Dayton daily empire. [volume] (Dayton [Ohio]) 1850-1865, 1864-04-09
AnVEKTIaINa RATMs.


mountains miles hien visible, in some instan-
ces, from the summit to the bottom, looking
like bands Of silver almost into the road
along which we passed and one of them, the
Sallenche, takes final leap of near three hun
dred feet, and loses itself 10 cloud Of mist
before il reaches the level earth High up
upon little shelves in the face Of those ,re-
mendous peaks, we frequently saw little cot
tages of the mountaineers, How they get
there or get down without wings we could not
for our lives devine, and yet they live and rear
their children up there, within u few steps OF
most, Of sheer 1recipees two, three or four
thousand feet in depth Their eyes become
as steady as the eagles, theirlhends, clear as
the air they breath, their muscles as firm as
the rocks on which they stand, and their foot
ing as sure as the Chamois; and they notice
with surprise and scorn, the trepidation and
weakness Of the "lowlauders" when they ven
ture among the peaks Still, / would prefer
"a home in the valley" let the bold Switaers
sneer as they may. w ,1s' Hl
At st. Maurice, the mountains approach
each other so closely, that You wonder, as you
draw nigh, how you will get through them A
little channel for the river and the narrow
road was all that separates them, and the viii
lage that clusters there, has been aptly COM
pared to a stone basket hanging TO perpen-
dieular wall
Toward evening We reached Martipuy and
we're received at Hotel de Ia Tour by the host
and hostess, who, after vain attempt TO 'ieom-
prehend' us, handed us over to a waiter, who
was said to be accomplished in our language
He knew few words which he made 20 as
far as possible, and then fell back upon the
phrase 'jes So, which he had picked up from
some traveller, and made it answer all purpo-
ses. Waiter we want room with q carpet
in it," 'Jes so" 'We want some some din.
ner right away "Jes so "We want q
guide in the morning that can speak English
or German, "Ies so Z III suppose you
have some pleasant walks in the vicinity here2"
'Jes So 'Did you say you could speak
English " eyes sare with an air of ofen-
ded dignity. 81 am afraid you are fool,
yes so and '!es so it was to the end of
the chapter.
The evening was transeendenlly beautiful
and we climbed the hill and to the top of The
picturesque tower near by, and sat down to
enjoy the rare beauty of the scene Wewere
high up in the air, but the Alps still stretched
away skyward above us. A torrent dashes
along at the foot of the hill 30 far below us
that we almost fear TO look down upon it over
the crumbling battlement To the north jung
frau lifts her white-veiled head high above a
group Of her fair companions who are also
anayed in bridal attire. In the SOUTH toward
the Great ST. Bernard and Chamouny are the
heaven -oleaving heights which we were to as
oend on the morrow, resting there in solemn
and awful grandeur, giving US Impressions of
Omnipotenee Of their Creator which we never
knew before.
II seemed a sin to say good night to such a
scene, but the labor Of the morrow, we knew
would require all the yigor of our bodies, and
so we early sought our pillows and found up
on them sweet and dreamless sleep