ROLLO IN SWITZERLAND, BY

 JACOB ABBOTT. 

 NEW YORK: SHELDON & CO. , 667 BROADWAY, and 214 & 216 MERCER ST. , Grand Central Hotel. 1873. 

 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by JACOB ABBOTT, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 

 [Illustration: ROLLO'S IN EUROPE. ]

 ROLLO'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

 ORDER OF THE VOLUMES. 

 ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC. ROLLO IN PARIS. ROLLO IN SWITZERLAND. ROLLO IN LONDON. ROLLO ON THE RHINE. ROLLO IN SCOTLAND. ROLLO IN GENEVA. ROLLO IN HOLLAND. 

 [Illustration: MONT BLANC. ]

 PRINCIPAL PERSONS OF THE STORY. 

 ROLLO; twelve years of age. 

 MR. And MRS. HOLIDAY; Rollo's father and mother, travelling in Europe. 

 THANNY; Rollo's younger brother. 

 JANE; Rollo's cousin, adopted by Mr. And Mrs. Holiday. 

 MR. GEORGE; a young gentleman, Rollo's uncle. 

 CONTENTS. 

 CHAPTER PAGE

 I. --GETTING A PASSPORT, 11

 II. --CROSSING THE FRONTIER, 31

 III. --BASLE, 49

 IV. --THE DILIGENCE, 60

 V. --RIDE TO BERNE, 72

 VI. -THE VALLEY OF THE AAR, 85

 VII. --INTERLACHEN, 101

 VIII. --LAUTERBRUNNEN, 118

 IX. --THE WENGERN ALP, 136

 X. --GOING DOWN THE MOUNTAIN, 168

 XI. --GLACIERS, 181

 XII. --ROLLO A COURIER, 196

 XIII. --CONCLUSION, 220

 ENGRAVINGS. 

 MONT BLANC, (FRONTISPIECE. ) PAGE

 THE COTTAGE, 10

 THE PREFECTURE OF POLICE, 25

 IN THE CAB, 40

 THE DILIGENCE AT THE OFFICE, 77

 THE DILIGENCE ON THE ROAD, 81

 THE LAKE SHORE, 97

 VICINITY OF INTERLACHEN, 100

 THE MOUNTAIN GIRL, 147

 THE FALL, 173

 THE CREVASSE, 182

 THE NARROW PATH, 189

 ASCENT OF MONT BLANC, 193

[Illustration: THE COTTAGE. _See page 81_]

ROLLO IN SWITZERLAND. 

CHAPTER I. 

GETTING A PASSPORT. 

The last day that Rollo spent in Paris, before he set out on his journeyinto Switzerland, he had an opportunity to acquire, by actualexperience, some knowledge of the nature of the passport system. 

Before commencing the narrative of the adventures which he met with, itis necessary to premise that no person can travel among the differentstates and kingdoms on the continent of Europe without what is called apassport. The idea which prevails among all the governments of thecontinent is, that the people of each country are the subjects of thesovereign reigning there, and in some sense belong to him. They cannotleave their country without the written permission of the government, nor can they enter any other one without showing this permission andhaving it approved and stamped by the proper officers of the country towhich they wish to go. There are, for example, at Paris ministers of allthe different governments of Europe, residing in different parts of thecity; and whoever wishes to leave France, to go into any other kingdom, must first go with his passport to the ministers of the countries whichhe intends to visit and get them to put their stamp upon it. This stamprepresents the permission of the government whose minister affixes itthat the traveller may enter the territory under their jurisdiction. Besides this, it is necessary to get permission from the authorities ofParis to leave the city. Nobody can leave France without this. Thispermission, too, like the others, is given by a stamp upon the passport. To get this stamp, the traveller must carry or send his passport to thegreat central police office of Paris, called the prefecture of police. Now, as the legations of the different governments and the prefecture ofpolice are situated at very considerable distances from each other aboutthe city, and as it usually takes some time to transact the business ateach office, and especially as the inexperienced traveller often makesmistakes and goes to the wrong place, or gets at the right place at thewrong hour, it usually requires a whole day, and sometimes two days, toget his passport all right so as to allow of his setting out upon hisjourney. These explanations are necessary to enable the reader tounderstand what I now proceed to relate in respect to Rollo. 

One morning, while Rollo and Jennie were at breakfast with their fatherand mother, Rollo's uncle George came in and said that he had concludedto go and make a little tour in Switzerland. "I shall have three weeks, "said he, "if I can get away to-morrow; and that will give me time totake quite a little run among the mountains. I have come now to see ifyou will let Rollo go with me. "

"Yes, sir, " said Rollo, very eagerly, and rising at once from his chair. "Yes, sir. Let me go with him. That's exactly the thing. Yes, sir. "

"Have you any objection?" said Mr. Holiday, quietly, turning towardsRollo's mother. 

"No, " said Mrs. Holiday, speaking, however, in a very doubtfultone, --"no; I don't know that I have--any great objection. "

Whatever doubt and hesitation Mrs. Holiday might have had on the subjectwas dispelled when she came to look at Rollo and see how eager andearnest he was in his desire to go. So she gave her definitive consent. 

"How long do you think you will be gone?" said Mr. Holiday. 

"Three weeks, nearly, " replied Mr. George. "Say twenty days. "

"And how much do you suppose it will cost you?" asked Mr. Holiday. 

"I have made a calculation, " said Mr. George; "and I think it will costme, if I go alone, about twenty-five francs a day for the whole time. There would, however, be a considerable saving in some things if two gotogether. "

"Then I will allow you, Rollo, " replied Mr. Holiday, looking towardsRollo, "twenty-five francs a day for this excursion. If you spend anymore than that, you must take it out of your past savings. If you do notspend it all, what is left when you come back is yours. "

"Yes, sir, " said Rollo. "I think that will be a great plenty. "

"Twenty-five francs a day for twenty days, " continued Mr. Holiday, "isfive hundred francs. Bring me that bag of gold, Rollo, out of mysecretary. Here is the key. "

So Rollo brought out the gold, and Mr. Holiday took from it twenty-fiveNapoleons. These he put in Rollo's purse. 

"There, " said Mr. Holiday, "that's all I can do for you. For the restyou must take care of yourself. "

"How long will it take you to pack your trunk?" said Mr. George. 

"Five minutes, " said Rollo, promptly, standing up erect as he said itand buttoning his jacket up to his chin. 

"Then put on your cap and come with me, " said Mr. George. 

Rollo did so. He followed Mr. George down stairs to the door, and theyboth got into a small carriage which Mr. George had waiting there anddrove away together towards Mr. George's hotel. 

"Now, Rollo, " said Mr. George, "I have got a great deal to do to-day, and there are our passports to be stamped. I wonder if you could notattend to that. "

"Yes, " said Rollo, "if you will only tell me what is to be done. "

"I don't myself know what is to be done, " said Mr. George. "That's thedifficulty. And I have not time to find out. I have got as much as I canpossibly do until four o'clock; and then the office of the prefecture ofpolice is closed. Now, if you can take the passports and find out whatis to be done, and _do_ it, then we can go to-morrow; otherwise we mustwait till next day. "

"Well, " said Rollo, "I'll try. "

"You will find the passports, then, on my table at the hotel. I am goingto get out at the next street and take another carriage to go in anotherdirection. You can keep this carriage. "

"Very well, " said Rollo. 

"You may make inquiries of any body you please, " said Mr. George, "except your father and mother. We must not trouble your father with anybusiness of any kind till he gets entirely well; and your mother wouldnot know any thing about it at all. Perhaps the master of the hotel cantell you. You had better _ask_ him, at any rate. "

Here Mr. George pulled the string for the carriage to stop, as they hadarrived at the corner of the street where he was to get out. Thecoachman drew up to the sidewalk and stopped. Mr. George opened the doorand stepped out upon the curbstone, and then said, as he shut thedoor, --

"Well, good by, Rollo. I hope you will have good luck. But, whateverhappens, keep a quiet mind, and don't allow yourself to feel perplexedor troubled. If you don't succeed in getting the passports ready to-daywe can attend to them to-morrow and then go the next day, which willanswer nearly as well. "

Then, directing the coachman to drive to the hotel, Mr. George walkedrapidly away. 

When Rollo reached the hotel he got the key of his uncle George's room, at the porter's lodge, and went immediately up to see if the passportswere there. He found them, as his uncle had said, lying on the table. 

"Now, " said Rollo, "the first thing I'll do is to find Carlos and see ifhe will go and help me get the passports stamped. "[1]

So, taking the passports in his hand, he went along the corridor till hecame to the door leading to the apartments where Carlos lodged. Therewas a bell hanging by the side of the door. Rollo pulled this cord, andpresently the courier came to the door. [2] Rollo inquired for Carlos, and the courier said that he would go and get him. In the mean time thecourier asked Rollo to step in and take a seat. So Rollo went in. Theroom that he entered was a small one, and was used as an antechamber tothe apartment; and it was very neatly and pleasantly furnished for sucha purpose. There were a sofa and several chairs, and maps and pictureson the walls, and a table with writing materials on it in the centre. Rollo sat down upon the sofa. In a few minutes Carlos came. 

"Look here!" said Rollo, rising when Carlos came in. "See thesepassports! We're going to get them stamped. Will you go with me? I havegot a carriage at the door. "

Here Rollo made a sort of whirling motion with his hand, advancing itforward at the same time as it rolled, to indicate the motion of awheel. This was to signify to Carlos that they were going in a carriage. 

All that Carlos understood was, that Rollo was going somewhere, and thathe wished him, Carlos, to go too. He seemed very much pleased with hisinvitation, and went eagerly back into the inner apartments. He returnedin a very few minutes with his cap in his hand, evidently all ready togo. 

"Now, " said Rollo, as they went out of the antechamber together, "thefirst thing is to go and ask the master of the hotel what we are to do. "

There was a very pleasant little room on the lower floor, on one side ofthe archway which formed the entrance into the court of the hotel fromthe street, that served the purpose of parlor, sitting room, countingroom, and office. Thus it was used both by the master of the hotelhimself and by his family. There was a desk at one side, where themaster usually sat, with his books and papers before him. At the otherside, near a window, his wife was often seated at her sewing; and therewere frequently two or three little children playing about the floorwith little wagons, or tops, or other toys. Rollo went to this room, occupying himself as he descended the stairs in trying to make up aFrench sentence that would ask his question in the shortest and simplestmanner. 

He went in, and, going to the desk, held out his passports to the manwho was sitting there, and said, in French, --

"Passports. To Switzerland. Where to go to get them stamped?"

"Ah, " said the master of the hotel, taking the passports in his hand. "Yes, yes, yes. You must get them stamped. You must go to the Swisslegation and to the prefecture of police. "

Here Rollo pointed to a piece of paper that was lying on the desk andmade signs of writing. 

"Ah, yes, yes, yes, " said the man. "I will write you the address. "

So the man took a piece of paper and wrote upon the top of it the words"prefecture of police, " saying, as he wrote it, that every coachman knewwhere that was. Then, underneath, he wrote the name of the street andnumber where the Swiss legation was; and, having done this, he gave thepaper to Rollo. 

Rollo took the memorandum, and, thanking the man for his information, led Carlos out to the carriage. 

"Come, Carlos, " said he; "now we are ready. I know where to go; but Idon't know at all what we are to do when we get there. But then we shallfind some other people there, I suppose, getting their passportsstamped; and we can do as they do. "

Rollo had learned to place great reliance on the rule which his uncleGeorge had given for his guidance in travelling; namely, to do as he sawother people do. It is, in fact, a very excellent rule. 

Carlos got into the carriage; while Rollo, looking upon the paper inorder to be sure that he understood the words right, said, "To theprefecture of police. "

The coachman said, "Yes, yes;" and Rollo got into the coach. Thecoachman, without leaving his seat, reached his arm down and fastenedthe door and then drove away. 

He drove on through various crowded streets, which seemed to lead intowards the heart of the city, until at last the carriage came to theriver. Rollo and Carlos looked out and saw the bridges, and the parapetwall which formed the river side of the street, with the book stalls, and picture stalls, and cake and fruit booths which had been establishedalong the side of it, and the monstrous bathing houses which layfloating on the water below, all gayly painted and adorned with flagsand little parterres of flowers; and the washing houses, with their longrows of windows, down close to the water, all filled with women, whowere washing clothes by alternately plunging them in the water of theriver and then banging them with clubs. These and a great many othersimilar objects attracted their attention as they rode along. 

If the reader of this book has the opportunity to look at a map ofParis, he will see that the River Seine, in passing through the town, forms two channels, which separate from each other so as to leave quitea large island between them. This island is completely covered withstreets and buildings, some of which are very ancient and venerable. Here is the great Cathedral Church of Notre Dame; also the vast hospitalcalled Hotel Dieu, where twelve thousand sick persons are received andtaken care of every year. Here also is the prefecture of police--anenormous establishment, with courts, quadrangles, ranges, offices, andofficers without number. In this establishment the records are kept andthe business is transacted relating to all the departments of the policeof the city; so that it is of itself quite a little town. 

The first indication which Rollo had that he had arrived at the placewas the turning in of the coach under an arch, which opened in themiddle of a very sombre and antique-looking edifice. The carriage, afterpassing through the arch, came into a court, where there were many othercarriages standing. Soldiers were seen too, some coming and going andothers standing guard. The carriage passed through this court, and then, going under another arch between two ponderous iron gates, it came intoanother court, much larger than the first. There were a great manycarriages in this court, some moving in or out and others waiting. Rollo's carriage drove up to the farthest corner of the court; and therethe coachman stopped and opened the door. Rollo got out. Carlos followedhim. 

"Where do you suppose we are to go, Carlos?" said he. "Stop; I can seeby the signs over the doors. Here it is. "Passports. " This must be theplace. We will go in here. "

Rollo accordingly went in, Carlos timidly following him. After crossinga sort of passage way, he opened another door, which ushered him at onceinto a very large hall, the aspect of which quite bewildered him. Therewere a great many desks and tables about the hall, with clerks writingat them, and people coming and going with passports and permits in theirhands. Rollo stepped forward into the room, surveying the scene withgreat curiosity and wonder, when his attention was suddenly arrested bythe voice of a soldier, who rose suddenly from his chair, and said, --

"Your cap, young gentleman. "

Rollo immediately recollected that he had his cap on, while all theother people in the room were uncovered. He took his cap off at once, saying to the soldier at the same time, "Pardon, sir, " which is theFrench mode of making an apology in such cases. The soldier then resumedhis seat, and Rollo and Carlos walked on slowly up the hall. 

Nobody took any notice of them. In fact, every one seemed busy with hisown concerns, except that in one part of the room there were severalbenches where a number of men and women were sitting as if they werewaiting for something. 

Rollo advanced towards these seats, saying to Carlos, --

"Carlos, let us sit down here a minute or two till we can think what wehad better do. We can sit here, I know. These benches must be for anybody. "

As soon as Rollo had taken his seat and began to cast his eyes about theroom, he observed that among the other desks there was one with thewords, "for foreigners, " upon it, in large, gilt letters. 

"Carlos, " said he, pointing to it, "that must be the place for us. Weare foreigners: let us go there. We will give the passports to the manin that little pew. "

So Rollo rose, and, followed by Carlos, he went to the place. There wasa long desk, with two or three clerks behind it, writing. At the end ofthis desk was a small enclosure, where a man sat who looked as though hehad some authority. People would give him their passports, and he wouldwrite something on them and then pass them over to the clerks. Rollowaited a moment and then handed his passports in. The man took them, looked over them and then gave them back to Rollo, saying something inFrench which Rollo did not understand, and immediately passed to thenext in order. 

"What did he say?" said Rollo, turning to Carlos. 

[Illustration: THE PREFECTURE OF POLICE. ]

"What's the reason he won't take your passports?" said Carlos. 

Although Rollo did not understand what the official said at the time ofhis speaking, still the words left a trace upon his ear, and inthinking upon them he recalled the words "American legation, " and alsothe word "afterwards. " While he was musing on the subject, quiteperplexed, a pleasant-looking girl, who was standing there waiting forher turn, explained to him--speaking very slow in French, for sheperceived that Rollo was a foreigner--as follows:--

"He says that you must go first and get your passports stamped at theAmerican legation and afterwards come here. "

"Where is the American legation?" said Rollo. 

"I don't know, " said the girl. 

"Then I'll make the coachman find it for me, " said Rollo. "Come, Carlos;we must go back. "

So saying, he thanked the girl for her kindness, and the two boys wentout. As he was going out Rollo made up a French sentence to say to thecoachman that he must drive to the American legation, and that he mustfind out where it was himself. He succeeded in communicating thesedirections to the coachman, and then he and Carlos got into the carriageand drove away. 

The coachman had some difficulty in learning where the American legationwas, which occasioned some delay. Besides, the distance wasconsiderable. It was nearly two miles to the place from the prefectureof police; so that it was some time before the carriage arrived there. In fact, Rollo had a very narrow escape in this stage of the affair; forhe arrived at the American legation only about five minutes before theoffice was to be closed for the day. When he went to the porter's lodgeto ask if that was the place where the office of the American legationwas held, the woman who kept the lodge, and who was standing justoutside the door at the time, instead of answering, went in to look atthe clock. 

"Ah, " said she, "you are just in time. I thought you were too late. Second story, right-hand door. "

"There's one thing good about the American legation, Carlos, " saidRollo; "and that is, that they can talk English, I suppose. "

This was, indeed, a great advantage. Rollo found, when he went into theoffice of the legation, that the secretary not only could talk English, but that he was a very kindhearted and agreeable man. He talked withRollo in English and with Carlos in Spanish. Both the boys were verymuch pleased with the reception they met with. The necessary stamps werepromptly affixed to the passports; and then the boys, giving thesecretary both an English and a Spanish good by, went down stairs to thecarriage again. They directed the coachman to drive as quick as possibleto the Swiss legation, showing him the address which Rollo's uncle hadgiven them. They then got into the carriage, and the coachman droveaway. 

"Now, Carlos, " said Rollo, "we are all right; that is, if we only get tothe Swiss legation before it is shut up. "

"He said he had been in Madrid, " rejoined Carlos. "He was there threemonths. "

"I believe, " added Rollo, "that uncle George said it did not close tillthree; and it is only two now. "

"And he knew the street my father lived in very well, " said Carlos. 

Very soon the carriage stopped at the place which the coachman said wasthe Swiss legation. Rollo got out and went to the porter's lodge withthe passports in his hand. The woman in charge knew at once what hewanted, and, without waiting to hear him finish the question which hebegan to ask, directed him "to the second story on the right. "

Rollo went up the staircase till he came to the door, and there pulledthe cord. 

A clerk opened the door. Rollo held out the passports. 

"Enter there, " said the clerk, in French, pointing to an inner door. 

Rollo went in and found there a very pleasant little room, with cases ofbooks and papers around it, and maps and plans of Switzerland and ofSwiss towns upon the wall. The clerk took the passports and asked theboys to sit down. In a few minutes the proper stamps were affixed tothem both and the proper signatures added. The clerk then said thatthere was the sum of six francs to pay. Rollo paid the money, and thenhe and Carlos went down stairs. 

They now returned to the prefecture of police. They went in as they haddone before, and gave the passports to the man who was seated in thelittle enclosure in the foreigner's part of the room. He took them, examined the new stamps which had been put upon them, and then said, "Very well. Take a seat a little minute. "

Rollo and Carlos sat down upon one of the benches to wait; but thelittle minute proved to be nearly half an hour. They were not tired ofwaiting, however, there was so much to amuse and interest them going onin the room. 

"I am going to watch and see what the foreigners do to get theirpassports, " said Rollo, in an undertone, to Carlos; "for we must do thesame. "

In thus watching, Rollo observed that from time to time a name wascalled by one of the clerks behind the desk, and then some of thepersons waiting on the seats would rise and go to the place. Afterstopping there a few minutes, he would take his passport and carry itinto an inner room to another desk, where something was done to it. Thenhe would bring it out to another place, where it was stamped once ortwice by a man who seemed to have nothing else to do but to stamp everybody's passport when they came out. By watching this process in the caseof the others, Rollo knew exactly what to do when _his_ name was called;so that, in about half an hour from the time that he went into theoffice, he had the satisfaction of coming out and getting into hiscarriage with the passports all in order for the journey to Switzerland. 

When he got home and showed them to Mr. George, his uncle looked themover carefully; and, when he found that the stamp of the police was dulyaffixed to them both, --knowing, as he did, that those would not be puton till all the others were right, --he said, --

"Well, Rollo, you've done it, I declare. I did not think you were somuch of a man. "

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: Carlos was a Spanish boy, who was residing at this time atthe same hotel with Mr. George. The manner in which Rollo becameacquainted with him is related in Rollo in Paris. Carlos did notunderstand English, nor Rollo Spanish; but when they were together theyusually kept talking all the time, each in his own way. ]

[Footnote 2: A courier is a travelling servant and guide. ]

CHAPTER II. 

CROSSING THE FRONTIER. 

On the morning when Mr. George and Rollo were about setting out forSwitzerland, Rollo, having got every thing ready himself half an hourbefore the time, took out his map of Europe and asked his uncle Georgewhat route they were going to take. Mr. George was busy at that timeputting the last things into his trunk and making ready to lock it upand strap it; so he could not come to Rollo to show him the route, butwas obliged to describe it. 

"Have you found Paris?" said he. 

"Yes, " said Rollo; "I have got my finger on it. "

"In the first place, then, " said Mr. George, "there is a railway thatgoes east from Paris a hundred miles across France to Strasbourg on theRhine. See if you can find Strasbourg on the Rhine. "

"Yes, " said Rollo; "here it is. "

"Then, " said Mr. George, "we take another railway and go south, up theRhine, towards Switzerland. "

"_Down_ the Rhine, " said Rollo, correcting his uncle; "it is _down_. "

"No, " rejoined Mr. George. "It is down on the map; that is, it is downthe page; but it is really _up_ the river. The Rhine flows to the north. It collects the waters of a hundred glaciers in Switzerland and carriesthem north into the North Sea. "

"Well, " said Rollo. 

