The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1858-03-25

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dies; e. hange of apparel, therefore, coult
not easily be procured and the most extraor
binary lev % were constantly made upon wait
ing wome and charlottesville, by the unfcrtu
mates who we're 20 unexpectedly caught By ths
sudden Of rm. A 6ne jolly-looking old gentle
man, in a It sleeves and slippers, entered, lead
ing his t~ pretty daughters, evidently in Dor
ro.ed ga nents, and ,blushing like two rose
buds, but ioubtless thankful to have been able
to exehsn Q their own wet dresses for any cos
tune. a sumptuous dinner was served at 6
height OF s676 feet above the sea-level. Du
ring dim 8, some Tyrolese minstrels, in the
costumes Tyrel, sang native airs--Ranz de.
pacnes q d other Swiss songs, and after din
ner they { We concert. I retired early, to be
ready for Sunrise on the Rgi" .,
Old Sol in these mountain regions, az else
where, 10 freaky, that after night of thun
der and Ii ,tning he sometimes shows q bright
face IN Z morning, and breaks out With a
suddeA sH e. The storm was fearful all night
morning q me, but no sunrise. Instead, was q
log q den >, it euvsloped everything; no out
ward sb]es could be discerned, and the rhymes
wosld rims in my ear:
| Nj weary uphill miles we Sped
~ setting sun TO see -
| suit and grim he went 10 bed,
Sc 5y and grim went we
SEW :sleepless hours we tossed, and then,
|
Sulf and grim he rose again.
| So ~ and grim rose hep
In sta of general disgust, descended, at
about sevs O'Clock, to the coffee-room. Here
vas see q for Punch, and only wish had
that Odd g atleman's pencil, to depict the vari-
Gus phases tfaces) of disappointment and vexa.
ton 90 am 'singly grouped. There were in our
bill no Oh, sges, according to notice posted on
each bed{ som door-"t On aUeytit, NM les
strangers, sse cesaz qxi prennent les courertures
dc Ut pocs sortir an SONNET, poieront di1
6ofz for 20 one had even thought of ventur.
ing ont in she thick fog. The rain was over,
but it was cry cold and damp when our horses
were broe .ht to the door. We mounted in
silence ant disappointment. Our careful cou.
rier xfapr ID around as thick shawls, upon
which we ~, and pinned them fast to our sad
dies. VIII safely packed, our guides took
each = br lie, and in solemn pro session we
comm ance the steep descent, which was at
| times AIN ,st perpendicular. Many ladies
aoalke.l doN through all the mud. This was
doubtIess fer, but scarcely as agreeable Our
| party of 6 70 rode the whole distance up and
down. w, descended so leisurely, that we
we're ole perceive some beauties Of scenery
that hid e. ;aped us in the enthusiasm of our
ascent tf ~
[ We .'aus, at Felsenthor, to look at two huge
detached tcks OF nagel fue, mail rock or
pnddirg Ste 20, between which third, in shape
OF q tfians p, base downward, is suspended.
Under this ye rode. was reminded of sim
liar cueiosR at the Flume, in the White MouH-
,tains. The masses Of Felsenthor are much
larger, and te scenery is infinitely more grand.
For some d lance the bride path lies under an
.overhsngint precpice, with cliffs inaccessible,
\ save to the lid deer and channels. Far in the
distance, sta ,ding, a. it seemed on the very EDGE
OF PreciPit y discovered the graceful form of
mountain 3eer fearlessly he maintained his
posi- as sen incl, perhaps, of q herd concealed
In the fasttasse of their rocky fortress, az
approached. aearer, and passed beneath the
overhangine cliffs, for we'll he knew his secu-
rity.
We atopf ID at a pretty white chapel, dedi-
Gated TO the Virgin, and hung with various of.
ferings- II ia is one of the numerous shrines
Aryy yah y plEaiYs repair, and where mass is
We met q sven frissth wits If at tbe umpuatajns.
die and ~ nda shoes" sans hose, and lit.
tie band of ilgrims were marching in solemn
procession, hanting sacred songs or passages
from the Ssiptures. The solemn chant of
pilgrim ban is very impressive, especially in
the midst o. such picturesque scenery. There
ia always il spiration in fine natural scenery,
that dispose the heart of its true lover to wor-
ship; and cannot doubt the sincerity of wor
ship offered u such deep earnestness in Gods
great temp .. Rousseau says of mountain
scenery, "le meditGtions y prennent je ne sais
quel caract . grand ct sublime, proportiomt
auz objects mi nous .tTappent." The simple
peasant fee the poetry Of natures and with
deep, Inelod gus voice he sings thanks to ma
lures God. The cowherd's song at eventide,
as he colleots his scattered flock, is an outpour.
ing of the b. Arts s0orship.
The scens5y was wildly grand and beautiful,
and for the last two hours the magnificent
Lake of Lu, srn, with its deep, blue.green wa
ters, and its skirting of mountains therein re-
Elected, lay ,read out like great clear mirror
at the foot the Rigi. This is the lake of the
four forest CO ,tons-Uri, Unterwslden, Schwytz,
and Luzern.
About ha( an hour after we commenced the
descent, the iun broke through the clouds with
tjust power nough to reveal glimpses of the
valley beloN whose rich green pastures and
cultivated 6 ids spread out lovely landscape
in striking ontrast with the opposite shore,
above which arose ice mountains and eternal
rocks piled up in terrific promontories. My
obliging gp ]e gathered for me some of the
beautiful ge tians and scarlet striped corronel-
La, some pre- ty schnee blume and les clochet-
tes that mad the bright carpet of Rigi Culm.
If etars are ,e "poetry of Heaven" then sure
ly Are Aowe the bright stars of earth that
teach us 10 and reverence. These many
voiced moni ors, while they ell the eye with
besiuty, spea to the soul of immortalty-they
are fit "sou enirs" of Mont Blanc, the jung
fran of Rigi.
On We TO o, and in little less than three
hours we ! ached Weighs. Here We dis
mounted, an while waiting for the steamer,
took our brt akfast of delicious Alpine front.
This fnishet We were ready for sail around
the Lake OF Luzern, whose scenery ia very
grand, and Jose shores are classic ground, hal
lowed by as ociations with Tell and his noble
compeers. his is not only the Lake of the
four Cantor but of the four bays, viz: Alp
mach, Kass, sch, Buschs, and Uri, or Fix1en,
which form cross in the lake. had dis.
tant view of ne castle of Neu Hapsburg, where
the tyrant tessler thought to imprison the
brave Tell This is now ruin. / passed
Gersoa, q sesty little village, whose people
besgh their freedom for ESQ, for which they
had 70 Civ ten years of toill Onward we
speed to FIJI ZEN, and here the view il magni6.
cent. WI terstein, like great ebelisk, ap-
pears above ,he point whore the Muotta pours
It's clear wa ,rs into the lake. This is diff.
cult navig, ion, and fierce storms suddenly
sweep over be bay. The terrible F0hn wind
drives the b atmen to the shore, or sweeps him
and his boa into the bay. Now G. nth is in
sight. This hallowed ground. On this little
! green spot, ytauffacker Of Schwytz, Arnold oil
tUnterwalde, and Walter FIrst of Uri, met
in 1907, ans swore to be faithf Sl to each other,
but to do ne prong to the Court Of Hapsburg
and not to maltreat his governors. like to
believe in th miracle of the three springs that
gushed fort from this sacred spot, although
could not o them from the boat, even with a
powerful gil Is. Tellen Platte is the next OBJ
ject of iptes st. Here stands Tells chapel, to
mark the q. Il where he sprang from Gessler'l