Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1889-08-02
INTERL1KEN.
The Most Noted mud Picturesque of
swiss Villages.

SWISS NlltNeehs
When the debt Of gratitude the world
owes To the monks Of the Middle Ages is
finally acknowledged, there will be found in
it no item Of more Importance to the happi-
ness and elevation Of mankind than that
work of the Augustinians who accomplish
ed the task Of creating little fCothold Of
land between the lakes Of Thun and Bri-
enze, about the beginning Of the thirteenth
century. To have left Interaken as a her
itage 10 mankind is to have merited the
blessing of posterity forever. "The Lovely
Little Plain, as the common folk, who came
after the monks were dead and gone, christ
ened it, is so very lovely. Set between two
steep spurs Of mountain chains which rise
in rugged precipices and overhanging pine
forests in almost perpendicular heights
above the valley, it looks through the dark
gorge Of the Lauterbrunnen straight upon
the dazzling beauty of that Virgin of the
Alps, the Jungfrau The rich soil, which
has been washed for centuries down the
slopes by winter storm and spring freshet,
sustains a luxuriauce of vegetation almost
tropical in its variety and strength Every
house nestles in wilderness Of roses and
vines the hedges are masses of flowers /,
the streets arches Of oveThauging boughs,
which frame the wild grandeur Of more dis
tant views. The exquisite country roads
wind through fields of wheat taller than
ones head through small market gardens
as attractive as pleasure grounds, through
pastures sweet with the breath of newly
mown hay, with always before, behind.
above, the glory Of the mountains. The
swift, narrow river runs in curves below
its rustic bridges at the very foot Of the
lIarderwand, and in every direction forest
paths lead toward marvellous views from
seemingly inaccessible points.
How differently one understands Auer-
bach's "On the Heights" after seeing one
such Alpine village Yonder, high up-so
high that it looks as il only the flight Of a
bird could ever reach or the foot Of bird
could ever rest upon it's farm house,
with its fields stretching up the perpendicu-
lar riffs in the side Of the precpice, fast
ened by some marvel Of gravitation on that
airy plateau. With the glass you will see
that many of its acres are planted between
rows of stakes driven in parallel lines n
keep the upper levels from falling in a land
slide upon the lower. You will see, too, the
slow moving forms Of cows and sheep, nc
larger than stones, grazing behind the low
/
tween them and destruction. What re
pose, what isolation must be the lot Of those
who look from that dizzy eminence down
upon the valley below. What silent sobri
ETY. Of thought, what close intimacy with
the moods of nature, that lonely, breezy
atmosphere must bring to those who breathe
| it, And what supernal beauty Of outlook
10 feed upon. How could one bred in that
pure, free space, like AN eagles eyrie, ever
be satisfied with the noise and dust Of thi,
busy scene below.
Meantime, the busy scene below is very
charming for those who have not been born
with the instincts of n chamois There is
| the Hoheweg, passing first between its lit
| tie and big chalets with the most entranc
ing small shops on the ground floor, aud
overhead under the big caves such quaint,
| carved galleries of wood and little win
doWs, with diamond panes, as one has been
used 10 see in Swiss carvings. Some of the
| fronts are queerly etched in figures Of birds
and beasts, or engraved with maxims and
| proverbs in large German text. Some are
intrcately adorned with openwork scrolls,
| cut by hand in the long winter evenings
all have their window sills full of towering
| plants. and their porches shaded with vines
| Som, times stiff little garden, with the
| bushes cut into unnatural shapes or trained
after unusual fashions, is at the front OF
side Sometimes the door is below and
| sometimes again above the narrow sid,
path There is constant going and com
| ing of vehicles, from the big diligence OF
| the hotels to the small donkey cart Of the
| peasants. You meet countrymen with a
| bunch of Elelweiss or pine needles in the
band Of their felt hats peasant girls in
the pretty costume of the Bernese cantOns
town folk with their heavy hobnailed shoe,
and thick WOODEN dresses and strangers
from all parts of the world. 1t is perfect
Babel of tongues and temperaments.
Soon the Iloheweg-or Main street, il
you prefer it that way-hroadens into the
centre of half-mile open space wide
lawn and park on one side, extending u
the nearer mountains a line of goodly no
tells on the other, gay with every form oI
modern prettiuess, balconies, and towers
and gardens full of bloom and fragrance
Thick hedges of shrubhery inside wrought
iron railings separate them from the street
and give a coquetish air Of seclusion tn,
garden paths wind between fountains anC
arches the warm, soft air is deliciousll
| fresh and sweet with odors. Everywher,
still world Of people, in windows, on pi
azzas, walking, driving lounglng under th'
trees, but always with eyes turned toward
the deep gorge between the hills, within
| which shines the Jungfrau. This is tn,
pivot around which the whole of lnterlakeI
revolves. Every houSe front turns to it
every window faces it, every path and lant
leads to some turn from which fresh beau
ty may be discovered in it. And no won
der for it would be hard to conceive fair
er sight. The ma lestic irregularity of it
outline the sharp line of black precipic
which divides its two great plateaux, an,
the glory Of its wonderful summit shinin,
under its eternal crown Of snow lifted lik
a radiant cloud above the world, make i
an endless joy TO look upon The exquisit
beauty of this smiling valley, which make
the foreground Of the picture, intensifie
its lofty silence and makes its impressive
ness a thousand fold more marked than
it arose from Il scene of desolation. Thi
is in truth one of the secrets of the on
chantment of all Swiss landscapes. Tn
valleys are everywhere nests of loveliness
with beauty of fitness greater than an,
to which mere art could ever attain an,
the sombre grandeur Of the mountains rise
from them with an effect which of them
selves alone they could never attain.
Like many of our own mountain towns
this one main street Of lnterlaken form
almost the entire village. One or two sid
lanes leading off 10 different hamlets cas-
and west, and few scattered farm house
or pensions, make up the whole. e.-hteridke
| Letter, Jttiy, 1889.