"This railway, " continued Mr. George, "will take us up from Strasbourg, along the bank of the Rhine, to Basle, which is in Switzerland, justacross the frontier. It is there, I suppose, that we shall have to showour passports; and then we shall know if you got them stamped right. "

"I did get them stamped right, I am very sure, " said Rollo. 

"Boys are generally very sure that what they do is done right, " rejoinedMr. George. 

Soon after this Mr. George and Rollo took their seats in the carriage, which had been for some time standing ready for them in the court yardof the inn, and drove to the Strasbourg station. 

Rollo was greatly interested and excited, when he arrived at theStrasbourg station, to see how extensive and magnificent it was. Thecarriage entered, with a train of other carriages, through a great irongate and drew up at the front of a very spacious and grand-lookingbuilding. Porters, dressed in a sort of uniform, which gave them in somedegree the appearance of soldiers, were ready to take the two trunks andcarry them in. The young gentlemen followed the porters, and they soonfound themselves ushered into an immense hall, very neatly and prettilyarranged, with great maps of the various railways painted on the wallsbetween the windows on the front side, and openings on the back sideleading to ticket offices or waiting rooms. There were seats along thesides of this hall, with groups of neatly-dressed travellers sittingupon them. Other travellers were walking about, attending to theirbaggage or making inquiries of the porter or policemen. Others stillwere standing at the openings of the ticket offices buying theirtickets. What chiefly struck Rollo's attention, however, and impressedhis mind, was the air of silence, order, and decorum which prevailed andwhich gave to the station an aspect so different from that of anAmerican station. It is true, the hall was very large, and there were agreat many people in it going and coming; but they all walked decorouslyand quietly, --they spoke in an undertone, --and the presence of so manyrailway officials in their several uniforms, and of police officers withtheir badges, and here and there a soldier on guard, gave to the wholescene quite a solemn and imposing appearance. 

Rollo gazed about the apartment as he came in, surveying the variousobjects and groups that presented themselves to his view, until his eyerested upon a little party of travellers, consisting of a lady and twoboys, who were standing together near a low railing, waiting for thegentleman who was with them to come back from the ticket office withtheir tickets. What chiefly attracted Rollo's attention, however, was apretty little dog, with very long ears, and black, glossy hair, whichone of the children held by a cord. The cord was attached to the dog'sneck by a silver collar. 

Rollo looked at this group for a few minutes--his attention beingparticularly occupied by the dog, --and then turned again towards hisuncle, or rather towards the place where his uncle had been standing;but he found, to his surprise, that he was gone. 

In a moment, however, he saw his uncle coming towards him. He wasclasping his wallet and putting it in his pocket. 

"Uncle George, " said he, "see that beautiful little dog!"

"Yes, " said Mr. George. 

"I wish I had such a dog as that to travel with me, " said Rollo. "But, uncle George where are we to get our tickets?"

"I've got mine, " said Mr. George. "When I come to a railway station Ialways get my ticket the first thing, and look at the pretty little dogsafterwards. "

So saying, Mr. George took a newspaper out of his pocket and began towalk away, adding, as he went, --

"I'll sit down here and read my newspaper till you have got your ticket, and then we will go into the waiting room. "

"But, uncle George, " said Rollo, "why did not you get me a ticket whenyou got yours?"

"Because, " said Mr. George, "among other reasons, I did not know whichclass carriage you wished to go in. "

"Why, uncle George!" exclaimed Rollo, surprised. "I must go in the samecarriage that you do of course. "

"Not of course, " said Mr. George. "I have got a ticket in the firstclass; and I should like to have your company in my car very much if youchoose to pay the price for a first-class ticket. But if you choose totake a second or a third-class ticket you will save, perhaps, half yourmoney. "

So saying, Mr. George went away and left Rollo to himself. 

This was the way that Mr. George always treated Rollo when he wastravelling with him. He left him to act for himself and to take care ofhimself in almost all the emergencies that occurred. He did this, notbecause he wished to save himself the trouble of taking care of a boy, but because he thought it was much better for boys early to learn totake care of themselves. 

The manner in which Mr. George thus threw the responsibility upon Rolloseemed sometimes to be a little blunt. One would suppose, in some ofthese cases, from the way in which he spoke and acted, that he did notcare at all what became of Rollo, so coolly and with such an air ofunconcern did he leave him to his own resources. In fact, Rollo wasfrequently at such times a little frightened, or at least perplexed, andoften, at first, felt greatly at a loss to know what to do. But, onreflecting a little upon the subject, he usually soon succeeded inextricating himself from the difficulty; and then he was always quiteproud of having done so, and was pleased with his uncle George forhaving given him the opportunity. So Mr. George, having learned byexperience that Rollo liked, on the whole, to be treated in this way, always adopted it; and in carrying it out he sometimes spoke and actedin such a way as might, under other circumstances have appeared somewhatstern. 

The idea of taking a second-class car for himself in order to save aportion of his money, while his uncle went in one of the first-class, took Rollo's imagination strongly, and he was half inclined to adopt it. 

"On the whole, " said he to himself, "I will not do it to-day; but I willsome other day. And now I wonder which is the ticket office forStrasbourg. "

So saying, Rollo looked about the room and soon found the proper placeto apply for his ticket. He procured a ticket without any difficulty, asking for it in French, with a pronunciation which, if it was notperfectly correct, was at least perfectly intelligible. As soon as hehad received his ticket and had taken up his change he went to the benchwhere his uncle George was sitting and said that he was ready. 

"Well, " said Mr. George, "then we'll go. I like to travel with a boythat is capable of taking care of himself and is willing to be treatedlike a man. "

Saying these words, Mr. George rose from his seat, and, after attendingproperly to the baggage, he and Rollo passed through a door guarded by aman in uniform, who required them to show him their tickets before hewould allow them to pass, and then entered a spacious apartment whichwas reserved as the waiting room for the first-class passengers. Thisroom was beautifully finished and richly adorned, and the splendid sofasand ottomans which were ranged about the sides of it were occupied bywell-dressed ladies and gentlemen, carrying shawls, greatcoats, andsmall travelling bags upon their arms, and exhibiting other similarindications of their being travellers. Mr. George and Rollo took seatsat a vacant place upon one of the sofas. In a few minutes an officercame and informed the company, in a very respectful manner, that thetrain was ready; whereupon they all rose from their seats and walked outupon the platform where the train was waiting. Here there were severalrailway servants, all dressed in uniform, whose business it was toconduct the passengers to the several cars, or carriages, as they callthem, and open the doors. These carriages were entirely different intheir construction from the long and open cars used in America, whichform but one compartment, that extends through the whole length of thecar. The French cars were like three elegant carriages, joined togetherin such a manner that, though the three formed but one car, they werestill entirely distinct from each other. The seats in these carriageswere very spacious, and they were richly stuffed and lined, so that theyformed soft and luxurious places of repose. The railway porter openedone of the doors and admitted Mr. George and Rollo, and when they hadentered he closed it again. 

"Ah, " said Rollo, seating himself upon the soft cushion on one of theseats, "is not this superb? I am _very glad_ I did not take asecond-class car. "

"And yet the second-class cars in France are very comfortable and veryrespectable, " said Mr. George, "and they are very much cheaper. "

"How much should we have saved, " asked Rollo, "in going to Strasbourg, if we had taken a second-class car?"

"I don't know, precisely, " said Mr. George. "We should have saved agreat deal. "

The train now began to move; and, soon after it left the station, Mr. George took out his newspaper again and began to read. It was a copy ofa very celebrated newspaper, called the London Times. Mr. George hadanother London paper which was full of humorous engravings. The name ofit was Punch. Mr. George gave the Punch to Rollo, thinking that thepictures and caricatures in it might perhaps amuse him; but Rollo, afterturning it over a moment, concluded that he should prefer to amusehimself by looking out the window. 

[Illustration: IN THE CAR. ]

Rollo saw a great many beautiful views and witnessed a great manystrange and striking scenes as he was whirled onward by the train acrossthe country from Paris towards Strasbourg. We cannot, however, stop todescribe what he saw, but must hasten on to the Swiss frontier. Thetravellers arrived at Strasbourg in the evening. They spent the night ata hotel; and the next morning they took another railway which led alongthe bank of the Rhine, up the river, towards Switzerland. The countrywas magnificent. There was the river on one side, and a range ofmountains rising sublimely in the interior on the other. The mountainswere at a distance of several miles from the river; and the countrybetween was an extremely fertile and luxuriant plain, covered withvillages, castles, parks, pleasure grounds, gardens, and cultivatedfields, which presented every where most enchanting pictures of ruralbeauty. This province is called Alsatia. 

The terminus of the railway was at the city of Basle, which lies justwithin the confines of Switzerland. A short distance before reaching thegates of Basle, the train stopped at what seemed at first to be astation. It was, however, only the custom house, where the trunks andpassports were to be examined. 

"What are we to do here, " asked Rollo. 

"_I_ am going to do what I see other people do, " replied Mr. George. "You can do whatever you please. "

At this moment a guard, dressed, like all the other railway servants, in a sort of uniform, opened the door of the car in which Mr. George andRollo were sitting, and said in a very respectful manner, in French, --

"The custom house, gentlemen. "

Mr. George observed that the passengers were getting out from all theother cars; so he stepped out too, and Rollo followed him. 

When they reached the platform they observed that a company of porterswere employed in carrying all the trunks and baggage from the cars tothe custom house, and that the passengers were going into the customhouse too, though by another door. Mr. George and Rollo went in withthem. They found an office within, and a desk, where one or twosecretaries sat and examined the passports of the travellers as theysuccessively presented them. As fast as they were examined they wereimpressed with a new stamp, which denoted permission for the travellersto pass the Swiss frontier. The several travellers, as fast as theirpassports were examined, found right, and stamped, were allowed to passbetween two soldiers through a door into another hall, where they foundall the trunks and baggage arranged on a sort of counter, which extendedaround the centre of the room, so as to enclose a square place within. The custom-house officers who were to examine the baggage were withinthis enclosure, while the travellers who owned the baggage stoodwithout. These last walked around the counter, looking at the trunks, boxes, bundles, and carpet bags that covered it, each selecting his ownand opening the several parcels, in order that the officers within mightexamine them. 

The object of examining the trunks of passengers in this way is, toascertain that they have not any _goods_ concealed in them. As a generalthing, persons are not allowed to take _goods_ from one country toanother without paying a tax for them. Such a tax is called technicallya _duty_, and the avails of it go to support the government of thecountry which the goods are carried into. Travellers are allowed to takewith them all that is necessary _for their own personal use, astravellers_, without paying any duty; but articles that are intended forsale as merchandise, or those which, though intended for the traveller'sown use, are not strictly _personal_, are liable to pay duty. Theprinciple is, that whatever the traveller requires for his own personaluse, _in travelling_, is not liable to duty. What he does not so requiremust pay duty, no matter whether he intends to use it himself or to sellit. 

Many travellers do not understand this properly, and often get intodifficulty by not understanding it, as we shall see in the sequel. 

Mr. George and Rollo went into the baggage room together, showing theirpassports as they passed through between the soldiers. They then walkedslowly along the room, looking at the baggage, as it was arranged uponthe counter, in search of their own. 

"I see _my_ trunk, " said Mr. George, looking along at a little distancebefore him. "There it is. "

"And where do you suppose mine is?" asked Rollo. 

"I have not the least idea, " said Mr. George. "I advise you to walk allaround the room and see if you can find it; and when you find it, get itexamined. "

Rollo, taking this advice, walked on, leaving Mr. George in the act oftaking out his key in order to open his trunk for the purpose ofallowing an officer to inspect it as soon as one should be ready. 

Rollo soon found his trunk. It was in a part of the room remote from hisuncle's. Near his trunk was a very large one, which the officers weresearching very thoroughly. They had found something in it which was notpersonal baggage and which the lady had not declared. Rollo could notsee what the article was which the officers had found. It was somethingcontained in a pretty box. The lady had put it into the bottom of hertrunk. The officers had taken it out, and were now examining it. Thelady stood by, seemingly in great distress. 

Rollo's attention, which had begun to be attracted by this scene, was, however, almost immediately called off from it by the voice of anotherofficer, who pointed to his trunk and asked him if it was his. 

"Is that yours?" said the officer, in French. 

"Yes, " replied Rollo, in the same language, "it is mine;" and so saying, he proceeded to take out his key and unlock the trunk. 

"Have you any thing to declare?" asked the man. 

Rollo looked perplexed. He did not know what the officer meant by askinghim if he had any thing to declare. After a moment's hesitation hesaid, --

"I don't know; but I will go ask my uncle. "

So Rollo went to the place where he had left his uncle George, andaccosted him by saying, --

"They want to know if I have any thing to _declare_. What do they mean?"

"They mean whether you have any goods in your trunk that are liable topay duty. Tell them no. "

So Rollo went back and told the officer that he had not any thing todeclare. He then opened his trunk; but the officer, instead of examiningit, shut down the lid, saying, "Very well;" and by means of a piece ofchalk he marked it upon the top with some sort of character. A porterthen took the trunk and carried it back to the train. 

Rollo perceived that the difficulty about the lady's baggage had beensettled in some way or other, but he feared it was settled in a mannernot very satisfactory to the lady herself; for, as the porters took upher trunk to carry it back, she looked quite displeased and out ofhumor. 

Rollo went back to the place where he had left his uncle George, andthen they went together out to the platform. Here Rollo found the ladywho had had difficulty about her baggage explaining the case to somefriends that she found there. She seemed to be very indignant and angry, and was telling her story with great volubility. Rollo listened for amoment; but she spoke so rapidly that he could not understand what shesaid, as she spoke in French. 

"What does she say?" he asked, speaking to Mr. George. 

"She says, " replied Mr. George, "that they were going to seize somethingthat she had in her trunk because she did not declare it. "

"What does that mean?" said Rollo. 

"Why, the law is, " said Mr. George, "that when people have any thing intheir trunks that is dutiable, if they _declare_ it, that is, acknowledge that they have it and show it to the officers, then theyhave only to pay the duty, and they may carry the article in. But ifthey do not declare it, but hide it away somewhere in their trunks, andthe officers find it there, then the thing is forfeited altogether. Theofficers seize it and sell it for the benefit of the government. "

"O, uncle George!" exclaimed Rollo. 

"Yes, " said Mr. George, "that is what they do; and it is right. Ifpeople wish to bring any thing that is subject to duty into any countrythey ought to be willing to pay the duty, and not, by refusing to pay, make other people pay more than their share. "

"If one man does not pay his duty, " rejoined Rollo, "do the others haveto pay more?"

"Yes, " said Mr. George, "in the end they do. At least I suppose so. Whatever the amount of money may be that is required for the expenses ofgovernment, if one man does not pay his share, the rest must make it up, I suppose. "

"They did not look into my trunk at all, " said Rollo. "Why didn't they?I might have had ever so many things hid away there. "

"I suppose they knew from the circumstances of the case, " said Mr. George, "that you would not be likely to have any smuggled goods in yourtrunk. They saw at once that you were a foreign boy, and knew that youmust be coming to Switzerland only to make a tour, and that you couldhave no reason for wishing to smuggle any thing into the country. Theyscarcely looked into _my_ trunk at all. "

While Mr. George and Rollo had been holding this conversation they hadreturned to their places in the car, and very soon the train was inmotion to take them into the town. 

Thus our travellers passed the Swiss frontier. In half an hourafterwards they were comfortably established at a large and splendidhotel called the Three Kings. The hotel has this name in threelanguages, English, French, and German, as people speaking those severallanguages come, in almost equal numbers, to Switzerland. Thus when youleave the station you may, in your directions to the coachman, say youwish to go to the Three Kings, or to the Trois Rois, or to the DreiKönige, whichever you please. They all mean the same hotel--the besthotel in Basle. 

CHAPTER III. 

BASLE. 

The city of Basle stands upon the banks of the Rhine, on the northernfrontier of Switzerland. The waters of the Rhine are gathered fromhundreds of roaring and turbid torrents which come out, some from vasticy caverns in the glaciers, some from the melting debris of fallenavalanches, some from gushing fountains which break out suddenly throughcrevices in the rocks or yawning chasms, and some from dark andfrightful ravines on the mountain sides, down which they foam and tumbleperpetually, fed by vast fields of melting snow above. The waters of allthese torrents, being gathered at last into one broad, and deep, andrapid stream, flow to a vast reservoir called the Lake of Constance, where they repose for a time, or, rather, move slowly and insensiblyforward, enjoying a comparative quiescence which has all thecharacteristics and effects of repose. The waters enter this reservoirwild and turbid. They leave it calm and clear; and then, flowingrapidly for one hundred miles along the northern frontier ofSwitzerland, and receiving successively the waters of many other streamsthat have come from hundreds of other torrents and have been purified inthe repose of other lakes extending over the whole northern slope ofSwitzerland, they form a broad and rapid river, which flows swiftlythrough Basle, and then, turning suddenly to the northward, bids Basleand Switzerland farewell together. 

"And then where does it go?" said Rollo to Mr. George when his uncle hadexplained this thus far to him. 

"Straight across the continent to the North Sea, " said Mr. George. 

Thus the whole northern slope of Switzerland is drained by a system ofwaters which, when united at Basle, form the River Rhine. 

The morning after Mr. George and Rollo arrived at Basle they werelooking out upon the River Rhine from the windows of the hotel. 

"What a swift river!" said Rollo. 

"Yes, " said Mr. George. 

"And how blue the water is!" continued Rollo. 

"Yes, " said Mr. George. "The water of the streams which come from theSwiss mountains is turbid at first and very gray from the grinding upof the rocks in the _moraines_ and glaciers and by the avalanches. "

"What is a moraine?" asked Rollo. 

"I will explain it to you one of these days, " said Mr. George, "when youcome to see one. "

"And a glacier, " said Rollo; "what is that?"

"I will explain that to you, too, some other time, " said Mr. George, "but not now; for the breakfast will come in in a minute or two. "

"Well, " said Rollo, "I can hear while I am eating my breakfast. "

"That may be, " replied Mr. George; "but I cannot lecture very well whileI am eating _my_ breakfast. "

Rollo laughed. "I did not think of that, " said he. 

"What queer boats!" continued Rollo, looking out again upon the river. "And there is a long bridge leading over to the other side. May I go outand walk over on that bridge after breakfast?"

"Yes, " said Mr. George, "you may go any where you please. "

"But suppose I should get lost, " said Rollo. "What should I do then?"

"I don't know, " said Mr. George, "unless you should ask somebody to tellyou the way to the Three Kings. "

"But perhaps they would not understand English, " said Rollo. 

"Then you must say _Trois Rois_, [3a]which is the French name for the hotel, " rejoined Mr. George. 

"But perhaps they would not understand French, " said Rollo. 

"No, " replied Mr. George; "I think it probable they would not; forpeople talk German generally in this part of Switzerland. In that caseyou must ask the way to _Drei Könige_. "[3b]

Here the waiter came in with the breakfast. It consisted of a pot ofcoffee, another of boiled milk, an omelette, some excellent cakes, andsome honey. There was a long table extending up and down the room, whichwas a very large and handsome apartment, and there were besides severalround tables in corners and in pleasant places near the windows. Thebreakfast for Mr. George and Rollo was put upon one of the round tables;and, in sitting down to it, Rollo took pains to place himself in such amanner that he could look out the window and see the water while he waseating. 

"What a dreadful river that would be to fall into!" said Rollo. "It runsso swift and looks so angry!"

"Yes, " said Mr. George. "It runs swift because the descent is verygreat. Switzerland is very high; and the water, in running from it, flows very swiftly. "

"I did not know that Switzerland was all high, " said Rollo. "I knew thatthe mountains were high; but the valleys must be low. "

"No, " said Mr. George; "it is all high. The bottoms of the valleys arehigher than the tops of the mountains in many other countries. In goinginto Switzerland, we go up hill nearly all the way; and so, even when weare at the bottom of the deepest valleys in Switzerland, we are up veryhigh. There is Chamouni, for example, which is a deep valley near thefoot of Mont Blanc. The bottom of that valley is six or seven times ashigh as the top of the Palisades on the North River. "

"O, uncle George!" exclaimed Rollo. 

"Yes, " said Mr. George; "and it is so with all the Swiss valleys; and, accordingly, the water that comes down through them has a great descentto make in getting to the sea. Thus there are a great many falls, andcascades, and rapids; and, even in those places where the rivers runsmoothly, the current is very swift and very strong. "

While Mr. George and Rollo were eating their breakfast the attention ofRollo was occupied partly by the prospect of the river as he saw itthrough the open window, and partly by the various groups of travellerswho were constantly coming into the room, or going out, or taking theirbreakfasts in little parties at the tables. Some who had finished theirbreakfasts were looking at maps and guide books which they had spreadout before them on the tables. The room was very large, and verybeautiful; and, as it was lighted on the back side by a row of wide andlofty windows which looked out upon the river, it wore a very bright andcheerful expression. At one end of it were glass doors, which led intoanother room very similar to this, as it likewise had windows lookingout upon the river. This room was used as a sort of sitting room andreading room. There was a table in the centre, with newspapers, someFrench, some English, and some German, lying upon it. Rollo determinedto go into this room as soon as he had finished his breakfast to see whowas there and what they were doing. 

"Rollo, " said Mr. George, after a short pause, "do you wish to travel inSwitzerland intelligently or blindly?"

"What do you mean by that?" asked Rollo. 

"Why, do you wish to understand something of the general features of thecountry first, so as to know always, as we go travelling on, where youare, and where you are going, and what you are to expect to see, orwould you rather not trouble yourself at all about this, but take thingsas they come along, and enjoy them as you see them, without thinking orcaring what is to come next. "

"Which is the best way?" asked Rollo. 

"Either is a very good way, " replied Mr. George. "There is a pleasure inunderstanding and anticipating, and there is also a pleasure inwondering what is to come next and meeting with surprises. You can takeyour choice. "

Rollo reflected a moment, and then he said that he thought he shouldlike best to understand. 

