Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-10-12
amusement to sit under the linden tree
in front of the hotel and

SmusemeHt 10 BIZ uuQer the nnQen trees
! in front of the hotel and
| WATCH THE CARAVANS
go by, that we almost forget to go any
where ourselves. Most people come here
| only for day or two, to visit the gla-
clers, to go up the Faulhorn, or over the
Wengern Alp; hat we have come for a
week 8 stay. 1t gives one such q super
| Tor, old-inhabitant kind of feeling TO be
staying right along where others are con-
| tinually coming and gong, and we enjoy
1t Immensely, not only on that account,
| but because this valley is so delightful.
1t is small enough valley to be pictur-
esque, and yet large enough not to be
| overshadowed by the mountains. II Is
green as ever green can be, and full of
gardens, and grain fields, and pretty
brown chalets, through which little paths
lead up hill and down, from
chalet to chalet. There Is
no road in this rounded, upper
end OF the valley. The east end IS filed
up by that gigantic, snow-crowned rock
the Wetterhorn. There 10 not tree or
shrub on his bare precipitous sides; there
are no rough projecting crags; the Wet
terhorr seems cut all out of one piece,
and he is made TO last. Mountains are
generally rather solid-looking objects,
but we have seen none
so TREMENDOUSLY SOLID
as the Werterhorn. He seems to carry
the size of his base up in grand sweeps of
solid stone to the snow line, from which
the mass shoots up into irregular pin
racles, then, highest of all, into one
acute wedge. 1t is a mountain whose
immensely is appreciable, because it is
somewhat isolated, and is of such pur-
peudicuiar turn of mind. Between the
Wetterhorn and the green Mettenberg 10
the right is a glacier, like stream of
white pinnacles flowing far down into
the valley, and stopping off short in q
ragged, jagged end. Further on TO the
right and the south, directly facing the
hotel, is the browning glory of Grindel-
wald. Two great, dark mountains part
and reveal, so near, so white, so daZ-
Zling, the two Fischer horner. In this
lap OF these two peaks rests q rough sea
of ice, from which another ice stream
comes down into the valley. This glacier
might be so pretty if it was only clean,
but it is most dreudfully, unpoetically
dirty, and l cannot look at it without
longing for hot water, brush and soap.
These glaciers ought to be kept in better
repair. To the north of us is the Faul-
of four and half hours.
SLIGHT DISAPPOINTMENT.
We confess to a bit of disappointment
in our first view of snow mountains. We
expected to be at once struck with their
immensely and sublimity, whereas our
first thought was: Why should these
mountains have snow on them any more
thun others? The near, green mountains
seemed much the highest. Then, too,
we had expected to see them all solid
white. on top; that is the idea chromos
and poets give, but l believe poets and |
painters put on the snow to suit them
selves. The submits of all these high |
peaks are at least u third craig and |
preciplce where snow cauuot rest, and |
these parts show like big black patches |
on the white. But after all the real |
thing, IN its own rough, uncompromising |
nature, is much more remarkable and |
impressive than any smcothed down,
e-colored pictures of it. / should not
venture to suggest any improvement on
the Alps.
Without making any great ascents,
is a lovely place to wander
about in. There Is the Schwartze
Luchine, the little river that comes
bubIing away through the valley as if it
mad overlooked from
BOILING TEA-KETTLE
instead of being melted from q glacier,
along whose banks ure oil sorts of de-
lightful hooks and corners, where the
Wetterhorn, or the Fischerhorner look
down at you through the tall pine trees.
There are little green hills giving new
points of view; the slopes of the Faul-
horn and the Mettenberg to be explored
lovely rambles where you get
angled up in the little irregular paths,
md shouted out of meadows by small
Boys, and have all sorts of queer ex-
experiences. Such solemn, stolid race
If small men aud women these Swiss
children are!
They never laugh and they never joke,
they never sing nor play
10 adapt an old rhyme), but they
land and stare at you with round, I'M
eeing eyes, and hold out their hands for
penny. The other day in chalet
where we had sought shelter from o
hover, We found q kitten who did not
NOW how to play. She stared at US ex-
city like Swiss child. stald and full of
are as is the responsibility of all cat
ON lay on her furry back. 1t took US
n hour to teach that
SERIOUS YOUNG FELINE.
low to run after string. wonder how