The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1895-12-26
From Lucerne to Milan.


ing extract from letter which we feel
sure will be read with pleasure.
/ Farewell to Switzerland! II Ill, Italia,
/ hail. 1t was the most unpromising day
when we started; the mist lay heavy
over the lake, and the sun had gone off
on pleasure excursion, without leaving
any address or saying when he would
be back. Yesterday, we did not know
as we should start, but this morning at
eight o'clock, mamma gave the COM
mand forward, march, 1t was quite
scramble to prepare the advance. The
others attended to the impedimenta,
while packed the provisions. Fifteen
packages, large and small, beside our
shawls and wraps-but we all got into a
comfortable compartment, except the
trunk and one big rug roll which the
conductor shook his head over and con
signed to the baggage yan-and we
moved forward an along the line.
After an hour or so, we got away
! from Lake Lucerne with all its lovely
scenery behind its veil of mist, and as
we climbed gradually up the valley of
the Reuss, the fog lifted little by
little, and when we got to Goschenen,
there was the sun in all his splendor,
and the sky was as blue as the blue of
i the stars and stripes How the great
mountains lowered on every side with
the snow cleaning on their tops and
the cascades frozen stiff and white in
their last mad leap down the mountain
side Of course we were more than de-
! lighted at the change in the weather,
for the st. Gotthard Pass is one of the
finest in Switzerland, and we enjoyed
the scenery all the better for taking it
as a surprise Only the tunnels. A
quarter of the way runs through the
heart of the mountains. 1t was like
blindfoldng us every few minutes in
order to prepare US for some lovelier
prospect to come. Several times after
entering mountain, the train whirled
around like cork screw and came out
/
at different grade. Twice. anyway,
we could see two other tracks beside
our own and thought for an instant they
belonged to some other lines, till we
suddenly remembered that there was
only one railway over the Pass.
The tunnel through Mt. St. Gotthard
is the longest one of all. We could
hardly believe that allake and flourish
ing village were over our heads, but
Baedeker says so, and ne never quarrel
with Baedeker. Anyway, we were in
particular cut, as uncle DIS watch and
mine both agreed. In the middle of the
tunnel, the engine ceased to labor so,
and we began to descend. When we
came out at the other end, there was
another little stream, but running in the
other direction. aud we knew if we fol-
lowed it's course long enough it would
bring us out of the mountains into the
plains of Lombardy. | don't know
which baby river this was, but the Reuss,
the Pc, the Rhone and the lordly Rhine
all claim Mt ST. Gotthard for their
birthplace
1t is wonderful feat of engineering,
the ST. Gotthard railway. heard Uncle
ID. reading some statistics the other day.
The railway is 100 miles long with 25i
miles of tunnel and took ten years in
building at a cost of AZ million dollars.
The great tunnel is Of miles long and
took 2500 men II years to build it, cost
ing over II million dollars and l don't
know how many lives. OF course SO
much blasting is very dangerous, and in
the heart of the mountains the heat be-
comes so intense and the air so bad that
the men can only stand it to work five
hours day two days out of three, and
then at serious injury to the health.
We had such time going through
the customs at Chiaso. Spirits and to-
bacco are the things they look for most.
don't know whether it was because we
were such suspicious looking characters,
or because they were waiting for the
ch eek that never fails to pass, and i
made not of brass, but of silver, but at
all events, they went to the bottom of
everything. They we're going to charge
franc and a half for tin box labelled,
"Huntly and Palmer's biscuits till at
last | persuaded them to look inside,
and they laughed good naturally when
they found only the remains of our
lunch. 1t was very amusing to hear me
sputtering away in German, for they
couldn't understand that any better than
they could have understood English,
which is to say not at all.
We arrived in Milan at half past five,
and found ourselves in a worse fog than
we left at Lucerne But O, for pleas
ant day tomorrow to see the beautiful
Cathedral and the wonderful view from
the top!-GRAcE NJ. c, BURN in Somer-
set Argus.
Hoods Calendar for 1896 is out and il