"Very well, " said Mr. George. "Then I will explain to you the generalfeatures of Switzerland. Switzerland--or at least that portion of itwhich is the chief scene of the rambles of tourists andtravellers--consists substantially of a long and deep valley, extendingfrom east to west through the centre, and bordered by a range ofmountains on each side. The range of mountains on the northern side ofthis valley is, of course, towards Germany; the one on the southernside is towards Italy. On the north side of the northern range ofmountains is a broad slope of land, extending a hundred miles towardsthe German frontier. On the southern side of the southern range ofmountains is a steep and narrow slope, extending to the Italianfrontier. 

"Thus we may say, " continued Mr. George, "that Switzerland consistssubstantially of a broad northern slope of land and a narrow southernslope, with a deep valley between them. Do you understand this?"

"Yes, " said Rollo. "If I had some damp sand, and a little wooden shovel, I think I could make it. "

"People do make models of the Swiss valleys and mountains, " said Mr. George. "In fact, they have maps of Switzerland, embossed with all themountains in relief; and I wish very much that we had one here to lookat. "

"There is one here, " said Rollo, his face brightening up very luminouslyas he spoke. "I saw it hanging up in the gallery, and I did not knowwhat it was. It must be that. I'll go and show it to you afterbreakfast. "

"I am very glad, " said Mr. George. "I wished to see one very much. Wewill go and see it immediately after breakfast. But now let me tell youa little more about the country. You must not imagine that the northernslope, as I called it, is one smooth and uniform surface of descendingland. There are mountains, and valleys, and lakes, and precipices, andwaterfalls, and every other variety of mountain scenery scattered allover it, making it a most picturesque and romantic region. It is, however, on the whole, a slope. It begins with comparatively smooth andlevel land on the north and it terminates in a range of lofty mountaincrests on the south; and you have to go over this crest somewhere, bysome of the steep and difficult passes that cross it, to get into thecentral valley. We are on the margin of this slope now. When we leavehere and strike into the heart of Switzerland we shall be graduallyascending it. I am going first to a place called Interlachen, which isin a deep valley far up this slope, just under the ridge of mountains. Interlachen is surrounded, in fact, by mountains, and a great manypleasant excursions can be made from it. We shall stop there a few daysand make excursions, and then cross over by some of the mountain passesinto the valley. "

"Well, " said Rollo, in a tone of great satisfaction. "I shall like that;I should like to go over a mountain pass. Shall we go in a carriage, oron horseback. "

"That depends upon which of the passes we take, " said Mr. George. "Someof them are carriage roads, some are bridle paths; and you ride over onmules or horses. Others are too steep and dangerous to ride over in anyway. You have to go on foot, climbing up zigzag paths cut out of therock, and over great patches of snow that horses and mules would sinkinto. "

"Let's go in one of those, " said Rollo, straightening himself up. 

"Sometimes the path becomes narrower and narrower, " continued Mr. George, "until it is finally lost among the rocks, and you have toclamber around the point of some rocky cliff a thousand feet in the air, with scarcely any thing but the jagged roughness of the rocks to clingto. "

"Yes, sir, " said Rollo, eagerly. "Yes, sir. Let's go there. That's justthe kind of road I want to go in. "

"Well, we'll see, " said Mr. George. "The first thing is to go toInterlachen. That is in the heart of the mountains, and very near thepasses which lead over into the valley. When we get there we will studythe guide book and the maps and determine which way to go. "

"And after you get into the valley, " said Rollo, "shall you go acrossit, and go over the mountains on the other side, into Italy?"

"I don't know, " said Mr. George. "Perhaps we shall not have time. I maythink it is best to spend the time in rambling about among the mountainsand glaciers near the head of the valley, where I believe is to be foundthe most stupendous scenery in all Switzerland. "

The breakfast was now nearly finished, though the process of eating ithad been a good deal impeded by the conversation, so large a share of ithaving fallen to Mr. George. Mr. George, however, explained to Rollothat their first day's journey from Basle would be south, towards Berne, the capital of the country--a city which was situated near the centre ofthe northern slope which Mr. George had described. 

"Do we go by a railway?" asked Rollo. 

"No, " said Mr. George; "by a diligence. "

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 3a-3b: Mr. George, in speaking these words, did not pronouncethem as you would suppose from the manner in which they are written. Hepronounced them very much as if they were spelled Tru-ah Ru-ah. In thesame manner, the German words, Drei Könige, he pronounced as if theywere spelled Dhrai Ker-nig-ger. ]

CHAPTER IV. 

THE DILIGENCE. 

A diligence is a sort of stage coach used in France and Switzerland, andgenerally on the continent of Europe. It is constructed verydifferently, however, from an American stage coach, being divided intofour distinct compartments. Rollo had seen a diligence in Paris, and sohe could understand very easily the conversation which ensued betweenhimself and his uncle in respect to the seats which they should take inthe one in which they were to travel to Berne. In order, however, toenable the reader of this book to understand it, I must here give abrief description of this kind of vehicle. The engraving on page 77 is avery faithful representation of one of them. There are three windows inthe side of it. Each of these windows leads to a different compartmentof the coach. In addition to these three compartments, there is, overthe foremost of these, on the top of the coach, another, making four inall. This compartment on the top is called the _banquette_. 

These coaches are so large that they have a conductor. The man whodrives sometimes sits on a small seat placed in front of the banquette, and sometimes he rides on one of the horses. In either case, however, hehas nothing to do but to attend to his team. The passengers and thebaggage are all under the conductor's care. 

The compartment immediately beneath the banquette, which is the frontcompartment of the body of the coach, is called the _coupé_. The coupéextends across the whole coach, from one side to the other; but it isquite narrow. It has only one seat, --a seat facing the horses, --withplaces upon it for three passengers. There are windows in front, bywhich the passengers can look out under the coachman's seat when thereis a coachman's seat there. The doors leading to the coupé are in thesides. 

The compartment immediately behind the coupé is called the _interior_. It is entirely separate from the coupé. There are two seats, whichextend from one side of the coach to the other, and have places uponthem for three passengers each, making six in all. The three passengerswho sit on one of these seats must, of course, ride with their backs tothe horses. The doors leading to the interior are in the sides. In fact, the interior has within exactly the appearance of a common hackneycoach, with seats for six passengers. 

Behind the interior is the fourth compartment, which is called the_rotonde_. It is like a short omnibus. The door is behind, and the seatsare on the sides. This omnibus compartment is so short that there isonly room for three people on each side, and the seats are not verycomfortable. 

Very genteel people, who wish to be secluded and to ride somewhat instyle, take the coupé. The seats in the coupé are very comfortable, andthere is a very good opportunity to see the country through the frontand side windows. The price is much higher, however, for seats in thecoupé than in any other part of the diligence. 

The mass of common travellers generally take places in the interior. Theseats there are comfortable, only there is not a very good opportunityto see the country; for there are only two windows, one on each side, inthe top of the door. 

People who do not care much about the style in which they travel, butonly desire to have the best possible opportunity to view the countryand to have an amusing time, generally go up to the banquette. Theplaces here are cheaper than they are even in the interior, and verymuch cheaper than they are in the coupé. 

The cheapest place of all, however, is in the rotonde, which is theomnibus-like compartment, in the end of the diligence, behind. Thiscompartment is generally filled with laborers, soldiers, and servants;and sometimes nurses and children are put here. 

The baggage is always stored upon the top of the diligence, behind thebanquette, and directly over the interior and the rotonde. It is packedaway very carefully there, and is protected by a strong leathercovering, which is well strapped down over it. All these things you seeplainly represented in the engraving. 

We now return to the conversation which was held between Rollo and Mr. George at the close of their breakfast. 

"I have got some letters to write after breakfast, " said Mr. George, "and I should like to go directly to my room and write them. So I wishyou would find out when the diligence goes next to Berne, and takeplaces in it for you and me. "

"Well, " said Rollo, "I will; only how shall I do it? Where shall I go?"

"I don't know any thing about it, " replied Mr. George. "The guide booksays that there is a diligence from Basle to Berne; and I suppose thereis an office for it somewhere about town. Do you think you can findit?"

"I'll try, " said Rollo. "But how do we take seats in it? Is there a bookfor us to write our names in, with the place where they are to call forus?"

"I do not know any thing about it, " said Mr. George. "All I know is, that I want to go to Berne with you some way or other in the diligence, and I wish to have you plan and arrange it all. "

"Well, " said Rollo, "I will, if I can find out. Only tell me what placesI shall take. "

"I don't care particularly about that, " replied Mr. George; "only let itbe where we can see best. It must be either in the coupé or in thebanquette. We can't see at all, scarcely, in the other compartments. "

"Well, " said Rollo, "I should like to be where I can see. But would yourather it would be in the coupé, or in the banquette?"

"That is just as you please, " replied Mr. George. "There are someadvantages in being in the banquette. "

"What are they?" asked Rollo. 

"There are four advantages, " replied Mr. George. "First, it is up veryhigh, and is all open, so that you have a most excellent chance to see. "

"Yes, " said Rollo. "I shall like that. "

"The second advantage, " said Mr. George, "is, that it costs less. Theplaces in the banquette are quite cheap. "

"Yes, " said Rollo. "I like that. So we can save some of our money. "

"The third advantage, " continued Mr. George, "is, that we have a greatdeal better opportunity to hear talking there. There are usually fivepersons in that part of the coach--the coachman, the conductor, andthree passengers. That is, there will be one passenger besides you andme. He will probably be talking with the conductor part of the time, andthe conductor will be talking with the coachman, and we shall be amusedby hearing what they say. "

"But there are _six_ persons in the interior, " said Rollo, "to talk. "

"True, " replied Mr. George; "but, then, they are usually not so sociablethere as they are up on the banquette. Besides, the noise of the wheelson the hard gravel roads is so loud there that we cannot hear very well. Then, moreover, when we stop to change horses, the hostlers andpostilions come out, and our coachman and conductor often have a greatdeal of amusing conversation with them, which we can hear from thebanquette; but we could not hear it, or see the process of harnessingand unharnessing, from the interior, nor even very well from thecoupé. "

"Well, " said Rollo. "I like that. But that makes only three advantages. You said there were four. "

"Yes, " said Mr. George. "But as to the fourth, I do not know whether youwill consider it an advantage or not. "

"What is it?" said Rollo. "I've no doubt but I shall. "

"Why, in getting up and down to and from the banquette you will have agreat deal of hard climbing to do. "

"Yes, " said Rollo. "I shall like that. They are all advantages--verygreat advantages indeed. "

So Rollo fully determined in his own mind that he would take places onthe banquette. He thought that there was one disadvantage in that partof the coach; and that was, that in case of storm the rain would drivein directly upon them; but he found in the end that an excellentprovision was made against this contingency. 

The young gentlemen had now finished their breakfasts; and so they roseand went out to what Rollo called the gallery, to see the embossed mapof Switzerland which he said that he had seen hanging there. The plan ofthis hotel was very peculiar. In the centre of it was a very large, open hall, almost like a court, only it was covered above with a roofand lighted by a skylight. Around this hall there was, in each story, anopen gallery, with a railing on one side, over which you could look downto the floor below; and on the other side, at short intervals, therewere doors leading to the various apartments. Between these doors, andagainst the walls, were hanging maps, plans, pictures, and otherembellishments, which gave to these galleries a very attractiveappearance. Here and there, too, on the different stories, there weresofas or other seats, with persons sitting upon them. Some were sewing, and some were attending children who were playing near. At the two endsof the hotel there were broad staircases connected with these galleriesand leading from one to the other. Besides the galleries there were longcorridors, extending each way from the centre of the building to rangesof apartments situated in the wings. The hotel, in fact, was veryspacious, and it was very admirably arranged. 

Rollo conducted Mr. George to the third story; and there, hangingagainst the wall, he found the embossed map of Switzerland which he haddescribed. Mr. George and Rollo took this map down from its nail, and, seating themselves upon a settee which was near, they held it beforethem and examined it very attentively for some time. Mr. George showedRollo the great central valley of Switzerland, with the ranges ofmountains on each side of it. He showed him, too, the great slope ofland which extended over the whole northern part of Switzerland. It wasbounded on the north by the River Rhine and the frontier, and on thesouth by the great range of mountains which separated it from thevalley. He showed him, too, the numerous lakes which were scattered overthe surface of it. 

"You see, " said he, "that the waters which come out from the glaciersand the snow fields, and down through the chasms and ravines in themountain sides, flow on till they come to some valley or place ofcomparatively low land; and they spread all over this depression, andflow into it more and more until they fill it up and make a lake there. When the lake is full the surplus waters run off clear wherever theyfind a channel. "

"Is that the way the lakes are formed?" asked Rollo. 

"Yes, " said Mr. George. "You will see that it is so when we get up tothem. "

"_Up_ to them?" said Rollo. "You mean down to them. "

"No, " said Mr. George. "The lakes are up quite high. Many of them arefar up the sides of the mountains. The water, in leaving them, runs veryrapidly, showing that there is a great descent in the land where theyare flowing. Sometimes, in fact, these streams and rivers, after theyleave the lakes, form great cataracts and cascades in getting down tothe level country below. 

"But now, " continued Mr. George, "I must go to my writing, and you maysee what you can do about the diligence. "

So Mr. George went away towards his room, leaving Rollo to hang up theembossed map and then to determine how he should go to work to ascertainwhat he was to do. 

Rollo found less difficulty than he had anticipated in procuring placesin the diligence. He first inquired of the clerk, at the office of thehotel. The clerk offered to send a porter with him to show him the wayto the diligence office; but Rollo said that he would prefer to gohimself alone, if the clerk would tell him in what part of the town itwas. 

So the clerk gave Rollo the necessary direction, and Rollo went forth. 

He found the diligence office very easily. In fact, he recognized theplace at once when he came near it, by seeing several diligencesstanding before it along the street. He entered under an archway. Onentering, he observed several doors leading to various offices, withinscriptions over each containing the names of the various towns towhich the several diligences were going. At length he found BERNE. 

Rollo did not know precisely in what way the business at such an officewas to be transacted; but he had learned from past experience that allthat was necessary in order to make himself understood in such caseswas, to speak the principal words that were involved in the meaning thathe was intending to convey, without attempting to make full and completesentences of them. In cases where he adopted this mode of speaking hewas accustomed usually to begin by saying that he could not speak Frenchvery well. 

Accordingly, in this instance he went to the place where the clerk wassitting and said, --

"I do not speak French very well. Diligence to Berne. Two places. Banquette. "

"Yes, yes, " said the clerk. "I understand very well. "

The clerk then told him what the price would be of two seats on thebanquette, and Rollo paid the money. The clerk then made out and signedtwo very formal receipts and gave them to Rollo. 

Rollo walked back towards the hotel, studying his receipts by the way;but he could not understand them, as they were in the German language. 

CHAPTER V. 

RIDE TO BERNE. 

At length the time arrived for the departure of our two travellers fromBasle. A porter from the hotel carried their trunks to the diligenceoffice, while Rollo and Mr. George walked. When they got to the placethey found the diligence in the archway, and several men were employedin carrying up trunks and carpet bags to the top of it and stowing themaway there. In doing this they ascended and descended by means of a longstep ladder. The men took Mr. George's trunk and Rollo's and packed themaway with the rest. There were several persons who looked likepassengers standing near, waiting, apparently, for the diligence to beready. 

Among them were two children, a girl and a boy, who seemed to be aboutRollo's age. They were plainly but neatly dressed. They were sitting ona chest. The boy had a shawl over his arm, and the girl had a smallmorocco travelling bag in her hand. 

The girl looked a moment at Rollo as he came up the archway, and thencast her eyes down again. Her eyes were blue, and they were large andbeautiful and full of meaning. There was a certain gentleness in theexpression of her countenance which led Rollo to think that she must bea kindhearted and amiable girl. The boy looked at Rollo too, andfollowed him some time with his eyes, gazing at him as he came up thearchway with a look of interest and curiosity. 

It was not yet quite time for the diligence to set out. In fact, thehorses were not yet harnessed to it; and during the interval Rollo andMr. George stood by, watching the process of getting the coach ready forthe journey, and contrasting the appearance of the vehicle, and of themen employed about it, and the arrangements which they were making, withthe corresponding particulars in the setting off of a stage coach asthey had witnessed it in America. While doing this Rollo walked aboutthe premises a little; and at length, finding himself near the twochildren on the chest, he concluded to venture to accost the boy. 

"Are you going in this diligence?" said he, speaking in French. 

"Yes, " replied the boy. 

"So am I, " said Rollo. "Can you speak English?"

"Yes, " said the boy. He spoke the yes in English. 

"Are you going to Berne?" asked Rollo. 

"I don't know, " said the boy. 

The girl, who had been looking at Rollo during this conversation, herespoke, and said that they _were_ going to Berne. 

"We are going in that diligence, " said she. 

"So am I, " said Rollo. "I have got a seat on the banquette. "

"Yes, " rejoined the boy. "I wished to have a seat on the banquette, sothat I could see; but the seats were all engaged before my father wentto the office; so we are going in the coupé; but I don't like it half sowell. "

"Nor I, " said the girl. 

"Where is your father?" asked Rollo. 

"He is gone, " replied the boy, "with mother to buy something at a shop alittle way from here. Lottie and I were tired, and so we preferred tostay here. But they are coming back pretty soon. "

"Are you all going to ride in the coupé?" said Rollo; "because, therewill not be room. There is only room for three in the coupé. "

"I know it, " said Lottie; "but then, as two of us are children, fatherthought that we could get along. Father had a plan for getting Adolphusa seat in the interior; but he was not willing to go there, because, hesaid, he could not see. "

Just at this moment the father and mother of Adolphus and Lottie came upthe archway into the court yard where the diligence was standing. Thehorses had been brought out some minutes before and were now nearlyharnessed. The gentleman seemed to be quite in a hurry as he came up;and, seeing that the horses were nearly ready, he said, --

"Now, children, get in and take your places as soon as possible. "

So they all went to the coach, and the gentleman attempted to open thedoor leading to the coupé. It was fastened. 

"Conductor, " said he, speaking very eagerly to the conductor, who wasstanding near, "open this door!"

"There is plenty of time, " said the conductor. "There is no need ofhaste. "

However, in obedience to the request of the gentleman, the conductoropened the door; and the gentleman, helping his wife in, first, afterwards lifted the children in, and then got in himself. Theconductor shut the door. 

"Come, uncle George, " said Rollo, "is not it time for us to get up toour places?"

"No, " said Mr. George. "They will tell us when the proper time comes. "

So Mr. George and Rollo remained quietly standing by the side of thediligence while the hostlers finished harnessing the horses. Rolloduring this time was examining with great interest the little steps andprojections on the side of the coach by which he expected that he andMr. George were to climb up to their places. 

It turned out in the end, however, that he was disappointed in hisexpectation of having a good climb; for, when the conductor was readyfor the banquette passengers to take their places, he brought the stepladder and planted it against the side of the vehicle, and Mr. Georgeand Rollo went up as easily as they would have gone up stairs. 

When the passengers were seated the step ladder was taken away, and amoment afterwards the postilion started the horses forward, and theponderous vehicle began to move down the archway, the clattering of thehorses' hoofs and the lumbering noise of the wheels sounding very loudin consequence of the echoes and reverberations produced by the sidesand vaulting of the archway. As soon as the diligence reached the streetthe postilion began to crack his whip to the right and left in the mostloud and vehement manner, and the coach went thundering on through thenarrow streets of the town, driving every thing from before it as if itwere a railway train going express. 

[Illustration: THE DILIGENCE AT THE OFFICE. ]

"Uncle George, " exclaimed Rollo, "they have forgotten the conductor!"

Rollo was, in fact, quite concerned for a few minutes lest the conductorshould have been left behind. He knew where this official's proper seatwas; namely, at the left end of the banquette--that is, at the righthand, as seen in the engraving; and as he was not there, and as he knewthat all the other seats were full, he presumed, of course, that he hadbeen left behind. He was relieved of these fears, however, very soon;for, to his great astonishment, he suddenly perceived the head of theconductor coming up the side of the coach, followed gradually by therest of his body as he climbed up to his place. Rollo wondered how hecould manage to get on and climb up, especially as the coach was at thistime thundering along a descending portion of the street with a speedand uproar that was terrific. 

Rollo, though at first very much astonished at this performance of theconductor, afterwards ceased to wonder at it; for he found that theconductor could ascend and descend to and from his seat at any timewithout any difficulty, even while the horses were going at the top oftheir speed. If the snapper of the coachman's whip got caught in theharness so that he could not liberate it, as it often did on the road, the conductor would climb down, run forward to the horses, set thesnapper free, fall back to the coach, catch hold of the side and climbup, the coachman cracking his whip as soon as it was freed, and urgingon his horses to a gallop, without troubling himself at all to considerhow the conductor was to get up again. 

But to return to the story. When Rollo found that the conductor was safehe amused himself by looking to the right and left into the windows ofthe houses at the second story. His seat was so high that he could dothis very easily. Many of these windows were open, and persons weresitting at them, sewing or reading. At some of them groups of childrenwere standing. They were looking out to see the diligence go by. Thestreet was so narrow that Rollo found himself very near these persons ashe passed by. 

"A little nearer, " said he to his uncle George, "and I could shake handswith them. "

In a very few minutes the coach passed under a great arched gatewayleading through the wall of the city, and thence over a sort ofdrawbridge which spanned the moat. Immediately afterwards it entered aregion of smooth, green fields, and pretty rural houses, and gardens, which presented on every side very charming pictures to the view. 

"Now, uncle George, " said Rollo, "won't we have a magnificent ride?"

