The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1878-11-28

green valley of ChamOuny aud its little
village, with the road and the stream
winding through the green fields so far
away that they look almost like ribbons
/ At times parts of the mountain range
or the SUBMITS of the mountains, would
be covered by clouds, and occasionally
the dome of Mt. Blanc, bright with sun
light, would appear above the clouds.
After enjoying the wonderful view for
more than an hour, we descend and
reach our hotel at six o'clock.
/ During the day we have made, on
foot, twenty-Oue miles of mountain
travelling, having climbed two peaks,
each six thousand feet high. The reader
can get some idea of what it is to lift
ones body up these two mountains, by
thinking of going up a pair Of stairs
fifteen thousand steps high, or going up
and down pair Of ordinary house stairs
about eight hundred times in one day.
It was the hardest days work 1 had
done in many year.
There are six competing lines of stages
from Chamouny to Geneva, distance
Of fifty miles, and so sharp is the con-
petition between them that the fare to
/ Geneva had fallen from twenty-five to
three francs. These great coaches are
each drawn by from three to six horses,
and make the distance down in six
hours. Much of the way the road is cut
through solid rocks, and walled up at
/ the side. think / never saw so fine
carriage road, or Que with such a good
road-bed and grade. And indeed the
/ fine roads over nearly all Europe are
wonder to Americans. Most of them are
graded almost as carefully as railroads,
and the wagon track is covered with
broken stone. The upper part Of the
road is through a rough country, hut
the ten miles nearest Geneva is in a rich
and well-eultivated region. I should
remember this ride as one Of the pleas
ATTEST of my trip if it were not that a
''native," smoking "lOng nine" made
ever grew, sat on the seat in front Of me
and gave me most Of the way this
wretched secondhand tobacco smoke.
All over the continent almost every
man smokes and drinks beer or wine,
aud the presence of ladies is not eousid-
cred a restraint to either.
Geneva, which is beautifully situated
at the foot Of the lake, is one of the most
important cities in Switzerland, and
contains more foreign residents than
any other. tits mentioned by Caesar in
the first book Of his Gdllic Var, and
from that time has been a place of i'm
portance. It has a large number Of
watch and jewelry establishments, and
extensively manufactures music boxes
and carved work. On a clear day one
can get fine view of Mt Blanc from
the quay in front of the Hotel de Russie
In Geneva and along the lake there are
a large number of English hotels and
ladies' boarding schools. On our former
visit we attended Pierre Hyacinth's
church, but some one else conducted the
service. We, however saw him and his
American wife as they left the church.
While in Geneva we were awakened
very early one morning by an unearthly
noise under our window. Our first i'm
preston was that half dozen full brass
bands had come to give us a serenade,
but on looking out we could see only a
market woman with little wagon and
a donkey about the size Of a four-week-
old calf. The woman seemed to be
reasoning with the animal and enfoTc-
ing her arguments with frequent slaps on
his long ears. He was sustaining his
side of the discussion in that way
which only donkey can, and which
cannot be equaled or initiated by any
thing in this world, and it was his Wig
Orous presentation of his view of the
question which awakened me. When !
looked at the insignificant little animal
and heard the fearful noise he made,
which seemed to fill the air for miles
around, it seemed astonishing that such
wonderful vocal power could be wrapped
up in so small a brown skin, and the
longer his powerful argument continued
the more my wonder grew, and to this
day cannot hear donkey address an
audience or speak to friend couple o
, miles away, without being filled with
awe at the wonderful manner in which
he seems to be constructed. Until
heard this Geneva donkey never hal
realized what must have been the inter
view between Baalim and the beast OF
which he rode, or was signified wher
"the ass opened his mouth aud spa ke' ,
We will bring this long letter to {
close by asking our readers to get Z
through ticket ria Mt. Cents tunnel fo
- Naples, eight hundred miles away
where we hope they will be sufficiently
recovered from the long ride of two days
aud nights without the comforts of Z
sleeping ear, to go with us to the burieC
city Of Pompeii, and make the ascent 0
Vesuvius. o. r. BURCHARD.
.
= The organization Of society will neve
n be perfect so long as some persons nav
more than enough to make them happ,
= as property can make them, Will
d others, by their best exertiOns, cauno
!. obtain enough for this purpose. Prom
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