Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1860-02-16
LETTER FROM EUROPE
Paris. November /. 1859.

PARIS, November /, 1889.
| Having promised in my last letter
Ito give. 10 my next; some sccount)
lof OUT descent from the ice and
snow capt SUBMITS Of the Alps,
and description of the Via Mala,
II will now endeavot to redeem that
pledge, though incompetent to do
full justice to the subject. 6
Night was last approaching when
ne coinmeoced our descent fromthese
regions of ice and snow Our ascent
was slow and tedious, but we came
down at a fearful speed. The pos.
Itillion gave loose rein to his horses
and down they rushed over these
zigzags. Often 10 full gAllop, upon
the very verge ii ftightful precipices,
hundreds Of feet perpendicular. In
the darkness Of night as we were rat
ltling down Jehu like, / was medita-
ting the horrors Of an upset, wher all
lof a sudden l heard a shout and
a crash, and, on looking out Of the
window, discovered that the lead
horses had fallen down and the 9th.
'ers plunging over them. / was the
only one awake 10 the diligence,
and hastily gave my fellow travellers
the alarm, and jumped out to avoid
being hurled into the abyss below,
and found we we're in the laost per.
}ilous spot in the whole pass; though
a substantial railing protected US
from the fatal plunage. In a short
space Of time all things were arranged
and the ponderous old diligence, with
enormous freight, was again rushing
down the mountain with the speed Of
an avalanche.
The Via Mala' on this Alpine pass
is certainly among the most aston
fishing and awfully sublime places |
have ever SEEN. 1t is utterly i'm.
possible fully to describe it: to be
\ properly appreciated it must be seen
1t consists or a deep cleft of gorge
lin the midst Of the mountains, at
places so narrow as scarcely to ad-
NIT the light Of day, while, far
below and sometimes out of sight,
the river Rhine rusbes impetuously
from one precipice to another, while
the projecting rocks overhead leave
not an inch Of support for the foot
of man or beast; and, strange TO
say, the skill and perseverance Of
man have succeeded in effecting
passage, and constructed an excellent
highway for carriages through the
dreadful defile. To accomplish which
this road has been cut out Of the
living rock making kind Of notch
in the overhangiog mountains, and at
times, forming complete tunnel
To take the most practical route
this defle is spanned by several
bridges suspended fifteen hundred to
two thousand feet above the furious
waters. From these bridges the WIS.,
itor gets the most impressive views.
Never shall forget the sense Of awe
and grandeur ! experienced while
lingering about the Via NIala.'
As these passes are travelled all
winter they are at different places.
arched over with solid. massive ma
sonry to protect from the destruc-
tive avalancbes of snow. IT is not
uncommon, even now, for persons to
be covered by them and never be
heard of. But | must hasten on to
more congenial cline: so here we
are, just past the verge Of the Inst
mountain. That extensive plain be-
low us is warmed by the sun Of Italy,
and that beautiful sheet Of water is
the long looked-for Lake Como
In a short time We arrived at Chiav-
emma, surrounded by vineyards, villas
and beautiful pleasure grounds
What change! This indeed is lta-
ly with its sweet sounding language
and dark.eyed beauties!
LAKE Como --In the scenery Of
this lake SO much extulled, | must
say that ! was disappointed. 1t is
truly grand, sublime and terrific
This is the only objection. For
variety. real beauty and natural d.
versity Of scenery and landscape, the
lakes of Switzerland and many OF
our American waters have q decided
preference. The shores are dotted
with beautiful villas, richly orna-
mented terraces and flower gardens.
We visited severaI-the most mag
nificent is the villa of the Princess
Charlotte Of Prussia. Those Of :
Taglioui, the dancer, and Madame
Pesta, the singer, are small and IN
in appearance. AnotherE