Rollo was not disappointed in his anticipations. He found the ride toBerne a very magnificent one indeed. The road was smooth and hard as afloor. From side to side it was flat and level, and all the ascentswhich it made were so gradual that the horses trotted on at their fullspeed, without any cessation, sweeping around long and graceful curves, which brought continually into view new landscapes, each one, as itseemed, more varied and beautiful than the one which had preceded it. From his lofty seat on the banquette Rollo looked abroad over a verywide extent of country; and when the coach stopped at the villages orpost houses to change horses, he could look down with great advantageupon the fresh teams as they were brought out and upon the groups ofhostlers and post boys employed in shifting the harness. He could hear, too, all that they said, though they generally talked so fast, andmingled their words with so much laughter and fun, that Rollo found thathe could understand but little. 

[Illustration: THE DILIGENCE ON THE ROAD. ]

Rollo was particularly struck, as he was whirled swiftly along the road, by the appearance of the Swiss houses. They were very large, and werecovered with a very broad roof, which extended so far over the walls onevery side as to appear like a great, square, broad-brimmed hat. Under this roof were platforms projecting from the house, one on eachstory, like piazzas. These piazzas were very broad. They were borderedby balustrades on the outer edge, and were used for sheds, store houses, and tool rooms. There were wood piles, wagons, harrows, and otherfarming implements, bundles of straw, and stones piled up here and thereupon them. In fact, the Swiss cottager has his house, and barn, andsheds, and outhouses all under one roof; and what there is not room forwithin he stores without upon these platforms. 

These houses were situated in the midst of the most beautiful fields andgardens, the whole forming a series of very charming landscapes. Theview, too, as seen in many places along the road, was bounded at thesouth by a long line of snow-covered mountains, which glitteredbrilliantly in the sun and imparted an inexpressible fascination to theprospect. 

The diligence arrived at the city of Berne near night, and Mr. Georgeand Rollo remained in that city until the next day at noon. Rollo wasextremely interested in walking about the streets in the morning. Inalmost all the streets of Berne the second stories of the houses areextended over the sidewalks, the superincumbent masonry being supportedby massive square pillars, built up from the edge of the sidewalkbelow, and by arches above. Of course, in going along the sidewalk thepassenger is sheltered by the roof above him, and in the worst weatherhe can go all over the city without being exposed to the rain exceptingat the street crossings. This arrangement is a very convenient one, certainly, for rainy weather; but it gives the streets a very gloomy andforbidding appearance at other times. 

Still Rollo was very much amused in walking along under these arcades;the more so because, in addition to the shops in the buildingsthemselves, there were usually stalls and stands, between and around thepillars, filled with curious things of all sorts, which were for sale;so that in walking along he had a display of goods on both sides of him. These goods consisted of toys, books, pictures, tools, implements, andcuriosities, including a multitude of things which Rollo had never seenor heard of before. 

Berne is famous for bears. The bear is, in fact, the emblem of the city, and of the canton, or province, in which Berne is situated. There is astory that in very ancient times, when Berchtold, the original founderof the city, was beginning to build the walls, a monstrous bear came outof the woods to attack him. Berchtold, with the assistance of the menwho were at work with him on the walls, killed the bear. They gloriedgreatly in this exploit, and they preserved the skin and claws of thebear for a long time as the trophy of their victory. Afterwards theymade the bear their emblem. They painted the figure of the animal ontheir standards. They made images and effigies of him to ornament theirstreets, and squares, and fountains, and public buildings. They stampedthe image of him on their coins; and, to this day, you see figures ofthe bear every where in Berne. Carved images of Bruin in every attitudeare for sale in the shops; and, not contented with these lifelesssymbols, the people of Berne for a long time had a pit, or den, similarto those in the Garden of Plants at Paris, where they kept livingspecimens for a long time. [4] This den was just without the gates of thecity. The guide book which Rollo read as he was coming into Berne, tosee what it said about the city, stated that there was one bear in thegarden at that time; and he wished very much to go and see it, but hedid not have a very convenient opportunity. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 4: See Rollo in Paris for an account of these dens for bearsin the Garden of Plants. ]

CHAPTER VI. 

THE VALLEY OF THE AAR. 

After spending several hours in Berne and wondering greatly at the manystrange things which they saw there, Mr. George and Rollo took theirpassage in another diligence for Thun, which was a town still farther intowards the heart of Switzerland on the way to Interlachen. It took onlythree or four hours to go to Thun. The town, they found, was small, compact, surrounded by walls, and very delightfully situated at the endof a long lake, which extended from that point very far in among themountains. There was one thing very remarkable about Thun, at least itseemed very remarkable to Rollo, although he found afterwards that itwas a common thing in Switzerland; and that was, that the hotels wereall outside the town. 

There was reason in this; for the town--though it was a very curious andromantic place, with a church on a terraced hill at one end of it, surrounded with a beautifully ornamented church yard, with seats andbowers here and there at the corners of it, which overlooked the countryand commanded charming views of the lake and mountains--was still, inthe main, very contracted and confined, and hotels would not bepleasantly situated in it. A little beyond the town, however, on themargin of the lake, was a delightful region of gardens and pleasuregrounds, with four or five very handsome hotels among them. Mr. Georgeand Rollo stopped to dine at one of these hotels. From the windows of itthere were the most brilliant and charming prospects of the lake and thesurrounding mountains on one side, and on the other a view of the townand of two or three very pretty little steamboats lying at a pier. 

Behind the hotel the land very soon ascended rapidly, the ascentterminating at last in crags and precipices which towered at a vastheight above. Among these heights Rollo saw a sort of pavilion, built ona small projecting point of a hill, four or five hundred feet, perhaps, above the hotel. 

"Do you think any body can get up there?" said he to his uncle George. 

They were standing, when Rollo said this, on the back piazza of thehotel--a very beautiful place, looking out upon green lawns andgardens. 

"Certainly, " said Mr. George. "They would not have built such a lookoutas that without making a way to get to it. "

"Then let's go up there, " said Rollo, "and see what we can see. "

"Very well, " said Mr. George; "lead the way, and I will follow. "

"Well, come, " said Rollo, moving on. "I am not sure that I can find theway; but I'll try. "

So saying, Rollo chose from among several broad and smooth gravel walkswhich he saw diverging from the house in various directions, among thegroves and copses of shrubbery that ornamented the grounds behind it, the one which seemed to turn most nearly in the right direction; and, running along before, he was soon out of sight of the hotel. The pathmeandered gracefully among shrubs, and flowers, and pretty greenopenings a little way, and then began to ascend the hill, sometimes in awinding course and sometimes by zigzags. There were seats placed hereand there at proper points for rest. At length both Rollo and Mr. Georgewere surprised to find coming suddenly into view a small building, whichstood in a very romantic and picturesque spot about half way up thehill, which proved, on examination, to be a little chapel. It was anEpiscopal chapel, built here by the proprietor of the hotel for theaccommodation of his English guests on Sundays. There are a great manyEnglish travellers in Switzerland, more perhaps from that nation thanfrom any other, and the English people are very much pleased with theopportunity to worship God, when in foreign lands, according to therites and usages of their own national church. Americans, on the otherhand, when travelling, generally prefer to attend churches in which theworship is conducted according to the usages of the people in whosecountry they chance to be. 

After looking at the little English chapel as long as they wished, ourtwo travellers went on up the path. The ascent soon became very steep, and the way led through close woods, which allowed of no opportunity tosee, except that now and then a brief glimpse was obtained of the hotel, with the gardens and grounds around it, and the gentlemen and ladieswalking upon the piazza in the rear of it. 

After about a quarter of an hour of hard climbing up a wild and romanticbut very smooth and well made path the two young gentlemen reached thepavilion. Here a boundless and most magnificent prospect was openedbefore them. Rollo was bewildered with astonishment and delight; andeven Mr. George, who was usually very cool and quiet on such occasions, seemed greatly pleased. I shall not, however, attempt to describe theview; for, though a fine view from an elevated point among lakes andmountains is a very exciting thing actually to witness and enjoy, it isby no means an interesting thing to describe. 

"What a magnificent prospect!" said Rollo. 

Rollo, as he said this, was looking down at the more near and distinctlydetailed objects which were to be seen directly below him at the bottomof the hill, towards the right--such as the hotels, the gardens, theroads, the pier, the steamboats, and the town. The attention of Mr. George, however, was attracted by the more grand and sublime features ofthe view which were to be seen in the other direction--the lake, theforests, and the mountains. The mountains that were near were darkenedby the groves of evergreens that clothed their sides, and some of themwere made more sombre still by the shadows of floating clouds; whileover these there towered the glittering summits of more distant ranges, white with everlasting snow. 

"How cold they look!" said Mr. George; "how icy cold!"

"How little they look! how very little! See, uncle George, " said Rollo, pointing; "they are really good large steamboats, and you would thinkthey were only playthings. "

"There are some men walking along the road, " continued Rollo, "just likelittle dots. "

"See the banks of snow on that mountain, Rollo!" said Mr. George. "Theylook like drifts of dry, light snow, as they shine in the sun on abitter cold winter day. "

"Why doesn't it melt?" asked Rollo. 

"Because it is up so high, " said Mr. George. "As you go up in the airfrom the surface of the earth the air grows colder and colder, until atlast, when you get up to a certain height, it is cold enough to freeze. "

"Is it so every where?" asked Rollo. 

"Yes, " said Mr. George. "If you were to put some water into a vial andtie it to the tail of a kite, and send it up into the air _high enough_, the water would freeze, and when it came down you would find the waterturned into ice. "

"Should I?" asked Rollo. "Would it if I were to send the kite up inAmerica?"

"Yes, " said Mr. George, "any where, all over the earth. "

"I mean to try it, " said Rollo. 

"You can't try it very well, " replied Mr. George; "for you could noteasily send a kite up high enough. It would take a very long time. "

"How long?" asked Rollo. 

"Why, that depends upon what part of the earth it is that you make theexperiment in, " replied Mr. George. "At the equator, where the sun isvery hot, you would have to go up very high. In temperate regions, as inSwitzerland or in most parts of America, you would not have to go up sohigh; and farther north, near the pole, it is only necessary to go up avery little way. "

"And how high must we go up in Switzerland?" asked Rollo. 

"About eight or nine thousand feet, I believe, " said Mr. George. "Someof the Alpine summits are sixteen thousand feet high; and so the ice andsnow lie upon the upper portions of them all the time. "

The young gentlemen remained some time longer in the pavilion, gazingupon the stupendous scenery around them, and looking down the lake whichlay before them in the bottom of a deep and narrow valley and extendedin among the mountains much farther than they could see. 

"We are going along that lake, " said Rollo "are we not?"

"Yes, " said Mr. George; "it is the Lake of Thun. "

"We are going in one of the steamboats that are lying at the pier, arewe not?" said Rollo. 

"Yes, " said Mr. George; "unless you would prefer going along the shore. "

"Is there a road along the shore?" asked Rollo. 

"Yes, " said Mr. George; "there are two, I believe, one on each side ofthe lake. These roads run along at the foot of the mountains, farenough, however, above the level of the lake to enable us to enjoyexcellent views of it. But we cannot see the mountains from it as wellas we can from the lake itself. "

"Then, " said Rollo, "if we go by the road we can see the lake best; andif we go by the steamboat we can see the mountains best. "

"Yes, " said Mr. George; "that is the state of the case, exactly. "

"Then I think we had better go by the boat, " said Rollo; "for I wouldrather see the mountains. "

"So would I, " rejoined Mr. George. "Besides, there will be plenty ofoccasions on which we shall be obliged to go by land; therefore we hadbetter go by water when we can, in order to have a variety. And, if weare going in the steamer, we must go back to the hotel; for it is almosttime for the steamer to sail. "

So Mr. George led the way, and Rollo followed, down the path by whichthey had come up. As they thus walked down they continued theconversation which they had commenced in the pavilion. 

"What shall we come to when we get to the end of the lake?" asked Rollo. "Does the lake reach to the end of the valley?"

"No, " said Mr. George. "The valley is about fifty miles long, I suppose, and this lake is only about fifteen miles long; but there is another inthe same valley a little farther on. The valley is the valley of theAar. That is the name of the stream which flows through it. It is one ofthe most remarkable valleys in Switzerland. I have been studying it inthe guide book and on the map. It is about fifty miles long, and itwinds in a serpentine manner between two lofty ranges of mountains, sosteep and high that it is not possible to make any road over them. "

"None at all?" asked Rollo. 

"No, " replied Mr. George. "They cannot make any road--nothing but bridlepaths. The mountains, too, that border the valley along the sides closeacross at the head of it; so that if you go up the valley at all youcannot get out of it without climbing over the mountains; unless, indeed, you are willing to come back the same way that you went. "

"I would rather climb over the mountains, " said Rollo. 

"So would I, " said Mr. George. "The beginning of this valley, " continuedMr. George "is in the very heart of the most mountainous part ofSwitzerland, and the River Aar commences there in prodigious cascadesand waterfalls, which come down over the cliffs and precipices or gushout from enormous crevices and chasms, and make quite a river at thevery beginning. "

"Can we go there and see them?" said Rollo. 

"Yes, " replied Mr. George; "I mean to go and see them. The place iscalled Meyringen. The cascades and waterfalls at Meyringen arewonderful. One of them, the guide book says, makes dreadful work intimes of flood. It comes out from a great chasm in the rocks in the faceof a precipice at a vast height from the ground; and, in times of flood, it brings down such a mass of sand, gravel, stones, rubbish, and blackmud as sometimes to threaten to overwhelm the village. "

"Is there a village there?" asked Rollo. 

"Yes, " said Mr. George; "the village of Meyringen. This waterfall comesdown out of the mountain just back of the village; and they have had tobuild up an immense wall, a quarter of a mile long and twenty or thirtyfeet high, to keep the torrent of mud and sand out of the streets. Onceit broke through and filled up the church four feet deep all over thefloor with mud, and gravel, and stones. Some of the stones were biggerthan your head. "

Rollo was very much interested in hearing this account of the Fall ofAlpbach, --for that was the name of this unmanageable cataract, --andexpressed a very strong desire to go to Meyringen and see it. 

"We will go, " said Mr. George. "It lies at the head of the valley of theAar, which we are now entering. The River Aar, after being formed bythese cataracts and cascades, flows through the valley, making two longlakes in its course. This Lake of Thun is the second one. The other isthe Lake of Brienz. The upper end of the Lake of Thun is a few milesonly from the lower end of the Lake of Brienz; and Interlachen isbetween the two. "

[Illustration: THE LAKE SHORE. ]

About an hour after this conversation our two travellers might have beenseen sitting together upon the deck of the little steamer which waspaddling its way merrily along the lake, and occupying themselves inviewing and talking about the extraordinary spectacle presented bythe slopes of the mountains which bordered the lake on either side, andwhich seemed to shut the lake in, as it were, between two immense wallsof green. 

Rollo was extremely interested, as he sailed along, in viewing thesemountain slopes, exploring the landscape carefully in every part, studying out all the objects of interest which it contained--theforests, the cultivated fields, the great Swiss cottages, thepasturages, the little chalets, the zigzag paths leading up and down, and all the other picturesque and striking characteristics of a Swisslandscape. 

The slopes were very beautiful, and densely inhabited; and they werereally very steep, though they looked much steeper than they were, asall hills and slopes do to a person looking upon them from below andfacing them. 

"It seems, " said Rollo to Mr. George, "as if two broad strips of greencountry were set up on edge for us to see them as we are sailing along. "

"Yes, " said Mr. George; "with all the houses, farms, pasturages, flocksof sheep, and herds of cattle clinging to the sides of them. "

The chief charm, however, of the views which presented themselves to theyoung travellers as they glided along the lake was the glitteringrefulgence of the snow-clad peaks which appeared here and there throughopenings among the nearer mountains. The view of these peaks wasoccasionally obstructed by masses of vapor which were floating along thetops of the mountain ranges; but still they were seen frequently enoughto fill the minds both of Rollo and Mr. George with wonder and delight. 

After gazing at this scenery for nearly an hour until his curiosity inrespect to it was in some measure satisfied, Rollo began to turn hisattention to his fellow-travellers on board the steamer. Thesetravellers were seated singly or in groups about the deck of the littlevessel, and they were all tourists, journeying for pleasure. Here was asmall group of young men--students apparently--with knapsacks on theirbacks, spyglasses strapped to their sides, and maps and guide books intheir hands. There was a young lady seated with her father, both dressedfor the mountains, and gazing with curiosity and wonder on the viewspresented along the shores of the lake. In another place was a family ofparents and children--the father studying a map which he had spread openupon his knees, the mother sitting by his side, silent and thoughtful, as if her mind was far away, dwelling, perhaps, upon the little oneswhich had been left at home because they were too young to be taken onsuch a tour. Some of these people were talking French, some English, andsome German. Rollo looked about upon these various groups for a time, and then said, --

"Are all these travellers going to see the mountains, do you suppose, uncle George?"

"Yes, " said Mr. George; "I suppose so. There is very little travellingin Switzerland except pleasure travelling. I presume they are all goingto see the mountains and the other scenery of the country. "

"I should not think that the ladies could climb up the mountains veryhigh, " said Rollo. 

"Yes, " said Mr. George, "they can; for in almost all places where peoplewish to go there are excellent paths. Where it is too steep for roadsthe mountaineers make zigzag paths, not only for travellers, but forthemselves, in order that they may go up and down to their chalets andpasturages. The people of the country have been making and improvingthese paths now for two thousand years or more, and they have got themat last in very excellent condition; so that, except the steepness, theyare very easy and very comfortable. "

"Why, uncle George, " said Rollo, "look!"

So saying, Rollo pointed his finger out over the water. The mountainshad suddenly and entirely disappeared. The vapors and clouds which theyhad seen floating among them half an hour before had become dense andcontinuous, and had, moreover, settled down over the whole face of thecountry in such a manner as to shut out the mountains wholly from view. Nothing was to be seen but the water of the lake, with a margin of lowand level but beautiful country along the shores of it. 

In fact, there was nothing but the smallness of the steamer and thecostumes and character of the passengers to prevent Rollo and Mr. Georgefrom supposing that they were steaming it from New York to Albany, upthe North River, in America. 

CHAPTER VII. 

INTERLACHEN. 

About eight o'clock on the morning after our travellers arrived atInterlachen Rollo awoke, and, rising from his bed, he walked to thewindow and looked out, expecting to find before him a very grandprospect of Alpine scenery; but there was nothing of the kind to beseen. 

Before the house was a garden, with a broad gravel walk leading outthrough it to the road. On each side of this walk were parterres ofshrubbery and flowers. There were also two side approaches, wide enoughfor roads. They came from the main road through great open gates, at alittle distance to the right and left of the hotel. The main road, whichwas broad and perfectly level, extended in front of the house; and twoor three Swiss peasants, in strange costume, were passing by. Beyondwere green and level fields, with fruit and forest trees rising here andthere among them, forming a very rich and attractive landscape. The skywas covered with clouds, though they were very fleecy and bright, and inone place the sun seemed just ready to break through. 

"I thought Interlachen was among the mountains, " said Rollo to himself;"and here I am in the middle of a flat plain. 

"I will go and see uncle George, " he continued after a moment's pause, "and ask him what it means. "

So Rollo opened the door of his room and went out into what in Americawould be called the entry, or hall. He found himself in a long corridorpaved with stone, and having broad stone staircases leading up and downfrom it to the different stories. In one place there was a passage waywhich led to a window that seemed to be on the back side of the hotel. Rollo went there to look out, in order to see what the prospect might bein that direction. 

He saw first the gardens and grounds of the hotel, extending for a shortdistance in the rear of the building, and beyond them he obtainedglimpses of a rapidly running stream. The water was very turbid. Itboiled and whirled incessantly as it swept swiftly along the channel. 

"Ah, " said Rollo, "that is the River Aar, I suppose, flowing throughInterlachen from one lake to the other. I thought I should see itsomewhere here; but I did not know whether it was before the hotels orbehind them. "

A short distance beyond the stream Rollo saw the lower part of aperpendicular precipice of gray rock. All except the lower part of thisprecipice was concealed by the fogs and clouds, which seemed to settledown so low upon the landscape in all directions as to conceal almostevery thing but the surface of the ground. 

"I wonder how high that precipice is, " said Rollo to himself. 

"I wonder whether I could climb up to the top of it, " he continued, still talking to himself, "if I could only find some way to get acrossthe river? There must be some way, I suppose. Perhaps there is abridge. "

Rollo then turned his eye upward to look at the clouds. In one placethere seemed to be a break among them, and the fleecy masses around thebreak were slowly moving along. The place where Rollo was looking wasabout the middle of the sky; that is, about midway between the horizonand the zenith. [5] While Rollo was looking at this break, which seemed, while he looked at it, to brighten up and open more and more, he sawsuddenly, to his utter amazement, a large green tree burst into view inthe midst of it, and then disappear again a moment afterwards as a freshmass of cloudy vapor drifted over. Rollo was perfectly bewildered withastonishment. To see a green tree, clear and distinct in form and brightwith the beams of the sun which just at that instant caught upon it, breaking out to view suddenly high up among the clouds of the sky, seemed truly an astonishing spectacle. Rollo had scarcely recovered fromthe first emotion of his surprise before the clouds parted again, widerthan before, and brought into view, first a large mass of foliage, whichformed the termination of a grove of trees; then a portion of a smooth, green field, with a flock of sheep feeding upon it, clinging apparentlyto the steep slope like flies to a wall; and finally a house, with alittle blue smoke curling from the chimney. Rollo was perfectly besidehimself with astonishment and delight at this spectacle; and hedetermined immediately to go and ask his uncle to come and see. 

He accordingly left the window and made all haste to his uncle's door. He knocked. His uncle said, "Come in. " Rollo opened the door. His unclewas standing by the window of his room, looking out. This was on thefront side of the hotel. 

"Uncle George!" said Rollo, "Uncle George! Come and look out with me atthe back window. There is a flock of sheep feeding in a green field awayup in the sky!"

"Come and look here!" said Mr. George. 

