The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1914-02-21

"a ~SSl pass by, the fallacy in it begins to
| i. p make itself felt, but each individual
| rTt has find it out for himself in the
l-S|yIF/ school Of experience, must he
hope by any argument to convince
those who have yet learnt the lesson.
Thousands accustomed to take an an
uual holiday in the Alps. but most of these, hay-
ing only few short weeks at their disposal, stay
a a hotel There are, however. maryland their
number is ever increasing go out with
their families and spend the whole season in the
mountains. yet who grow weary OF continual hotel
life aud seek after something that shall be not
only Independent but less expensive. for TO
many the question OF expense looms larger every
year such hardly do better than take a fur
utshed chalet in the hills. There are many such
be found, and although rents tend to increase,
they cannot yet BE- said to be excessive. Tho
Swiss have realized the fact that there is grow
ing demand for wellappOinted cGalcts in good sit
4afions that many have recently been built and
Others being adapted
Those thinking Of taking such chalet for the
winter months would be well advised that
# stands altitude Of not less than $500 fcei
above sea level. Should it be lower there viii be
some risk OF fogs from the plains and lakes ris'
ing above it. and Of wet mud taking the place OF
firm dry 1t may be remarked in passing
that for housekeeping purposes it is useful to
choose a place within easy reach town
such MontreuN or Iuterlaken, though much
shopping is best done by post II the house is
large it will sometimes happen that the owner viii
retain lew rooms lOF ms ON II personal use III
this case he VIII almost always be glad TO give
help whenever it is asked for. The average Swiss
village let it be said, does not usually provide the
luXuries OF Capua. but the visitor will quickly
discover where to obtain everything that he needs
lie VIII find that his chalet can be managed
with remarkably little servant power. Central
heating may be called necessity. and, in
private house where the ventilation be proper
Is attended to. it does not produce the stu!iness
that is such undesirable feature in so many
hotels.
"At Rome as at Rome is a useful motto for
those who live away from their country. The
Swiss peasant has his own opinions and his own
way of looking at life Therefore, visitor should
not BE- angry with him when he finds that he has
IL fixed notion that all foreigners seniml-
louaires is 1t surprising that the villagers be
ing Intelligent if somewhat narrow and unedu-
Gated, should look upon the gems de sejour who
come from afar and live in nice houses, and so
FAR they can see do no work whatever, as
almost ineXhaustble gold mines? They would
hardly be human if they did not their oppor-
tunties of making hay while the shines; only
IT rests with each visitor to see that he does not
personally contribute unreasonably large share
OF the hay
The dweler in hotels sees but one side of Swiss
Characteristic outside: fer though the Swiss may
be business+ike. he is emphatically not obsequ-
ious by nature On the contrary, he is vigorously
independent The father of n large family will
be grateful to receive any crumbs from the rich
mans table. in the shape OF discarded clothes for
the use of his boys provided that they are offered
as from an equal equal, for he is very
sitive. But in short time of the boys will
probably bring a basket of eggs TO thank mon
sieur and madame The writer once asked
to photograph girls. and a few days later
message came from the childrens mother: Might
she do some OF the household washing free OF
charge in return" That is not such bad kind
OF independence, At least it compares favorably
with variety that is to be met with, which
thinks to show it's independence in rough man
t, ,tr,.a obi g,nry n limo nan yay
without making any adequate return. Take him
all round the Swiss peasant is interesting and
a good man to deal with. Suspicious at first. and
sensitive always. he responds warmly when he is
treated with tact and sympathy
One of the very first questions that occur to
possible chalet dweler is: Will there be plenty
Of congenial society or shall be dull?' To
which the reply must be made that the amount of
society depends largely on the place selected. and
its nature ones self. 1t is always possible to
ascertain beforehand the number and size of the
hotels in the village. and these may be looked
upon as fairly reliable index of the visiting pop
ulation. Moreover. it has been the writer's ex-
perence that hotel keepers far from looking
askance at chalet dwellers, welcome them and
willingly allow them the OF their skating
rinks and toboggan very moderate terms.
Many chalets built with open fire
place in the drawing room where cheerful wood
fires may be lighted. And let it be remembered.
that in most places. wood is SO plentiful that
within a few minutes walk of the chalet sackfuls
OF fir cones and armfuls of sticks and logs may be
collected is it possible to exhaust the supply.
Yet in the daytime artificial heating can often be
dispensed with. Day after day the sun shines in
cloudless beauty. and 1t is possible to sit out on
the balcony reading hour after hour. So dry is
the air that snow evaporates with the heat more
rapidly than it mets. SO that unless the thaw be
very pronounced there is total absence Of
"sush" Last winter, week of snow at the be-
ginning OF December was followed by six weeks Of