Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1863-10-16
Mr. Beecher in the Alps Alpine Ex-
q periences- Flowers and Laughtsr--The
J0unofrau - .

MT. BeeChPr IN the Atps-Alpin0 EX-
periences- Flowers and Laug hter--The
JOungfrau.
Rev. Henry Ward Beecher writes to the In
dependent from the Alps: f no
We went on over the little Scheideok, and
upon the summit gained she first full aud glor-
Gus view of Joungtrau and its companions,
Monch, Eigtr and Wetteshorn. i shelf never
forget that hour. i knew then, fret and surely,
was no magnifcation of an earthly king'e chair
Of state, A spoW mountain, long hid In
mysterious clouds, at length disclosing itself,
and atandipg apart from all earthly things, far
up against the everlasting eky, brings near to
the soul the reality Of God-of the city 10 be
revealed: and nothing less than the grandeur
of this ehsrial summit alone, In transparent
ether, blSzng with sunlight, amidst solemn
silence, could afford ft symbol Of that, de-
eceudng throne which filled the apo,alyptI
vision, ,,,.s. r-t.te t-r ~
u MOUNTAIN AIR, ..g-T
The exhilaIasion of mountain air ia such that
one becomes boy again. There is no Weari-
ness In walking. You run and jump, you climb
down precipiious cut-offs, you rnn hither and
thither to beds Of flowers, that nowhere on earth
have so much sentiment and solace as when
growing in wild simplicity and amazing abund-
anoe in these high mountain solitudes. laid
down among them. l plucked them In cruel
negligence. For who can carry with him such
quaptities2 One soon drops this handful to
give room for the next. Or, selecting fov the
finest to press into souvenir, you still imagine
that that is finer than this, and yonder is one
yet more perfect, which gves place to one more
beautiful still. The joy of unconscious being
is nowhere SO exquisite as ia these mountain
latitudes II you turn your thoughts in to
analyzs the cause, you find none. Yet your
heart rtoverhows, your thoughts rise to the nublest
themes, your religious emotions are tender and
spontaneous. Every part of your being
soul and mind-seems, by some subtle influence,
to put focth its rarest qualities, and one lore
Gees dimly the blessedness of State where the
whole life shall move in spontaneous purity aud
nobieIess.
LAUGHTER.
As we neared the bottom, and the fields grew
open and cropfull, we heard shouting behind
us, which increased as we dlsregarded it. AT
length, curious what such Importantly might
mean, we halted. A sunbrown maiden OF
robust stature came toward us-leaving a lIttle
brother and sister sbyly waiting behind--and
poured forth stream of words which meant SO
much to our understanding as the sparks which
ny from the anvil. Courtesy required that We
(,
which checked her loquscity for moment.-l
But Ii burst forth again, and | repaid every
word with another. Now IL struck me that
there was something ludicrous In two psrsons1
standing on either side ofss stone wall, jabber-
Ing at each other In regular sequence, in the
most earnest and emphatic mapner, and burst
out toto broad laughter. Laughing is q uni
verssl language. She laughed too. But when
two persons have laughed, there seems an
sSkNardne's In not knowing what 10 say or do
next. 7'
Her laugh was so entirely In English that
quite forgot that che could not understand me
when, in q polite and expressive manner, said, -,
l"Weli, now, my dear child, will you explain
what all this meaus2" She insisted by GESTURES
that should leave the path and come over to
her side, which did. Then she took up liue
of march, and | followed to see what would
become OF IL. Across the field, up the hillside,
down the hillside, we went swiftly; at the bot
tom che stopped and pointed to path. All
All this meant that could take q shorter Gus
than by the horse path! Was II coin or kind
ness that Inspired all this kindness for me7 l
put ooin In her Htout hand, received good
natured laugh, and betook myself to the path,
and coon came to Grindlewald-its great gla-
cier-and ito magnificent Wetterhofn.
L
An afternoon ride back to inserlachen, in the
golden sunlight, or through the cool shadows
Of the mountain, along the side of the valley,
was full Of dreamy rest and gladness.
As We drew near to Interlschen, Jungfrau,
With the setting sun shining full upon 10, rose
up from behind us with beauty so exquisite
that felt drawn to IL more ss to human being
than to snow covered rook stood up In the
carriage, and as the road wound around among
orchards and fields, IL was Lost or flashed forth
again; WAS hidden, only to CLEAN forth with
pure white again. And so Il played with me
as mother with her child-hlding her face
and showing it alternately to the babes inf
mite delight! And all the evening sat npon
the verandah, looking at tina. vision, on which
the sun went down long after be had lett US, on
which the moon arose, shedding all over II a
glory beyond tina. Of the day, instfible, trans
cendent! Between the two great hither moun-
tains thls enchantress rose--tvo green moua-
tains the only frame In which such n olnPioas