So Rollo went to the window where Mr. George was standing, and hisastonishment at what he saw was even greater than before. The clouds hadseparated into great fleecy masses and were slowly drifting away, whilethrough the openings that appeared in them there were seen bright andbeautiful views of groves, green pasturages, smiling little hamlets andvillages, green fields, and here and there dark forests of evergreentrees, with peaks of rocks or steep precipices peeping out among them. At one place, through an opening or gap in the nearer mountains, therecould be seen far back towards the horizon the broad sides and toweringpeak of a distant summit, which seemed to be wholly formed of vastmasses of ice and snow, and which glittered with an inexpressiblebrilliancy under the rays of the morning sun. 

"That is the Jungfrau, "[6] said Mr. George. 

"That great icy mountain?" said Rollo. 

"Yes, " said Mr. George. 

"Can we get up to the top of it?" asked Rollo. 

"No, " said Mr. George. "People tried for more than a thousand years toget to the top of the Jungfrau before they could succeed. "

"And did they succeed at last?" asked Rollo. 

"Yes, " replied Mr. George. "You see there is a sort of goatlike animal, called the _chamois_, [7] which the peasants and mountaineers are veryfond of hunting. These animals are great climbers, and they get up amongthe highest peaks and into the most dangerous places; and the hunters, in going into such places after them, become at last very expert inclimbing, and sometimes they become ambitious of surpassing each other, and each one wishes to see how high he can get. So one time, abouttwenty-five years ago, a party of six of these hunters undertook to getto the top of the Jungfrau, and at last they succeeded. But it was adreadfully difficult and dangerous operation. It was fifteen miles'steep climbing. "

"Not steep climbing all the way, " said Rollo. 

"No, " said Mr. George, "I suppose not all the way. There must have beensome up-and-down work, and some perhaps tolerably level, for the firstten miles; but the last five must have been a perpetual scramble amongrocks and ice and over vast drifts of snow, with immense avalanchesthundering down the mountain sides all around them. "

"I wish I could go and see them, " said Rollo. 

"You can go, " replied Mr. George. "There is a most excellent chance tosee the face of the Jungfrau very near; for there is another mountainthis side of it, with a narrow valley between. This other mountain iscalled the Wengern Alp. It is about two thirds the height of theJungfrau, and is so near it that from the top of it, or near the top, you can see the whole side of the Jungfrau rising right before you andfilling half the sky, and you can see and hear the avalanches thunderingdown the sides of it all day long. "

Rollo was quite excited at this account, and was very eager to set offas soon as possible to go up the Wengern Alp. 

"How do we get there?" asked he. 

"You see this great gap in the near mountains, " said Mr. George, pointing. 

"Yes, " said Rollo. 

"That gap, " continued Mr. George, "is the mouth of a valley. I have beenstudying it out this morning in my guide book. There is a good carriageroad leading up this valley. It is called the valley of the Lütschine, because that is the name of the river which comes down through it. Ingoing up this valley for the first two or three miles we are goingdirectly towards the Jungfrau. "

"Yes, " said Rollo. "That I can see very plainly. "

This was indeed very obvious; for the Jungfrau, from the windows of thehotel, was seen through the great gap in the near mountains which Mr. George had pointed out as the mouth of the valley of the Lütschine. Infact, had it not been for that gap in the near mountains, the greatsnow-covered summit could not have been seen from the hotels at all. 

"We go up that valley, " continued Mr. George, "about three miles, andthen we come to a fork in it; that is, to a place where the valleydivides into two branches, one turning off to the right and the other tothe left. Directly ahead there is an enormous precipice, I don't knowhow many thousand feet high, of bare rock. 

"One of these branch valleys, " continued Mr. George, "leads up to oneside of the Wengern Alp and the Jungfrau, and the other to the otherside. We may take the right-hand valley and go up five or six miles toLauterbrunnen, or we may take the left-hand branch and go up toGrindelwald. Which way do you think we had better go?"

"I do not know, " said Rollo. "Can we get up to the Wengern Alp fromeither valley?"

"Yes, " said Mr. George. "We can go up from one of these valleys, andthen, after stopping as long as we choose on the Alp, we can continueour journey and so come down into the other, and thus see them both. Oneof the valleys is famous for two great glaciers that descend into it. The other is famous for immense waterfalls that come down over theprecipices at the sides. "

"Let us go first and see the waterfalls, " said Rollo. 

"Well, " said Mr. George, "we will. We shall have to turn to the right inthat case and go to Lauterbrunnen. When we get to Lauterbrunnen we shallhave to leave our carriage and take horses to go up to the Wengern Alp. The way is by a steep path, formed in zigzags, right up the sides of themountains. "

"How far is it?" asked Rollo. 

"I don't know precisely, " said Mr. George; "but it is a good many miles. It takes, at any rate, several hours to go up. We can stop at theWengern Alp as long as we please and look at the Jungfrau and theavalanches, and after that go on down into the valley of Grindelwald onthe other side, and so come home. "

"But how can we get our carriage?" asked Rollo. 

"O, they send the carriage back, I believe, " said Mr. George, "fromLauterbrunnen to the great precipice at the fork of the valley. "

Mr. George, having thus finished his account of the topography of theroute to the Wengern Alp, went away from the window and returned to thetable where he had been employed in writing some letters just beforeRollo had come in. Rollo was left at the window. He leaned his arms uponthe sill, and, looking down to the area below, amused himself withobserving what was going on there. 

There were several persons standing or sitting upon the piazza. Presently he heard the sound of wheels. A carriage came driving uptowards the door. A postilion was riding upon one of the horses. Therewere two servants sitting on the box; and there was a seat behind, whereanother servant and the lady's maid were sitting. The carriage stopped, the door was opened, and a lady and gentleman with two boys, all dressedlike travellers, got out, and were ushered into the house with greatcivility by the landlord. The baggage was taken off and carried in, andthen the carriage was driven away round the corner. 

This was an English nobleman and his family, who were making the tour ofSwitzerland, and were going to spend a few days at Interlachen on theway. 

As soon as the bustle produced by this arrival had subsided, Rollo'sattention was attracted by a very sweet musical sound which seemed to beproduced by something coming along the road. 

"What can that be, I wonder?" said he to himself. 

Then in a little louder tone, but without turning round, --

"Uncle George, here is some music coming. What do you think it is?"

Mr. George paused a moment to listen, and then went on with his writing. 

The mystery was soon solved; for, in a few moments after Rollo hadspoken, he saw a large flock of goats coming along. These goats all hadbells upon their necks, --or at least a great many of them were soprovided, --and these bells, having a soft and sweet tone, produced, whentheir sounds were blended together, an enchanting harmony. The goatswalked demurely along, driven by one or two goatherds who were followingthem, and soon disappeared behind the trees and shrubbery. Very soonafter their forms had disappeared from view the music of their bellsbegan to grow fainter and fainter until it ceased to be heard. 

"It was a flock of goats going by, " said Rollo. 

Rollo next heard voices; and, turning in the direction whence the soundsproceeded, he saw a party of young men coming up towards the door of thehotel along the gravelled avenue. This was a party of German studentsmaking the tour of Switzerland on foot. They had knapsacks on theirbacks, and stout walking sticks and guide books in their hands. Theycame up talking and laughing together, full of hilarity and glee; andyet some of them seemed very tired. They had walked six miles thatmorning, and were now going to stop at this hotel for breakfast. Rollolistened to their conversation; but, as it was in the German language, he could not understand one word that they were saying. 

"Dear me!" said he; "I wish that every body would talk either French orEnglish. "

As soon as the students had passed on into the inn Rollo heard anothercarriage coming. He looked and found that it was a _char à banc_. A charà banc is a small, one-horse carriage, which looks upon the outside verymuch like what is called a carryall in America, only it is muchnarrower. It differs very much, however, from a carryall within; for ithas only a seat for two persons, and that is placed sideways, with theend to the horses. You ride in it, therefore, sideways, as you do in anomnibus, only in an omnibus there are two seats, one on each side, andthe door is at the end; whereas in the char à banc there is a seat onlyon one side, and the door is opposite to it on the other. The seat islarge and comfortable, being very much like a short sofa. Some people, therefore, describe a char à banc as a sofa placed endwise on wheels. 

The char à banc stopped before the door of the hotel; and the coachman, getting down from his seat in front, opened the door. A verydignified-looking gentleman stepped out; and, after standing a moment onthe piazza to give some directions about his portmanteau, he went intothe office of the hotel. 

Rollo, looking down from the window of his uncle George's room, couldsee all these things very plainly; for the roof which protected thepiazza from the rain was up at the top of the hotel, and therefore didnot interfere with his view. 

After having made the above-described observations from the window, Rollo began to think that he would like to go down below to the door, where he thought he could see what was going on to better advantage. 

"Uncle George, " said he, "when are you going down to breakfast?"

"In about half an hour, " said Mr. George. "I have got another letter towrite. "

"Then I believe I will go down now, " said Rollo, "and wait there tillyou come. "

"Very well, " said Mr. George; "and please order breakfast, and then itwill be all ready when I get my letter finished. "

"What shall I order?" asked Rollo. 

"I don't know, " said Mr. George. "I don't know what it is the fashion tohave for breakfast here. Ask them what they have got, and then choosefor yourself and me. "

So Rollo, putting on his cap, went down stairs. 

He stood for a little time on the piazza, looking at the strange dressesof the people that were sitting or standing there and listening to theoutlandish sounds of the foreign languages which they were speaking. Ata little distance out upon the gravel walk, near the shrubbery, were aparty of guides waiting to be hired for mountain excursions. Some ofthese guides were talking with travellers, forming plans, or agreeingupon the terms on which they were to serve. Rollo, after observing thesegroups a little time, walked along the piazza towards a place where hesaw an open door in another large building, which, being connected withthe piazza, evidently belonged to the hotel. In fact, it was a sort ofwing. As there were people going in and out at this door, Rollo thoughtthat he could go in too. 

He accordingly walked along in that direction. Before he reached thedoor he came to a place which, though open to the air, was covered witha roof, and was so enclosed by the buildings on three sides as to makequite a pleasant little nook. It was ornamented by various shrubs andflowers which grew from tubs and large pots arranged against the sidesof it. There were several tables in this space, with chairs around them, and one or two parties of young men were taking their breakfast here. 

"This will be a good place for uncle George and me to have ourbreakfast, " said Rollo to himself, "and we can see the Jungfrau all thetime while we are eating it. "

Rollo then went on into the open door. He found himself ushered into avery large and beautiful drawing room. There were a great many sofasarranged around the sides of it, on which parties of ladies andgentlemen were sitting talking together; while other gentlemen, theirhats in their hands, were standing before them or walking about thefloor. There was no carpet; but the floor was formed of dark woodhighly polished, and was very beautiful. There was a fireplace in onecorner of this room; but there was no fire in it. No fire was necessary;for it was a warm and pleasant morning. 

On the front side of the room was a row of windows looking out towardsthe road. On the back side was a door opening to another large room, where Rollo saw a table spread and several people sitting at it eatingtheir breakfast. 

"Ah, " said Rollo, "there is the dining room! I will go in there and seewhat we can have for breakfast. "

So he walked through the drawing room and entered the room beyond. Hefound that this inner room was quite a spacious apartment; and therewere one or two long tables extending the whole length of it. 

There were various separate parties sitting at these tables takingbreakfast. Some were just beginning. Some had just ended. Some werewaiting for their breakfast to be brought in. Near where Rollo wasstanding two gentlemen were seated at the table, with a map ofSwitzerland spread before them; and, instead of being occupied withbreakfast, they were planning some excursion for the day. 

Rollo looked out a vacant place at the table and took his seat. A waitercame to him to know what he would have. 

"I want breakfast for two, " said Rollo, "my uncle and myself. What haveyou got for us?"

The waiter repeated a long list of very nice things that he could giveRollo and his uncle for breakfast. From among these Rollo chose a beefsteak, some hot rolls and butter, some honey, and some coffee. Thewaiter went out to prepare them. 

In about ten minutes Mr. George came down. He took his seat by the sideof Rollo; and very soon afterwards the waiter brought in what had beenordered. Rollo liked the breakfast very much, especially the honey. 

It is very customary to have honey for breakfast in Switzerland. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 5: The zenith is the point in the heavens that is directlyover our heads. ]

[Footnote 6: Pronounced _Yoongfrow_. ]

[Footnote 7: Pronounced _shamwawh_. ]

CHAPTER VIII. 

LAUTERBRUNNEN. 

"Come, uncle George, " said Rollo, "make haste. We are all ready. "

Rollo was sitting in a char à banc when he said this, at the door of thehotel. He and his uncle were going to make an excursion up the valley ofthe Lütschine to Lauterbrunnen, and thence to ascend the Wengern Alp, inorder to see the avalanches of the Jungfrau; and Rollo was in haste toset out. 

"Come, uncle George, " said he, "make haste. "

Mr. George was coming out of the hotel slowly, talking with thelandlord. 

"The guide will take you to Lauterbrunnen, " said the landlord, "in thechar à banc; and then he will send the char à banc back down the valleyto the fork, and thence up to Grindelwald to wait for you there. Youwill go up to the Wengern Alp from Lauterbrunnen; and then, afterstaying there as long as you please, you will keep on and come down toGrindelwald on the other side, where you will find the carriage readyfor you. [8] But it seems to me that you had better take another horse. "

"No, " said Mr. George. "One will do very well. "

Mr. George had a carpet bag in his hand. It contained nightdresses, tobe used in case he and Rollo should conclude to spend the night on themountain. He put the carpet bag into the carriage, and then got inhimself. The landlord shut the door, and the coachman drove away. Thusthey set out on their excursion. 

This excursion to the Wengern Alp was only one of many similarexpeditions which Rollo and Mr. George made together while they were inSwitzerland. As, however, it is manifestly impossible to describe thewhole of Switzerland in so small a volume as this, I shall give anarrative of the ascent of the Wengern Alp as a sort of specimen ofthese excursions. I think it better that I should give a minute andparticular account of one than a more vague and general, and so lesssatisfactory, account of several of them. 

Rollo had taken the precaution to have the curtains of the char à bancrolled up, so that he and Mr. George could see out freely on all sidesof them as they rode along. 

The view which was first presented to their observation was that of thelawns and gardens in the midst of which the hotels were situated. Thesegrounds were connected together by walks--some straight, otherswinding--which passed through bowers and gateways from one enclosure tothe other. In these walks various parties were strolling; some weregathering flowers, others were gazing at the mountains around, andothers still were moving quietly along, going from one hotel to anotherfor the purpose of taking a pleasant morning walk or to make visits totheir friends. The whole scene was a bright and very animated one; butRollo had not time to observe it long; for the char à banc, after movingby a graceful sweep around a copse of shrubbery, passed out through agreat gateway in the road, and the hotels and all that pertained to themwere soon hidden from view by the great trees which grew along theroadside before them. 

The coachman, or rather the guide, --for the man who was driving the charà banc was the one who was to act as guide up the mountain when theyreached Lauterbrunnen, --turned soon into a road which led off towardsthe gap, or opening, in the nearer mountains which Mr. George and Rollohad seen from the windows of the hotel. The road was very smooth andlevel, and the two travellers, as they rode along, had a fine view ofthe fields, the hamlets, and the scattered cottages which bordered theroad on the side to which their faces were turned. 

"This char à banc, " said Rollo, "is an excellent carriage for seeing theprospect on _one_ side of the road. "

"Yes, " said Mr. George; "but there might be the most astonishingspectacle in Switzerland on the other side without our knowing any thingabout it unless we turned round expressly to see. "

So saying, Mr. George turned in his seat and looked at that side of theroad which had been behind them. There was a field there, and a younggirl about seventeen years old--with a very broad-brimmed straw hat uponher head, and wearing a very picturesque costume in other respects--wasseen digging up the ground with a hoe. 

The blade of the hoe was long, and it seemed very heavy. The girl wasdigging up the ground by standing upon the part which she had alreadydug and striking the hoe down into the hard ground a few inches backfrom where she had struck before. 

"Do the women work in the fields every where in Switzerland, Henry?"said Mr. George. 

The guide's name was Henry. He could not speak English, but he spokeFrench and German. Mr. George addressed him in French. 

"Yes, sir, " said Henry; "in every part of Switzerland where I havebeen. "

"In America the women never work in the fields, " said Mr. George. 

"Never?" asked Henry, surprised. 

"No, " said Mr. George; "at least, I never saw any. "

"What do they do, then, " asked Henry, "to spend their time?"

Mr. George laughed. He told Rollo, in English, that he did not think hehad any satisfactory answer at hand in respect to the manner in whichthe American ladies spent their time. 

"I pity that poor girl, " said Rollo, "hoeing all day on such hardground. I think the men ought to do such work as that. "

"The men have harder work to do, " said Mr. George; "climbing themountains to hunt chamois, or driving the sheep and cows up to the upperpasturages in places where it would be very difficult for women to go. "

"We must turn round every now and then, " said Rollo, "and see what isbehind us, or we may lose the sight of something very extraordinary. "

"Yes, " said Mr. George; "I heard of a party of English ladies who oncewent out in a char à banc to see a lake. It happened that when they cameto the lake the road led along the shore in such a manner that theparty, as they sat in the carriage, had their backs to the water. Sothey rode along, looking at the scenery on the land side and wonderingwhy they did not come to the lake. In this manner they continued untilthey had gone entirely around the lake; and then the coachman drove themhome. When they arrived at the hotel they were astonished to find thatthey had got home again; and they called out to the coachman to askwhere the lake was that they had driven out to see. He told them that hehad driven them all round it!"

Rollo laughed heartily at this story, and Henry would probably havelaughed too if he had understood it; but, as Mr. George related it inEnglish, Henry did not comprehend one word of the narration frombeginning to end. 

In the mean time the horse trotted rapidly onward along the valley, which seemed to grow narrower and narrower as they proceeded; and theimpending precipices which here and there overhung the road became moreand more terrific. The Lütschine, a rapid and turbid stream, sweptswiftly along--sometimes in full view and sometimes concealed. Now andthen there was a bridge, or a mill, or some little hamlet of Swisscottages to diversify the scene. Mr. George and Rollo observed everything with great attention and interest. They met frequent parties oftravellers returning from Grindelwald to Lauterbrunnen--some on foot, some on horseback, and others in carriages which were more or lessspacious and elegant, according to the rank or wealth of the travellerswho were journeying in them. 

At length they arrived at the fork of the valley. Here they gazed withastonishment and awe at the stupendous precipice which reared itscolossal front before them and which seemed effectually to stop theirway. 

On drawing near to it, however, it appeared that the valley divided intotwo branches at this point, as has already been explained. The roaddivided too. The branch which led to the right was the road toLauterbrunnen. The one to the left Rollo supposed led to Grindelwald. Tomake it sure, he pointed to the left-hand road and said to Henry, --

"To Grindelwald?"

"Yes, sir, " said Henry, "to Grindelwald. "

The scenery now became more wild than ever. The valley was narrow, andon each side of it were to be seen lofty precipices and vast slopes ofmountain land--some smooth and green, and covered, though very steep, with flocks and herds, and others feathered with dark evergreen forests, or covered with ragged rocks, or pierced with frightful chasms. Here andthere a zigzag path was seen leading from hamlet to hamlet or from peakto peak up the mountain, with peasants ascending or descending by themand bearing burdens of every form and variety on their backs. In onecase Rollo saw a woman bringing a load of hay on her back down themountain side. 

The valley, bordered thus as it was with such wild and precipitousmountain sides, might have had a gloomy, or at least a very sombre, expression, had it not been cheered and animated by the waterfalls thatcame foaming down here and there from the precipices above, and whichseemed so bright and sparkling that they greatly enlivened the scene. These waterfalls were of a great variety of forms. In some cases a thinthread of water, like the jet from a fire engine, came slowly over thebrink of a precipice a thousand feet in the air, and, gliding smoothlydown for a few hundred feet, was then lost entirely in vapor or spray. In other cases, in the depth of some deep ravine far up the mountain, might be seen a line of foam meandering for a short distance among therocks and then disappearing. Rollo pointed to one of these, and thensaid to Mr. George, --

"Uncle, look there! There is a short waterfall half way up the mountain;but I cannot see where the water comes from or where it goes to. "

"No, " said Mr. George. "It comes undoubtedly from over the precipiceabove, and it flows entirely down into the valley; but it only comes outto view for that short distance. "

"Why can't we see it all the way?" asked Rollo. 

"I suppose, " said Mr. George, "it may flow for the rest of the way inthe bottom of some deep chasms, or it may possibly be that it comessuddenly out of the ground at the place where we see it. "

"Yes, " said Rollo. "I found a great stream coming suddenly out of theground at Interlachen. "

"Where, " asked Mr. George. 

"Right across the river, " said Rollo. "I went over there this morning. "

"How did you get over?" said Mr. George. 

"I went over on a bridge, " said Rollo. "I took a little walk up theroad, and pretty soon I came to a bridge which led across the river. Iwent over, and then walked along the bank on the other side. There wasonly a narrow space between the river and the precipice. The groundsloped down from the foot of the precipice to the water. I found severalvery large springs breaking out in this ground. One of them was _very_large. The water that ran from it made a great stream, large enough fora mill. It came up right out of the ground from a great hole all full ofstones. The water came up from among the stones. "

"And where did it go to?" asked Mr. George. 

"O, it ran directly down into the river. The place was rather steepwhere it ran down, so that it made a cascade all the way. "

"I should like to have seen it, " said Mr. George. 

"Yes, " said Rollo; "it was very curious indeed to see a little rivercome up suddenly out of the ground from a great hole full of stones. "

Talking in this manner about what they had seen, our travellers went ontill they came to Lauterbrunnen. They found a small village here, in themidst of which was a large and comfortable inn. There were a number ofguides and several carriages in the yards of this inn, and many partiesof travellers coming and going. The principal attraction of the valley, however, at this part of it, is an immense waterfall, called the Fall ofthe Staubach, which was to be seen a little beyond the village, up thevalley. This is one of the most remarkable waterfalls in allSwitzerland. A large stream comes over the brink of a precipice nearly athousand feet high, and descends in one smooth and continuous column forsome hundreds of feet, when it gradually breaks, and finally comes downupon the rocks below a vast mass of foam and spray. 

