did, he had no idea there was any
harm in few heas. All these mountain sides
are covered with the huts ofthe shepherds, where
during part of the year, man remains to tend
| the fiocks, and he takes with him some coarse
food to last through the months of his stay.
The shepherds and their families live in the
midst Of their dogs and cattle, and feas are no
worse to them than flies to us. 1t only served
to amuse the landlord of the Bear, when we re
lated to him sufferings of the night, and be-
sought him never to expose travellers to such
annoyances again.
The ascent of the Faulhorn is. made from
Grindelwald. 1t is a mountain 5000 feet high,
and the view from the summit is said to be an
ample reward for the five hours walk or ride
which is necessary to gain it. The long and
glorious range Of the Bernese alps stands ma
jestically in sight, and there are not wanting
those who declare the prospect superior to that
which is had on the Righi. took it on trust, and
having loftier SUBMITS still before me, was will
ing to leave the Faulhorn And was willing
to leave Grindelwald too--glad to escape the
scene of my midnight sufferings-but doubt
not that at the Eagle land not at the Bear) we
might have spent day or two very pleasantly
in this charming vale. And how soon are
these little vexations of life forgotten. They
are worth mentioning only to remind us how
foolish it is to be vexed with trifes, which in
single day, are with the things that happ%peda a
hundred years ago. Thus moralizing, andAaE
sorry that / had made any complaint of nfS
quarters for the night mounted my horse and
set off to cross
THE wENGREN ALP: THE JUNGFRU.
The ride through the valley in the early
morning was very refreshing. Parties Of ira
vellers were emerging from cottages where they
had found beds, and winding their way by the
bride paths in various directions, on foot and on
horseback, all seeking to see the world Of Swift
zerland, and all enjoying themselves with the
various degrees Of ability which had been
given them. We crossed the lesser Scheideck,
and stopped on the ridge Of it at small house
of refreshment to eat Alpine strawberries and
milk. The berries are small, and have very
little of the strawberry taste, but are quite a
treat in their way. They are apparently more
abundant here than we had seen them else
where, and with plenty of milk they made a
capital lunch. Well for us that we had the
milk before dirty boy, who was playing at the
door when we came up, pumped his mouth
and nose into the milk pan, and took long
drink, only withdrawing when his father wished
to dip some out for a lady who had just ar
rived. Had she seen the operation she would
have declined the draught; but where "igno-
rance is bliss It's folly to be wise.'
We rested only few moments at this chalet,
and then pushed on, passing forest, or the
ruins of forest which the avalanches had
mown down as grass. The stumps, and here
and there a scraggy tree, were the witnesses OF
the desolation which had been wrought. From
the height which we are now crossing we have
one of the most magnificent Of all the Alpine
views. The Jungfrau stands before us clad in
white raiment, beautiful as bride adorned for
her husband; in the sunlight she is dazzling,
and seems so near to heaven, and so pure in
her vestal robes, that we are willing to believe
the gateway must be there. The name of this
mountain, Jungfau, or the Virgin, is given on
account of the peculiar beauty and purity of the
peak, which, until 1872, had never been sullied
by the foot of man. There are but three noun
tains in Europe higher than this. Rising like
"a pyramid above the surrounding heights l3, 3,74s
;aat aud "a tho far dictonoa of onnh haioht