Rollo and Mr. George could see this waterfall and a great many othersmaller ones which came streaming down over the faces of the precipices, along the sides of the valley, as they came up in the char à banc, before they reached the inn. 

"I don't see how such a large river gets to the top of such a highhill, " said Rollo. 

That this question should have arisen in Rollo's mind is not surprising;for the top of the precipice where the Staubach came over seemed, infact, the summit of a sharp ridge to any one looking up to it from thevalley below; and Rollo did not imagine that there was any land above. The apparent wonder was, however, afterwards explained, when ourtravellers began to ascend the mountain on the other side of the valleythat afternoon to go up to the Wengern Alp. 

The guide drove the char à banc to the door of the inn, and Mr. Georgeand Rollo got out. They went into the inn and ordered dinner. 

"We are going to see the Staubach, " said Mr. George to the waiter, "andwe will be back in half an hour. "

"Very well, " said the waiter; "your dinner shall be ready. "

So Mr. George and Rollo came out of the inn again in order to go and seethe waterfall. 

They were beset at the door by a number of young men and boys, and alsoby several little girls, some of whom wanted to sell them minerals orflowers which they had gathered among the rocks around the waterfall;and others wished to guide them to the place. 

"To the Staubach? To the Staubach?" said they. "Want a guide? Want aguide?"

They said this in the German language. Mr. George understood enough ofGerman to know what they meant; but he could not reply in that language. So he said, in French, --

"No; we do not wish any guide. We can find the way to the Staubachourselves. There it is, right before our eyes. "

Mr. George, while he was saying this, was taking out some small changefrom his pockets to give to the children. He gave a small coin apiece tothem all. 

Seeing this, the boys who had wished to guide him to the Staubach becamemore clamorous than ever. 

"To the Staubach?" said they. "To the Staubach? Want a guide? Want aguide?"

Mr. George paid no further attention to them; but, saying "Come, Rollo, "walked on. 

The would-be guides followed him a short distance, still offering theirservices; but, finding soon that Mr. George would not have any thingmore to say to them, they gradually dropped off and went back to the innto try their fortune with the next arrival. 

Mr. George and Rollo walked on along a narrow road, which was borderedby queer, picturesque-looking huts and cottages on either hand, withgardens by the sides of them, in which women and girls were hoeing orweeding. They met two or three parties of ladies and gentlemen returningfrom the Staubach; and presently they came to a place where, close tothe side of the road, was a small shop, before which a party of ladiesand gentlemen had stopped, apparently to look at something curious. 

Mr. George and Rollo went to the place and found that it was a shop forthe sale of carved toys and images such as are made in many parts ofSwitzerland to be sold to travellers for souvenirs of their tour throughthe country. There were shelves put up on the outside of the shop, eachside of the door, and these shelves were covered with all sorts ofcurious objects carved in white or yellow fir, or pine. There wereimages of Swiss peasants with all sorts of burdens on their backs, andmodels of Swiss cottages, and needle boxes, and pin cases, and matchboxes, and nut crackers, and groups of hunters on the rocks, or of goatsor chamois climbing, and rulers ornamented with cameo-like carvings ofwreaths and flowers, and with the word "Staubach" cut in ornamentalletters. 

Rollo was greatly interested in this store of curiosities, so much so, in fact, that for the moment all thoughts of the Staubach were drivenfrom his mind. 

"Let us buy some of these things, uncle George, " said he. 

"And carry them over the Wengern Alp?" said Mr. George. 

"Yes, " said Rollo. "They won't be very heavy. We can put them in thecarpet bag. "

"Well, " said Mr. George, "you may buy one or two specimens if you wish, but not many; for the guide has got the carpet bag to carry, and we mustnot make it very heavy. "

"Or we can send them in the carriage round to Grindelwald, " said Rollo, "and not have to carry them at all. "

"So we can, " said Mr. George. 

Rollo accordingly bought two Swiss cottages, very small ones, and a nutcracker. The nut cracker was shaped like a man's fist, with a hole inthe middle of it to put the nut in. Then there was a handle, the end ofwhich, when the handle was turned, was forced into the hollow of thefist by means of a screw cut in the wood, and this would crack the nut. 

While Rollo was paying for his toys he felt a small hand taking hold ofhis own, and heard a voice say, in English, --

"How do you do?"

The English "How do you do?" is a strange sound to be heard in theseremote Swiss valleys. 

Rollo turned round and saw a boy look up to him with a smile, sayingagain at the same time, --

"How do you do?"

In a moment Rollo recognized the boy whom he had seen at Basle in thecourt yard of the diligence office while he had been waiting there forthe horses to be harnessed. His sister Lottie was standing near; andshe, as well as her brother, appeared to be much pleased at seeing Rolloagain. Rollo had a few minutes' conversation with his young friends, andthen they separated, as Rollo went on with his uncle to see thewaterfall; while they, having already been with their father and motherto see it, went back to the inn. 

Mr. George had recommended to Rollo not to buy too many specimens of thecarving, not only on account of the difficulty of transporting them, butalso because he thought that they would probably find a great many otheropportunities to purchase such things before they had finished theirrambles in Switzerland. He was quite right in this supposition. In fact, Rollo passed three more stands for selling such things on the way to theStaubach. 

Mr. George and Rollo continued their walk along the road, looking upconstantly at the colossal column of water before them, which seemed togrow larger and higher the nearer they drew to it. At length theyreached the part of the road which was directly opposite to it. Herethere was a path which turned off from the road and led up through thepasture towards the foot of the fall. The entrance to this path wasbeset by children who had little boxes full of crystals and othershining minerals which they wished to sell to visitors for souvenirs ofthe place. 

Mr. George and Rollo turned into this path and attempted to advancetowards the foot of the fall; but they soon found themselves stopped bythe spray. In fact, the whole region all around the foot of the fall, for a great distance, was so full of mist and driving spray that goinginto it was like going into a rain storm. Mr. George and Rollo soonfound that they were getting thoroughly wet and that it would not do togo any farther. 

"And so, " said Rollo, in a disappointed tone, "though we have taken thepains to come all this way to see the waterfall, we can't get nearenough to see it after all. "

Mr. George laughed. 

"I wish we had brought an umbrella, " said Rollo. 

"An umbrella would not have done much good, " replied Mr. George. "Thewind whirls about so much that it would drive the spray upon uswhichever way we should turn the umbrella. "

"The path goes on a great deal nearer, " said Rollo. "Somebody must gothere, at any rate, without minding the spray. "

"Perhaps, " said Mr. George, "when the wind is in some other quarter, itmay blow the spray away, so that people can go nearer the foot of thefall without getting wet. At any rate, it is plain that we cannot go anynearer now. "

Saying these words, Mr. George led the way back towards the road, andRollo followed him. 

After retreating far enough to get again into a dry atmosphere, theystopped and looked upward at the fall. It seemed an immense cataractcoming down out of the sky. After gazing at the stupendous spectacletill their wonder and admiration were in some measure satisfied, theyreturned to the inn, where they found an excellent dinner all ready forthem. While they were thus employed in eating their dinner, Henry wasengaged in eating his, with at least as good an appetite, in companywith the other guides, in the servants' hall. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 8: See the map at the commencement of the first chapter. ]

CHAPTER IX. 

THE WENGERN ALP. 

It was about twelve o'clock when Rollo and Mr. George, having finishedtheir dinner, came out into the yard of the inn for the purpose ofsetting out for the ascent of the mountain. 

"Well, Rollo, " said Mr. George, "now for a a scramble. "

Thus far the road which the young gentlemen had travelled since leavingInterlachen had been quite level and smooth, its course having beenalong the bottom of the valley, which was itself quite level, thoughshut in on both sides by precipitous mountains. Now they were to leavethe valley and ascend one of these mountain sides by means of certainzigzag paths which had been made with great labor upon them, to enablethe peasants to ascend and descend in going to and from their hamletsand pasturages. 

The paths, though very steep and very torturous, are smooth enough forhorses to go up, though the peasants themselves very seldom use horses. A horse would eat as much grass, perhaps, as two cows. They prefer, therefore, to have the cows, and do without the horse. And so everything which they wish to transport up and down the mountain they carryon their backs. 

There were various other guides in the yard of the inn besides Henry:some were preparing apparently for the ascent of the mountain with otherparties; others were bringing up carriages for people who were going toreturn to Interlachen. Henry, when he saw Mr. George and Rollo comingout, asked them if they were ready. 

"Yes, " said Mr. George. "Bring the horse. You shall ride first, Rollo. "

Mr. George was to have but one horse for himself and Rollo, and theywere to ride it by turns. He thought that both he himself and Rollowould be able to walk half way up the mountain, and, by having one horsebetween them, each could ride half the way. 

Besides, it is less fatiguing, when you have a long and steep ascent tomake, to walk some portion of the way rather than to be on horseback allthe time. 

There was another consideration which influenced Mr. George. Everyadditional horse which should be required for the excursion would costabout two dollars a day, including the guide to take care of him; and, as Mr. George expected to spend at least two days on the excursion, itwould cost four dollars more to take two horses than to take only one. 

"And I think, " said Mr. George to Rollo, after having made thiscalculation, "we had better save that money, and have it to buybeautiful colored engravings of Swiss scenery with when we get toGeneva. "

"I think so too, " said Rollo. 

So it was concluded to take but one horse with them, on theunderstanding that each of the travellers was to walk half the way. 

Rollo accordingly, when the horse was brought to the door, climbed upupon his back with the guide's assistance, and, after adjusting his feetto the stirrup, prepared to set out on the ascent. His heart wasbounding with excitement and delight. 

When all was ready the party moved on, Rollo on the horse and Mr. Georgeand Henry walking along by his side. They proceeded a short distancealong the road, and then turned into a path which led towards the sideof the valley opposite to the Staubach. They soon reached the foot ofthe slope, and then they began to ascend. The path grew more and moresteep as they proceeded, until at length it became very precipitous; andin some places the horse was obliged to scramble up, as it were, as ifhe were going up stairs. Rollo clung to his seat manfully in all theseplaces; and he would have been sometimes afraid were it not that, inevery case where there could be even any apparent danger, Henry wouldcome to his side and keep by him, ready to render assistance at amoment's notice whenever any should be needed. In this way the partymoved slowly on up the face of the mountain, making many short turns andwindings among the rocks and going back and forth in zigzags on thegreen declivities. Sometimes for a few minutes they would be lost in agrove of firs, or pines; then they would come out upon some roundedpromontory of grass land or projecting peak of rocks; and a few minutesafterwards they would move along smoothly for a time upon a level, witha steep acclivity, rough with rocks and precipices on one side, and anabrupt descent on the other down which a stone would have rolled athousand feet into the valley below. 

Of course the view of the valley became more commanding and morestriking the higher they ascended. Rollo wished at every turn to stopand look at it. He did stop sometimes, the guide saying that it wasnecessary to do so in order to let the horse get his breath a little;for the toil for such an animal of getting up so steep an ascent wasvery severe. Rollo would have stopped oftener; but he did not like to beleft behind by his uncle George, who, being active and agile, mountedvery rapidly. Mr. George would often shorten his road very much byclimbing directly up the rocks from one turn of the road to the other;while the horse, with Rollo on his back, was compelled to go round bythe zigzag. 

At last, after they had been ascending for about half an hour, Mr. George stopped, at a place where there was a smooth stone for a seat bythe side of the path, to wait for Rollo to come up; and, when Rollocame, Mr. George took him off the horse to let him rest a little. Theview of the valley from this point was very grand and imposing. Rollocould look down into it as you could look into the bed of a brook in thecountry, standing upon the top of the bank on one side. The village, theinn, the little cottages along the roadside, the river, the bridges, anda thousand other objects, all of liliputian size, were to be seen below;while on the farther side the streaming Staubach was in full view, pouring over the brink of the precipice and falling in a dense mass ofspray on the rocks at the foot of them. 

Rollo could understand now, too, where the fall of the Staubach camefrom; for above the brink of the precipice, where the water came over, there was now to be seen a vast expanse of mountain country, risingsteep, but not precipitously, far above the summit of the precipice, andof course receding as it ascended, so as not to be seen from the valleybelow. From the elevation, however, to which Rollo had now attained, thewhole of this vast region was in view. It was covered with forests, pasturages, chalets, and scattered hamlets; and in the valleys, long, silvery lines of water were to be seen glittering in the sun andtwisting and twining down in foaming cascades to the brink of theprecipice, where, plunging over, they formed the cataracts which hadbeen seen in the valley below. The Staubach was the largest of thesefalls; and the stream which produced it could now be traced for manymiles as it came dancing along in its shining path down among theravines of the mountains. 

"I see now what makes the fall of the Staubach, " said Rollo. 

"Yes, " said Mr. George. 

"I should like to be on the brink of the precipice where it falls over, "said Rollo, "and look down. "

"Yes, " said Mr. George; "so should I. I don't think that we could getnear enough actually to look down, but we could get near enough to seethe water where it begins to take the plunge. "

After resting a suitable time at this place and greatly admiring andenjoying the view, our party set out again. Rollo proposed that hisuncle should ride now a little way and let him walk; but Mr. Georgepreferred that Rollo should mount again. There was still nearly anotherhour's hard climbing to do and a long and pretty difficult walk ofseveral miles beyond it, and Mr. George was very desirous of savingRollo's strength. It might perhaps be supposed, from the blunt manner inwhich Mr. George often threw the responsibility upon Rollo when he wasplaced in difficult emergencies and left him to act for himself, that hedid not think or care much for his nephew's comfort or happiness. Butthis was by no means the case. Mr. George was very fond of Rollo indeed. If he had not been fond of him he would not have wished to have him forhis companion on his tour. He was very careful, too, never to exposeRollo to any real hardship or suffering; and his apparently bluntmanner, in throwing responsibilities upon the boy, only amused him bymaking it appear that his uncle George considered him almost a man. 

Mr. George, knowing that the first part of the way from Lauterbrunnen tothe Wengern Alp was by far the most steep and difficult, had accordinglyarranged it in his own mind that Rollo should ride until this steep parthad been surmounted. 

"You may mount again now, Rollo, " said he. "I will walk a little longerand take my turn in riding a little farther on. "

So Rollo mounted; and there was now another hour of steep climbing. Thezigzags were sometimes sharp and short and at others long and winding;but the way was always picturesque and the views became more and moregrand and imposing the higher the party ascended. At one time, whenRollo had stopped a moment to let his horse breathe, he saw at a turn ofthe path a few zigzags below him a little girl coming up, with a basketon her back. 

Rollo pointed to her and asked the guide, in French, who that girl was. 

Henry said he did not know. 

Henry, foolishly enough, supposed that Rollo meant to ask what thegirl's name was; and so he said that he did not know. But this was notwhat Rollo meant at all. He had no particular desire in asking thequestion to learn the child's name. What he wished to know was, what, according to the customs of the country, would be the probable provinceand function of such a sort of girl as that, coming alone up themountain in that way with a burden on her back. Henry, if he hadunderstood the real intent and meaning of the question, could easilyhave answered it. The girl lived in a little hamlet of shepherds' hutsfarther up the mountain, and had been down into the village to buysomething for her father and mother; and she was now coming home withher purchases in the basket on her back. All this Henry knew very well;but, when Rollo asked who the girl was, Henry thought he meant to askwho she herself was individually; and so, as he did not know herpersonally, he could not tell. 

Travellers often get disappointed in this way in asking questions of thenatives of the country in which they are travelling. The people do notunderstand the nature and bearing of the question, and they themselvesare not familiar enough with the language to explain what they do mean. 

The guide stood for a minute or two looking intently at the girl as sheslowly ascended the path, especially when she passed the angles of thezigzag, for there she turned sometimes in such a manner as to show herface more plainly. 

"No, " said he, at length; "I do not know her. I never saw her before. But I'll ask her who she is when she comes up. "

"Uncle George!" said Rollo, calling out very loudly to his uncle, whowas at some distance above. 

"Ay, ay, " said Mr. George, responding. 

Rollo attempted to look up to see where his uncle was standing; but indoing this he had to throw his head back so far as to bring a fearsuddenly over him of falling from his horse. So he desisted, andcontinued his conversation without attempting to look. 

"Here is a girl coming up the mountain with a basket on her back. Comedown and see her. "

"Come up here, " said Mr. George, "and we will wait till she comes. "

So Rollo chirruped to his horse and started along again. In a fewminutes he reached the place where his uncle George was standing, andthere they all waited till the little girl came up. 

"Good morning, " said the girl, as soon as she came near enough to beheard. She spoke the words in the German language and with a verypleasant smile upon her face. 

The peasants in Switzerland, when they meet strangers in ascending ordescending the mountains, always accost them pleasantly and wish themgood morning or good evening. In most other countries, strangers meetingeach other on the road pass in silence. Perhaps it is the loneliness andsolitude of the country and the sense of danger and awe that thestupendous mountains inspire that incline people to be more pleased whenthey meet each other in Switzerland, even if they are strangers, than inthe more cheerful and smiling regions of France and England. 

The guide said something to the girl, but Rollo could not understandwhat it was, for he spoke, and the answer was returned, in German. 

"She says her name is Ninette, " said Henry. 

Rollo's attention was immediately attracted to the form of the basketwhich Ninette wore and to the manner in which it was fastened to herback. The basket was comparatively small at the bottom, being about aswide as the waist of the girl; but it grew larger towards the top, whereit opened as wide as the girl's shoulders--being shaped in this respectin conformity with the shape of the back on which it was to be borne. 

[Illustration: THE MOUNTAIN GIRL. ]

The side of the basket, too, which lay against the back was flat, so asto fit to it exactly. The outer side was rounded. It was open at thetop. 

The basket was secured to its place upon the child's back and shouldersby means of two flat strips of wood, which were fastened at the upperends of them to the back of the basket near the top, and which cameround over the shoulders in front, and then, passing under the arms, were fastened at the lower ends to the basket near the bottom. Thebasket was thus supported in its place and carried by means of thepressure of these straps upon the shoulders. 

"Uncle George, " said Rollo, "I should like to have such a basket as thatand such a pair of straps to carry it by. "

"What would you do with it, " asked Mr. George, "if you had it?"

"Why, it would be very convenient, " said Rollo, "in America, when I wenta-raspberrying. You see, if I had such a basket as that, I could bringmy berries home on my back, and so have my hands free. "

"Yes, " said Mr. George, "that would be convenient. "

"Besides, " said Rollo, "it would be a curiosity. "

"That's true, " replied Mr. George; "but it would be very difficult tocarry so bulky a thing home. "

After some further conversation it was concluded not to buy the basket, but to ask the girl if she would be willing to sell the straps, or bows, that it was fastened with. These straps were really quite curious. Theywere made of some very hard and smooth-grained wood, and were nicelycarved and bent so as to fit to the girl's shoulders quite precisely. 

Accordingly Mr. George, speaking in French, requested Henry to ask thegirl whether she would be willing to sell the straps. Henry immediatelyaddressed the girl in the German language, and after talking with her afew minutes he turned again to Mr. George and Rollo and said that thegirl would rather not sell them herself, as they belonged to her father, who lived about half a mile farther up the mountain. But she was sureher father would sell them if they would stop at his cottage as theywent by. He would either sell them that pair, she said, or a new pair;for he made such things himself, and he had two or three new pairs inhis cottage. 

"Very well, " said Mr. George; "let us go on. 

"Which would you rather have, " said Mr. George to Rollo, as they resumedtheir march, "this pair, or some new ones?"

"I would rather have this pair, " said Rollo. 

"They are somewhat soiled and worn, " said Mr. George. 

"Yes, " said Rollo; "but they are good and strong; and as soon as I gethome I shall rub them all off clean with sand paper and then have themvarnished, so as to make them look very bright and nice; and then Ishall keep them for a curiosity. I would rather have this pair, for thenI can tell people that I bought them actually off the shoulders of alittle girl who was carrying a burden with them up the Alps. "

In due time the party reached the little hamlet where Ninette lived. Thehamlet consisted of a scattered group of cabins and cow houses on ashelving green more than a thousand feet above the valley. The girl ledthe party to the door of her father's hut; and there, through the mediumof Henry as interpreter, they purchased the two bows for a very smallsum of money. They also bought a drink of excellent milk for the wholeparty of Ninette's mother and then resumed their journey. 

As they went on they obtained from time to time very grand and extendedviews of the surrounding mountains. Whether they turned their eyes aboveor below them, the prospect was equally wonderful. In the latter casethey looked down on distant villages; some clinging to the hillsides, others nestling in the valleys, and others still perched, like the onewhere Ninette lived, on shelving slopes of green pasture land, whichterminated at a short distance from the dwellings on the brink of themost frightful precipices. Above were towering forests and verdantslopes of land, dotted with chalets or broken here and there by the grayrocks which appeared among them. Higher still were lofty crags, withlittle sunny nooks among them--the dizzy pasturages of the chamois; andabove these immense fields of ice and snow, which pierced the sky withthe glittering peaks and summits in which they terminated. Mr. Georgeand Rollo paused frequently, as they continued their journey, to gazearound them upon these stupendous scenes. 

At length, when the steepest part of the ascent had been accomplished, Mr. George said that he was tired of climbing, and proposed that Rolloshould dismount and take his turn in walking. 

"If you were a lady, " said Mr. George, "I would let you ride all theway. But you are strong and capable, and as well able to walk as Iam--better, I suppose, in fact; so you may as well take your turn. "

"Yes, " said Rollo; "I should like it. I am tired of riding. I wouldrather walk than not. "

So Henry assisted Rollo to dismount, and then adjusted the stirrups toMr. George's use, and Mr. George mounted into the saddle. 

"How glad I am to come to the end of my walking, " said Mr. George, "andto get upon a horse!"

"How glad I am to come to the end of my riding, " said Rollo, "and to getupon my feet!"

Thus both of the travellers seemed pleased with the change. The road nowbecame far more easy to be travelled than before. The steepest part ofthe ascent had been surmounted, and for the remainder of the distancethe path followed a meandering way over undulating land, which, thoughnot steep, was continually ascending. Here and there herds of cattlewere seen grazing; and there were scattered huts, and sometimes littlehamlets, where the peasants lived in the summer, to tend their cows andmake butter and cheese from their milk. In the fall of the year theydrive the cattle down again to the lower valleys; for these highpasturages, though green and sunny in the summer and affording anabundance of sweet and nutritious grass for the sheep and cows that feedupon them, are buried deep in snows, and are abandoned to the mercy ofthe most furious tempests and storms during all the winter portion ofthe year. Our travellers passed many scattered forests, some of whichwere seen clinging to the mountain sides, at a vast elevation abovethem. In others men were at work felling trees or cutting up the wood. Rollo stopped at one of these places and procured a small billet of theAlpine wood, as large as he could conveniently carry in his pocket, intending to have something made from it when he should get home toAmerica. The woodman, at Henry's request, cut out this billet of woodfor Rollo, making it of the size which Rollo indicated to him by agesture with his finger. 

At one time the party met a company of peasant girls coming down fromthe mountain. They came into the path by which our travellers wereascending from a side path which seemed to lead up a secluded glen. These girls came dancing gayly along with bouquets of flowers in theirhands and garlands in their hair. They looked bright and blooming, andseemed very contented and happy. 

They bowed very politely to Mr. George and to Rollo as they passed. 

"_Guten abend_, " said they. 

These are the German words for "Good evening. "[9]

"_Guten abend_, " said both Mr. George and Rollo in reply. 

The girls thus passed by and went on their way down the mountain. 

"Where have they been?" asked Mr. George. 

"They have been at work gathering up the small stones from thepasturages, I suppose, " said Henry. "Companies of girls go out for thata great deal. "

After getting upon the horse, Mr. George took care to keep _behind_Rollo and the guide. He knew very well that if he were to go on inadvance Rollo would exert himself more than he otherwise would do, underthe influence of a sort of feeling that he ought to try to keep up. While Rollo was on the horse himself, having the guide with him too, Mr. George knew that there was no danger from this source, as any one who ison horseback or in a carriage never has the feeling of being left behindwhen a companion who is on foot by chance gets before him. Consequently, while they were coming up the steep part of the mountain, Mr. Georgewent on as fast as he pleased, leaving Rollo and Henry to come on attheir leisure. But now his kind consideration for Rollo induced him tokeep carefully behind. 

"Now, Rollo, " said he, "you and Henry may go on just as fast or just asslow as you please, without paying any regard to me. I shall followalong at my leisure. "

Thus Rollo, seeing that Mr. George was behind, went on very leisurely, and enjoyed his walk and his talk with Henry very much. 

"Did you ever study English, Henry?" said Rollo. 

"No, " said Henry; "but I wish I could speak English, very much. "

"Why?" asked Rollo. 

"Because there are so many English people coming here that I have toguide up the mountains. "

"Well, " said Rollo, "you can begin now. I will teach you. "

So he began to teach the guide to say "How do you do?" in English. 

This conversation between Rollo and Henry was in French. Rollo hadstudied French a great deal by the help of books when he was at home, and he had taken so much pains to improve by practice since he had beenin France and Switzerland that he could now get along in a short andsimple conversation very well. 

While our party had been coming up the mountain, the weather, thoughperfectly clear and serene in the morning, had become somewhat overcast. Misty clouds were to be seen here and there floating along the sides orresting on the summits of the mountains. At length, while Rollo was inthe midst of the English lesson which he was giving to the guide, hisattention was arrested, just as they were emerging from the border of alittle thicket of stunted evergreens, by what seemed to be a prolongedclap of thunder. It came apparently out of a mass of clouds and vaporwhich Rollo saw moving majestically in the southern sky. 

"Thunder!" exclaimed Rollo, looking alarmed. "There's thunder!"

"No, " said Henry; "an avalanche. "

The sound rolled and reverberated in the sky for a considerable timelike a prolonged peal of thunder. Rollo thought that Henry must bemistaken in supposing it an avalanche. 

At this moment Rollo, looking round, saw Mr. George coming up, on hishorse, at a turn of the path a little way behind them. 

"Henry, " said Mr. George, "there is a thunder shower coming up; we musthasten on. "

"No, " said Henry; "that was an avalanche. "

"An avalanche?" exclaimed Mr. George. "Why, the sound came out of themiddle of the sky. "

"It was an avalanche, " said the guide, "from the Jungfrau. See!" headded, pointing up into the sky. 

Mr. George and Rollo both looked in the direction where Henry pointed, and there they saw a vast rocky precipice peering out through a break inthe clouds high up in the sky. An immense snow bank was reposing uponits summit. The glittering whiteness of this snow contrasted stronglywith the sombre gray of the clouds through which, as through an openingin a curtain, it was seen. 

Presently another break in the clouds, and then another, occurred; ateach of which towering rocks or great perpendicular walls of glitteringice and snow came into view. 

"The Jungfrau, " said the guide. 

Mr. George and Rollo gazed at this spectacle for some minutes insilence, when at length Rollo said, --

"Why, uncle George! the sky is all full of rocks and ice!"

"It is indeed!" said Mr. George. 

It was rather fortunate than otherwise that the landscape was obscuredwith clouds when Mr. George and Rollo first came into the vicinity ofthe Jungfrau, as the astonishing spectacle of rocks and precipices andimmense accumulations of snow and ice, breaking out as it were throughthe clouds all over the sky, was in some respects more impressive thanthe full and unobstructed view of the whole mountain would have been. 

"I wish the clouds would clear away, " said Rollo. 

"Yes, " said Mr. George. "I should like to see the whole side of themountain very much. "

Here another long and heavy peal, like thunder, began to be heard. Mr. George stopped his horse to listen. Rollo and Henry stopped too. Thesound seemed to commence high up among the clouds. The echoes andreverberations were reflected from the rocks and precipices all aroundit; but the peal seemed slowly and gradually to descend towards thehorizon; and finally, after the lapse of two or three minutes, itentirely ceased. 

The travellers paused a moment after the sound ceased and continued tolisten. When they found that all was still they began to move on again. 

"I wish I could have seen that avalanche, " said Rollo. 

"Yes, " said Mr. George. "I hope the clouds will clear away by the timewe get to the inn. "

It was just about sunset when the party reached the inn. Rollo wasbeginning to get a little tired, though the excitement of the excursionand the effect produced on his mind by the strange aspect of every thingaround him inspired him with so much animation and strength that he heldon in his walk very well indeed. It is true that a great portion of themountain scenery around him was concealed from view by the clouds; butthere was something in the appearance of the rocks, in the character ofthe vegetation, and especially in the aspect and expression of thepatches of snow which were to be seen here and there in nooks andcorners near the path, --the remains of the vast accumulations of thepreceding winter which the sun had not yet dispelled, --that impressedRollo continually with a sentiment of wonder and awe, and led him tofeel that he had attained to a vast elevation, and that he was walking, as he really was, among the clouds. 

The inn, when the party first came in sight of it, appeared more like alog cabin in America than like a well-known and much-frequented Europeanhotel. It stood on a very small plot of ground, which formed a sort ofprojection on a steep mountain side, facing the Jungfrau. In front ofthe hotel the land descended very rapidly for a considerable distance. The descent terminated at last on the brink of an enormous ravine whichseparated the base of the Wengern Alp from that of the Jungfrau. Behindthe house the land rose in a broad, green slope, dotted with Alpineflowers and terminating in a smooth, rounded summit far above. The houseitself seemed small, and was rudely constructed. There was a sort ofpiazza in front of it, with a bench and a table before it. 

"That is where the people sit, I suppose, " said Mr. George, "in pleasantweather to see the Jungfrau. "

"Yes, " said Rollo. 

"For the Jungfrau must be over there, " said Mr. George, pointing amongthe clouds in the southern sky. 

All doubt about the position of the mountain was removed at the instantthat Mr. George had spoken these words, by another avalanche, which justat that moment commenced its fall. They all stopped to listen. The soundwas greatly prolonged, sometimes roaring continuously for a time, like acataract, and then rumbling and crashing like a peal of thunder. 

"What a pity that the clouds are in the way, " said Rollo, "so that wecan't see! Do you think it will clear up before we go away?"

"Yes, " said Mr. George. "I am very sure it will; for I am determined notto go away till it does clear up. "

There were one or two buildings attached to the inn which servedapparently as barns and sheds. The door of entrance was round in acorner formed by the connection of one of these buildings with thehouse. Henry led the horse up to this door, and Mr. George dismounted. The guide led the horse away, and Rollo and Mr. George went into thehouse. A young and very blooming Swiss girl received them in the halland opened a door for them which led to the public sitting room. 

The sitting room was a large apartment, which extended along the wholefront of the house. The windows, of course, looked out towards theJungfrau. There was a long table in the middle of the room, and one ortwo smaller ones in the back corners. At these tables two or threeparties were seated, eating their dinners. In one of the front cornerswas a fireplace, with a small fire, made of pine wood, burning on thehearth. A young lady was sitting near this fire, reading. Another was ata small table near it, writing in her journal. Around the walls of theroom were a great many engravings and colored lithographs of Swissscenery; among them were several views of the Jungfrau. On the whole, the room, though perfectly plain and even rude in all its furniture andappointments, had a very comfortable and attractive appearance. 

"What a snug and pleasant-looking place!" said Rollo, whispering to Mr. George as they went in. 

"Yes, " said Mr. George. "It is just exactly such a place as I wished tofind. "

Mr. George and Rollo were both of them tired and hungry. They firstcalled for rooms. The maid took them up stairs and gave them two smallrooms next each other. The rooms were, in fact, _very_ small. Thefurniture in them, too was of the plainest description; but every thingwas neat and comfortable, and the aspect of the interior of them was, onthe whole, quite attractive. 

In about fifteen minutes Rollo knocked at Mr. George's door and asked ifhe was ready to go down. 

"Not quite, " said Mr. George; "but I wish that you would go down andorder dinner. "

So Rollo went down again into the public room and asked the maid if shecould get them some dinner. 

"Yes, " said the maid. "What would you like to have?"

Rollo was considerate enough to know that there could be very little toeat in the house except what had been brought up in a very toilsome anddifficult manner, from the valleys below, by the zigzag paths which heand his uncle had been climbing. So he said in reply, --

"Whatever you please. It is not important to us. "

The maid then told him what they had in the house; and Rollo, selectingfrom these things, ordered what he thought would make an excellentdinner. The dinner, in fact, when it came to the table, proved to be avery excellent one indeed. It consisted of broiled chicken, some mostexcellent fried potatoes, eggs, fresh and very nice bread, and somehoney. For drink, they had at first water; and at the end of the mealsome French coffee, which, being diluted with boiled milk that was veryrich and sweet, was truly delicious. 

"I have not had so good a dinner, " said Mr. George, "since I have beenin Europe. "

"No, " said Rollo; "nor I. "

"It is owing in part, I suppose, to the appetite we have got in climbingup the mountain, " said Mr. George. 

Just as the young gentlemen had finished their dinner and were about torise from the table, their attention was attracted by an exclamation ofdelight which came from one of the young ladies who were sitting at thefireplace when Mr. George and Rollo came in. 

"O Emma, " said she, "come here!"

Mr. George and Rollo looked up, and they saw that the young lady whosevoice they had heard was standing at the window. Emma rose from her seatand went to the window in answer to the call. Mr. George and Rollolooked out, too, at another window. They saw a spectacle which filledthem with astonishment. 

"It is clearing away, " said Rollo. "Let us go out in front of the houseand look. "

"Yes, " said Mr. George; "we will. "

So they both left their seats, and, putting on their caps, they wentout. As soon as they reached the platform where the bench and the tablewere standing they gazed on the scene which was presented to their viewwith wonder and delight. 

It was, indeed, clearing away. The clouds were "lifting" from themountains; and the sun, which had been for some hours obscured, wasbreaking forth in the west and illuminating the whole landscape with hissetting beams. Opposite to where Mr. George and Rollo stood, across thevalley, they could see the whole mighty mass of the Jungfrau coming intoview beneath the edge of the cloudy curtain which was slowly rising. 

The lower portion of the mountain was an immense precipice, the foot ofwhich was hidden from view in the great chasm, or ravine, whichseparated the Jungfrau from the Wengern Alp. Above this were rocks andgreat sloping fields of snow formed from avalanches which had fallendown from above. Still higher, there were brought to view vast fields ofice and snow, with masses of rock breaking out here and there amongthem, some in the form of precipices and crags, and others shooting upin jagged pinnacles and peaks, rising to dizzy heights, to the summitsof which nothing but the condor or the eagle could ever attain. Stillhigher were precipices of blue and pellucid ice, and boundless fields ofglittering snow, and immense drifts, piled one above the other in vastvolumes, and overhanging the cliffs as if just ready to fall. 

In a short time the clouds rose so as to clear the summit of themountain; and then the whole mighty mass was seen revealed fully toview, glittering in the sunbeams and filling half the sky. 

The other guests of the inn came out upon the platform while Rollo andMr. George were there, having wrapped themselves previously in theircoats and shawls, as the evening air was cool. Some other parties oftravellers came, too, winding their way slowly up the same pathway whereMr. George and Rollo had come. Mr. George and Rollo paid very littleattention to these new comers, their minds being wholly occupied by themountain. 

In a very short time after the face of the Jungfrau came fully intoview, the attention of all the company that were looking at the scenewas arrested by the commencement of another peal of the same thunderingsound that Mr. George and Rollo had heard with so much wonder in comingup the mountain. A great many exclamations immediately broke out fromthe party. 

"There! hark! look!" said they. "An avalanche! An avalanche!"

The sound was loud and almost precisely like thunder. Every one lookedin the direction from which it proceeded. There they soon saw, half wayup the mountain, a stream of snow, like a cataract, creeping slowly overthe brink of a precipice, and falling in a continued torrent upon therocks below. From this place they could see it slowly creeping down thelong slope towards another precipice, and where, when it reached thebrink, it fell over in another cataract, producing another long peal ofthunder, which, being repeated by the echoes of the mountains and rocksaround, filled the whole heavens with its rolling reverberations. Inthis manner the mass of ice and snow went down slope after slope andover precipice after precipice, till at length it made its final plungeinto the great chasm at the foot of the mountain and disappeared fromview. 

In the course of an hour several other avalanches were heard and seen;and when at length it grew too dark to see them any longer, thethundering roar of them was heard from time to time all the night long. 

Rollo, however, was so tired that, though he went to bed quite early, hedid not hear the avalanches or any thing else until Mr. George calledhim the next morning. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 9: They are pronounced as if spelled Gooten arbend. ]

CHAPTER X. 

GOING DOWN THE MOUNTAIN. 

Mr. George and Rollo met with various adventures and incidents in goingdown the next day to Grindelwald which are quite characteristic ofmountain travelling in Switzerland. 

They did not set out very early in the morning, as Mr. George wished tostay as long as possible to gaze on the face of the Jungfrau and watchthe avalanches. 

"Rollo, " said he, as they were standing together in front of the hotelafter breakfast, "how would you like to go up with me to the top of thathill?"

So saying, Mr. George pointed to the great rounded summit which was seenrising behind the hotel. 

"Yes, " said Rollo; "I should like to go very much indeed. "

"Very well, " said Mr. George; "we will go. But first let me get mypressing book to put some flowers in, in case we find any. "

Mr. George's pressing book was a contrivance which he had invented forthe more convenient desiccation of such flowers as he might gather inhis travels and wish to carry home with him and preserve, either forbotanical specimens or as souvenirs for his friends. It was made bytaking out all the leaves of a small book and replacing them with anequal number of loose leaves, made for the purpose, of blotting paper, and trimmed to the right size. Such small flowers as he might gather inthe various places that he visited could be much more convenientlypressed and preserved between these loose leaves of blotting paper thanbetween the leaves of an ordinary book. [10]

So Mr. George, taking his pressing book in his hand, led the way; andRollo following him, they attempted to ascend the hill behind the inn. They found the ascent, however, extremely steep and difficult. Therewere no rocks and no roughnesses of any kind in the way. It was merely agrassy slope like the steep face of a terrace; but it was so steep that, after Mr. George and Rollo had scrambled up two or three hundred feet, it made Rollo almost dizzy to look down; and he began to cling to thegrass and to feel afraid. 

"Rollo, " said Mr. George, "I am almost afraid to climb up here anyhigher. Do you feel afraid?"

"No, sir, " said Rollo, endeavoring at the same time to reassure himself. "No, sir; I am not much afraid. "

"Let us stop a few minutes to rest and look at the mountain, " said Mr. George. 

Mr. George knew very well that there was no real danger; for the slope, though very steep, was very grassy from the top to the bottom; and evenif Rollo had fallen and rolled down it could not have done him muchharm. 

After a short pause, to allow Rollo to get a little familiar with thescene, Mr. George began to move on. Rollo followed. Both Rollo and Mr. George would occasionally look up to see how far they were from the top. It was very difficult, however, to look up, as in doing so it wasnecessary to lean the head so far back that they came very near losingtheir balance. 

After going on for about half an hour, Mr. George said that he did notsee that they were any nearer the top of the hill than they were at thebeginning. 

"Nor I either, " said Rollo; "and I think we had better go back again. "

"Well, " said Mr. George, "we will; but let us first stop here a fewminutes to look at the Jungfrau. "

The view of the Jungfrau was of course more commanding here than it wasdown at the inn. So Mr. George and Rollo remained some time at theirresting-place gazing at the mountain and watching for avalanches. Atlength they returned to the inn; and an hour or two afterwards they setout on their journey to Grindelwald. 

The reader will recollect that Grindelwald was the valley on the otherside of the Wengern Alp from Lauterbrunnen, and that our travellers, having come up one way, were going down the other. [11]

The distance from the inn at the Wengern Alp to Grindelwald is seven oreight miles. For a time the path ascends, for the inn is not at thesummit of the pass. Until it attains the summit it leads through aregion of hills and ravines, with swamps, morasses, precipices of rocks, and great patches of snow scattered here and there along the way. At oneplace Rollo met with an adventure which for a moment put him inconsiderable danger. It was at a place where the path led along on theside of the mountain, with a smooth grassy slope above and a steepdescent ending in another smooth grassy slope below. At a littledistance forward there was a great patch of snow, the edge of which cameover the path and covered it. 

A heavy mist had come up just before Rollo reached this place, and hehad accordingly spread his umbrella over his head. He was riding along, holding the bridle in one hand and his umbrella in the other, so thatboth his hands were confined. Mr. George was walking at some distancebefore. The guide, too, was a little in advance, for the path was toonarrow for him to walk by the side of the horse; and, as the way herewas smooth and pretty level, he did not consider it necessary that heshould be in very close attendance on Rollo. 

Things being in this condition, the horse--when he came in sight of thesnow, which lay covering the path at a little distance beforehim--concluded that it would be safer both for him and for his riderthat he should not attempt to go through it, having learned byexperience that his feet would sink sometimes to great depths in suchcases. So he determined to turn round and go back. He accordinglystopped; and turning his head towards the grassy bank above the path andhis heels towards the brink on the other side, as horses always do whenthey undertake such a manoeuvre in a narrow path, he attempted to "goabout. " Rollo was of course utterly unable to do any thing to controlhim except to pull one of the reins to bring him back into the path, andstrike his heels into the horse's side as if he were spurring him. This, however, only made the matter worse. The horse backed off the brink; andboth he and Rollo, falling head over heels, rolled down the steep slopetogether. 

[Illustration: THE FALL. ]

And not together exactly, either; for Rollo who was usually prettyalert and ready in emergencies of difficulty or danger, when he foundhimself rolling down the slope, though he could not stop, stillcontrived to wriggle and twist himself off to one side, so as to getclear of the horse and roll off himself in a different direction. Theyboth, however, the animal and the boy, soon came to a stop. Rollo was upin an instant. The horse, too, contrived, after some scrambling, to gainhis feet. All this time the guide remained in the path on the brink ofthe descent transfixed with astonishment and consternation. 

"Henry, " said Rollo, looking up to the guide, "what is the French for_head over heels_?"

A very decided but somewhat equivocal smile spread itself over Henry'sfeatures on hearing this question, which, however, he did notunderstand; and he immediately began to run down the bank to get thehorse. 

"Because, " said Rollo, still speaking in French, "that is what inEnglish we call going _head over heels_. "

Henry led the horse round by a circuitous way back to the path. Rollofollowed; and as soon as they reached it Rollo mounted again. Henry thentook hold of the bridle of the horse and led him along till they gotthrough the snow; after which they went on without any furtherdifficulty. 

The path led for a time along a very wild and desolate region, whichseemed to be bordered on the right, at a distance of two or three miles, by a range of stupendous precipices, surmounted by peaks covered withice and snow, which presented to the view a spectacle of the mostastonishing grandeur. At one point in the path Rollo saw at a distancebefore him a number of buildings scattered over a green slope of land. 

"Ah, " said he to the guide, "we are coming to a village. "

"No, " said the guide. "It is a pasturage. We are too high yet for avillage. "

On asking for a further explanation, Rollo learned that the mountaineerswere accustomed to drive their herds up the mountains in the summer toplaces too cold to be inhabited all the year round, and to live therewith them in these little huts during the two or three months while thegrass was green. The men would bring up their milking pails, their pans, their churns, their cheese presses, and their kettles for cooking, andthus live in a sort of encampment while the grass lasted, and makebutter and cheese to carry down the mountain with them when theyreturned. 

At one time Rollo saw at the door of one of the huts a man with whatseemed to be a long pole in his hand. It was bent at the lower end. Theman came out of a hut, and, putting the bent end of the pole to theground, he brought the other up near to his mouth, and seemed to bewaiting for the travellers to come down to him. 

"What is he going to do?" asked Rollo. 

"He has got what we call an Alpine horn, " said the guide; "and he isgoing to blow it for you, to let you hear the echoes. "

So, when Mr. George and Rollo reached the place, the man blew into theend of his pole, which proved to be hollow, and it produced a very loudsound, like that of a trumpet. The sounds were echoed against the faceof a mountain which was opposite to the place in a very remarkablemanner. Mr. George paid the man a small sum of money, and then they wenton. 

Not long afterwards they came to another hut, which was situatedopposite to a part of the mountain range where there was a greataccumulation of ice and snow, that seemed to hang suspended, as it were, as if just ready to fall. A man stood at the door of this hut with asmall iron cannon, which was mounted somewhat rudely on a block of wood, in his hand. 

"What is he going to do with that cannon?" asked Rollo. 

"He is going to fire it, " said Henry, "to start down the avalanches fromthe mountain. "

Henry here pointed to the face of the mountain opposite to where theywere standing, and showed Rollo the immense masses of ice and snow thatseemed to hang suspended there, ready to fall. 

It is customary to amuse travellers in Switzerland with the story thatthe concussion produced by the discharge of a gun or a cannon willsometimes detach these masses, and thus hasten the fall of an avalanche;and though the experiment is always tried when travellers pass theseplaces, I never yet heard of a case in which the effect was reallyproduced. At any rate, in this instance, --though the man loaded hiscannon heavily, and rammed the charge down well, and though the reportwas very loud and the echoes were extremely sharp and muchprolonged, --there were no avalanches started by the concussion. Rolloand Mr. George watched the vast snow banks that overhung the cliffs withgreat interest for several minutes; but they all remained immovable. 

So Mr. George paid the man a small sum of money, and then they went on. 

After going on for an hour or two longer on this vast elevation, thepath began gradually to descend into the valley of Grindelwald. Thevillage of Grindelwald at length came into view, with the hundreds ofcottages and hamlets that were scattered over the more fertile andcultivated region that surrounded it. The travellers could look down, also, upon the great glaciers of Grindelwald--two mighty streams of ice, half a mile wide and hundreds of feet deep, which come flowing veryslowly down from the higher mountains, and terminate in icy precipicesamong the fields and orchards of the valley. [12] They determined to goand explore one of these glaciers the next day. 

As they drew near to the village, the people of the scattered cottagescame out continually, as they saw them coming, with various plans to getmoney from them. At one place two pretty little peasant girls, in theGrindelwald costume, came out with milk for them. One of the girls heldthe pitcher and the other a mug; and they gave Mr. George and Rollo gooddrinks. [13] At another house a boy came out with filberts to sell; andat another the merchandise consisted of crystals and other shiningminerals which had been collected in the mountains near. 

At one time Rollo saw before him three children standing in a row by theside of the road. They seemed to have something in their hands. When hereached the place, he found that they had for sale some very cunninglittle Swiss cottages carved in wood. These carvings were extremelysmall and very pretty. Each one was put in a small box for safetransportation. In some cases the children had nothing to sell, and theysimply held out their hands to beg as the travellers went by; and therewere several lame persons, and idiots, and blind persons, and otherobjects of misery that occasionally appeared imploring charity. As, however, these unfortunates were generally satisfied with an exceedinglysmall donation, it did not cost much to make them all look very happy. There is a Swiss coin, of the value of a fifth part of a cent, which wasgenerally enough to give; so that, for a New York shilling, Rollo foundhe could make more than sixty donations--which was certainly very cheapcharity. 

"In fact, " said Rollo, "it is so cheap that I would rather give them themoney than not. "

At length the party arrived safely at Grindelwald and put up at anexcellent inn, with windows looking out upon the glaciers. The next daythey went to see the glaciers; and on the day following they returned toInterlachen. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 10: Flowers dry faster and better between sheets of blottingpaper than between those of common printing paper, such as is used forbooks; for the surface of this latter is covered with a sort of sizingused in the manufacture of it, and which prevents the moisture of theplant from entering into the paper. ]

[Footnote 11: See map. ]

[Footnote 12: It may seem strange that streams of ice, hundreds of feetthick and solid to the bottom, can _flow_; but such is the fact, as willappear more fully in the next chapter. ]

[Footnote 13: See frontispiece. ]

CHAPTER XI. 

GLACIERS. 

A glacier, when really understood, is one of the most astonishing andimpressive spectacles which the whole face of Nature exhibits. Mr. George and Rollo explored quite a number of them in the course of theirtravels in Switzerland; and Rollo would have liked to have explored agreat many more. 

[Illustration: THE CREVASSE. ]

A glacier is a river of ice, --really and truly a river ofice, --sometimes two or three miles wide, and fifteen or twenty mileslong, with many branches coming into it. Its bed is a steep valley, commencing far up among the mountains in a region of everlasting ice andsnow, and ending in some warm and pleasant valley far below, where thewarm sun beats upon the terminus of it and melts the ice away as fast asit comes down. It flows very slowly, not usually more than an inch in anhour. The warm summer sun beams upon the upper surface of it, melting itslowly away, and forming vast fissures and clefts in it, down which youcan look to the bottom, if you only have courage to go near enough tothe slippery edge. If you do not dare to do this, you can get a largestone and throw it in; and then, if you stand still and listen, you hearit thumping and thundering against the sides of the crevasse until itgets too deep to be any longer heard. You cannot hear it strike thebottom; for it is sometimes seven or eight hundred feet through thethickness of the glacier to the ground below. 

The surface of the glacier above is not smooth and glassy like the iceof a freshly-frozen river or pond; but is white, like a field of snow. This appearance is produced in part by the snow which falls upon theglacier, and in part by the melting of the surface of the ice by thesun. From this latter cause, too, the surface of the glacier is covered, in a summer's day, with streams of water, which flow, like littlebrooks, in long and winding channels which they themselves have worn, until at length they reach some fissure, or crevasse, into which theyfall and disappear. The waters of these brooks--many thousands inall--form a large stream, which flows along on the surface of the groundunder the glacier, and comes out at last, in a wild, and roaring, andturbid torrent, from an immense archway in the ice at the lower end, where the glacier terminates among the green fields and blooming flowersof the lower valley. 

The glaciers are formed from the avalanches which fall into the uppervalleys in cases where the valleys are so deep and narrow and sosecluded from the sun that the snows which slide into them cannot melt. In such case, the immense accumulations which gather there harden andsolidify, and become ice; and, what is very astonishing, the whole mass, solid as it is, moves slowly onward down the valley, following all theturns and indentations of its bed, until finally it comes down into thewarm regions of the lower valleys, where the end of it is melted away bythe sun as fast as the mass behind crowds it forward. It is certainlyvery astonishing that a substance so solid as ice can flow in this way, along a rocky and tortuous bed, as if it were semi-fluid; and it was along time before men would believe that such a thing could be possible. It was, however, at length proved beyond all question that this motionexists; and the rate of it in different glaciers at different periods ofthe day or of the year has been accurately measured. 

If you go to the end of the glacier, where it comes out into the lowervalley, and look up to the icy cliffs which form the termination of it, and watch there for a few minutes, you soon see masses of ice breakingoff from the brink and falling down with a thundering sound to the rocksbelow. This is because the ice at the extremity is all the time pressedforward by the mass behind it; and, as it comes to the brink, it breaksover and falls down. This is one evidence that the glaciers move. 

But there is another proof that the ice of the glaciers is continuallymoving onward which is still more direct and decisive. Certainphilosophers, who wished to ascertain positively what the truth was, went to a glacier, and, selecting a large rock which lay upon thesurface of it near the middle of the ice, they made a red mark withpaint upon the rock, and two other marks on the rocks which formed theshore of the glacier. They made these three marks exactly in a line witheach other, expecting that, if the glacier moved, the rock in the centreof it would be carried forward, and the three marks would be no longerin a line. 

This proved to be the case. In a very short time the central rock wasfound to have moved forward very perceptibly. This was several yearsago. This rock is still on the glacier; and the red mark on it, as wellas those on the shores, still remains. All the travellers who visit theglacier look at these marks and observe how the great rock on the icemoves forward. It is now at a long distance below the place where it waswhen its position was first recorded. 

Then, besides, you can actually hear the glaciers moving when you standupon them. It is sometimes very difficult to get upon them; for at thesides where the ice rubs against the rocks, immense chasms and fissuresare formed, and vast blocks both of rock and ice are tumbled confusedlytogether in such a manner as to make the way almost impracticable. When, however, you fairly get upon the ice, if you stand still a moment andlisten, you hear a peculiar groaning sound in the _moraines_. Tounderstand this, however, I must first explain what a moraine is. Oneach side of the glacier, quite near the shore, there is usually found aridge of rocks and stones extending up and down the glacier for thewhole length of it, as if an immense wall formed of blocks of granite ofprodigious magnitude had been built by giants to fence the glacier in, and had afterwards been shaken down by an earthquake, so as to leaveonly a confused and shapeless ridge of rocks and stones. These longlines of wall-like ruins may be traced along the borders of the glacieras far as the eye can reach. They lie just on the edge of the ice, andfollow all the bends and sinuosities of the shore. It is a mystery howthey are formed. All that is known, or rather all that can be hereexplained, is, that they are composed of the rocks which cleave off fromthe sides of the precipices and mountains that border the glacier, andthat, when they have fallen down, the gradual movement of the ice drawsthem out into the long, ridge-like lines in which they now appear. Someof these moraines are of colossal magnitude, being in several places ahundred feet broad and fifty or sixty feet high; and, as you cannot getupon the glacier without crossing them, they are often greatly in thetraveller's way. In fact, they sometimes form a barrier which is all butimpassable. 

The glacier which most impressed Mr. George and Rollo with its magnitudeand grandeur was one that is called the Sea of Ice. It is called by thisname on account of its extent. Its lower extremity comes out into thevalley of Chamouni, the beautiful and world-renowned valley, which liesnear the foot of Mont Blanc. In order to reach this glacier, the younggentlemen took horses and guides at the inn at Chamouni, and ascendedfor about two hours by a steep, zigzag path, which led from the valleyup the sides of the mountain at the place which formed the angle betweenthe great valley of Chamouni and the side valley through which the greatglacier came down. After ascending thus for six or eight miles, theycame out upon a lofty promontory, from which, on one side, they couldlook down upon the wild and desolate bed of the glacier, and, upon theother, upon the green, and fertile, and inexpressibly beautiful vale ofChamouni, with the pretty little village in the centre of it. Thisplace is called Montauvert. There is a small inn here, built expresslyto accommodate travellers who wish to come up and go out upon theglacier. 

Although the traveller, when he reaches Montauvert, can look directlydown upon the glacier, he cannot descend to it there; for, opposite tothe inn, the valley of ice is bordered by cliffs and precipices athousand feet high. It is necessary to follow along the bank two orthree miles among stupendous rocks and under towering precipices, untilat length a place is reached where, by dint of much scrambling and agreat deal of help from the guide, it is possible to descend. 

[Illustration: THE NARROW PATH. ]

Rollo was several times quite afraid in making this perilous excursion. In some places there seemed to be no path at all; and it was necessaryfor him to make his way by clinging to the roughnesses of the rocks onthe steep, sloping side of the mountain, with an immense abyss yawningbelow. There was one such place where it would have been impossible forany one not accustomed to mountain climbing to have got along withoutthe assistance of guides. When they reached this place, one guide wentover first, and then reached out his hand to assist Rollo. The otherscrambled down upon the rocks below, and planted his pike staff in acrevice of the rock in order to make a support for a foot. By thismeans, first Mr. George, and then Rollo, succeeded in getting safelyover. 

Both the travellers felt greatly relieved when they found themselves onthe other side of this dangerous pass. 

In coming back, however, Rollo had the misfortune to lose his pike staffhere. The staff slipped out of his hand as he was clinging to therocks; and, after sliding down five or six hundred feet to the brink ofthe precipice, it shot over and fell a thousand feet to the glacierbelow, where it entered some awful chasm, or abyss, and disappearedforever. 

Mr. George and Rollo had a pretty hard time in scrambling over themoraine when they came to the place where they were to get upon theglacier. When they were fairly upon the glacier, however, they couldwalk along without any difficulty. It was like walking on wet snow in awarm day in spring. Little brooks were running in every direction, thebright waters sparkling in the sun. The crevasses attracted theattention of the travellers very strongly. They were immense fissuresfour or five feet wide, and extending downward perpendicularly to anunfathomable depth. Rollo and Mr. George amused themselves with throwingstones down. There were plenty of stones to be found on the glacier. Infact, rocks and stones of all sizes were scattered about very profusely, so much so as quite to excite Mr. George's astonishment. 

"I supposed, " said he, "that the top of the glacier would be smooth andbeautiful ice. "

"I did not think any thing about it, " said Rollo. 

"I imagined it to be smooth, and glassy, and pure, " said Mr. George;"and, instead of that, it looks like a field of old snow covered withscattered rocks and stones. "

Some of the rocks which lay upon the glacier were very large, several ofthem being as big as houses. It was remarkable, too, that the largest ofthem, instead of having settled down in some degree into the ice andsnow, as it might have been expected from their great weight they wouldhave done, were raised sometimes many feet above the general level ofthe glacier, being mounted on a sort of pedestal of ice. The reason ofthis was, that when the block was very large, so large that the beams ofthe sun shining upon it all day would not warm it through, then the icebeneath it would be protected by its coolness, while the surface of theglacier around would be gradually melted and wasted away by the beams ofthe sun or by the warm rains which might occasionally fall upon it. Thus, in process of time, the great bowlder block rises, as it were, many feet into the air, and remains there perched on the top of a littlehillock of ice, like a mass of monumental marble on a pedestal. [14]

In excursions on the glaciers the guides take a rope with them, andsometimes a light ladder. The rope is for various purposes. If atraveller were to fall into any deep pit, or crevasse, or to slip downsome steep slope or precipice, so that he could not get up again, theguides might let the rope down to him, and then when he had fastened itaround his waist they could draw him up, when, without some such meansof rescuing him, he would be wholly lost. In the same manner, when aparty are walking along any very steep and slippery place, where if anyone were to fall he would slide down into some dreadful abyss, it iscustomary for them to walk in a line with the rope in their hands, eachone taking hold of it. Thus, if any one should slip a little, he couldrecover himself by means of the rope, when, without such a support, hewould perhaps have fallen and been dashed to pieces. Sometimes, when theplace is very dangerous indeed, so that several guides are required toeach traveller, they tie the rope round the traveller's waist, so thathe can have his hands free and yet avail himself of the support of therope in passing along. 

The ladder is used for scaling low precipices, either of rock or ice, which sometimes come in the way, and which could not be surmountedwithout such aid. In long and dangerous excursions, especially among thehigher Alps, one of the guides always carries a ladder; and there arefrequent occasions where it would not be possible to go on without usingit. 

[Illustration: ASCENT OF MONT BLANC. ]

A hatchet, too, is of great advantage in climbing among the immensemasses of ice which are found at great elevations, since, by means ofsuch an implement, steps may be cut in the ice which will enable theexplorer to climb up an ascent too long to be reached by the ladder andtoo steep to be ascended without artificial footholds. In ascending MontBlanc the traveller sometimes comes to a precipice of ice, with a chasmof immense depth, and four or five feet wide, at the bottom of it. Insuch a case the foot of the ladder is planted on the outside of thechasm, and the top of it is made to rest against the face of theprecipice, ten or fifteen feet perhaps from the brink. One of theboldest and most skilful of the guides then ascends the ladder, hatchetin hand, and there, suspended as he is over the yawning gulf below, hebegins to cut steps in the face of the precipice, shaping the gaps whichhe makes in such a manner that he can cling to them with his hands aswell as rest upon them with his feet. He thus slowly ascends thebarrier, cutting his way as he advances. He carries the end of the ropeup with him, tied around his waist; and then by means of it, when he hasreached the summit, he aids the rest of the party in coming up to him. 

Mr. George and Rollo, however, did not venture into any such dangers asthese. They could see all that they desired of the stupendousmagnificence and awful desolation of these scenes without it. They spentthe whole of the middle of the day on the glacier or on the slopes ofthe mountains around it; and then in the afternoon they came down thezigzag path again to Chamouni, very tired and very hungry. 

To be tired and hungry, however, when you come home at night to a Swissinn, is a great source of enjoyment--on account of the admirablearrangements for rest and refreshment which you are sure to find there. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 14: Any loose rock of large size detached from its nativeledge or mountain is called a _bowlder_. ]

CHAPTER XII. 

ROLLO A COURIER. 

Rollo came in one morning to the hotel at Meyringen, after having beentaking a walk on the banks of a mighty torrent that flows through thevalley, and found his uncle George studying the guide book and map, withan appearance of perplexity. Mr. George was seated at a table on abalcony, which opened from the dining room of the inn. This balcony wasvery large, and rooms opened from it in various directions. There wereseveral tables here, with seats around them, where those who chose to doso could take their breakfast or their dinner in the open air, and enjoythe views of the surrounding mountains and waterfalls at the same time. Mr. George was seated at one of these tables, with his map and his guidebook before him. 

"Well, uncle George, " said Rollo, "are you planning our journey?"

"Yes, " said Mr. George; "and I am very much perplexed. "

"Why, what is the difficulty?" asked Rollo. 

"There is no possibility of getting out of this valley, " said Mr. George, "except by going all the way back to Thun, --and that I am notwilling to do. "

"Is there no _possible_ way?" asked Rollo. 

"No, " said Mr. George, "unless we go over the Brunig Pass on foot. "

"Well, " said Rollo, "let us do that. "

"We might possibly do that, " continued Mr. George, still lookingintently at his map. "We should have to go over the Brunig to Lungern onfoot, with a horse for our baggage. Then we should have to take a carfrom Lungern down the valleys to the shore of Lake Lucerne, and thereget a boat, for six or eight miles, on the lake to the town. "

"Well, " said Rollo, joyfully, "I should like that. "

Rollo liked the idea of making the journey in the way that his uncleGeorge had described, on account of the numerous changes which would benecessary in it, in respect to the modes of conveyance. It was for thisvery reason that his uncle did _not_ like it. 

"Yes, uncle George, " said Rollo, again. "That will be an excellent wayto go to Lucerne. Don't you think it will?"

"No, " said Mr. George. "It will be so much trouble. We shall have threedifferent arrangements to make for conveyance, in one day. "

"No matter for that, uncle George, " said Rollo. "I will do all that. Letme be the courier, uncle George, and I'll take you from here to Lucernewithout your having the least trouble. I will make all the arrangements, so that you shall have nothing to do. You may read, if you choose, thewhole of the way. "

"How will you find out what to do?" asked Mr. George. 

"O, I'll study the guide book carefully, " replied Rollo; "and, besides, I'll inquire of the landlord here. "

"Well, " said Mr. George, hesitatingly, "I have a great mind to try it. "

"Only you must pay me, " said Rollo. "I can't be courier without beingpaid. "

"How much must I pay?" asked Mr. George. 

"Why, about a quarter of a dollar, " replied Rollo. 

"It is worth more than that, " said Mr. George. "I will give you half adollar if you make all the arrangements and get me safe to Lucernewithout my having any care or trouble. But then if you get intodifficulty in any case, and have to appeal to me, you lose your wholepay. If you carry me through, I give you half a dollar. If you don'treally carry me through, you have nothing. "

Rollo agreed to these conditions, and Mr. George proceeded to shut upthe map and the guide book, and to put them in his hands. 

"I will sit down here now, " said Rollo, "and study the map and the guidebook until I have learned all I can from them, and then I will go andtalk with the landlord. "

Mr. George did not make any reply to this remark, but taking out a smallportfolio, containing writing materials, from his pocket, he set himselfat work writing some letters; having, apparently, dismissed the wholesubject of the mode of crossing the Brunig entirely from his mind. 

Rollo took his seat at a table on the balcony in a corner opposite tothe place where his uncle was writing, and spread out the map beforehim. His seat commanded a very extended and magnificent view. In theforeground were the green fields, the gardens, and the orchards of thelower valley. Beyond, green pasturages were seen extending over thelower declivities of the mountains, with hamlets perched here and thereupon the shelving rocks, and winding and zigzag roads ascending from oneelevation to another, while here and there prodigious cataracts andcascades were to be seen, falling down hundreds of feet, overperpendicular precipices, or issuing from frightful chasms. Rollostopped occasionally to gaze upon these scenes; and sometimes he wouldpause to put a spy glass to his eye, in order to watch the progress ofthe parties of travellers that were to be seen, from time to time, coming down along a winding path which descended the face of themountain about two or three miles distant, across the valley. With theexception of these brief interruptions, Rollo continued very steadily athis work; and in about half an hour he shut up the map, and put it inits case, saying, in a tone of great apparent satisfaction, --

"There! I understand it now perfectly. "

He was in hopes that his uncle would have asked him some questions aboutthe route, in order that he might show how fully he had made himselfacquainted with it; but Mr. George said nothing, and so Rollo went awayto find the landlord. 

 * * * * *

That night, just before bed time, Mr. George asked Rollo what time hewas going to set out the next morning. 

"Immediately after breakfast, " said Rollo. 

"Are we going to ride or walk?" asked Mr. George. 

"We are going to walk over the pass, " said Rollo. "The road is too steepand rocky for horses. But then we are going to have a horse to carry thetrunk. "

"Can you put our trunk on a horse?" asked Mr. George. 

"Yes, " replied Rollo, "the guide says he can. "

"Very well, " said Mr. George, "and just as soon as we get throughbreakfast I am going to walk on, and leave you to pack the trunk on thehorse, and come along when you are ready. "

"Well, " said Rollo, "you can do that. "

"Because, you see, " continued Mr. George, "you will probably havevarious difficulties and delays in getting packed and ready, and I don'twant to have any thing to do with it. I wish to have my mind entirelyfree, so as to enjoy the walk and the scenery without any care orresponsibility whatever. "

Sometimes, when fathers or uncles employ boys to do any work, or toassume any charge, they stand by and help them all the time, so that thereal labor and responsibility do not come on the boy after all. He getspaid for the work, and he _imagines_ that he does it--his father or hisuncle allowing him to imagine so, for the sake of pleasing him. Butthere was no such child's play as this between Mr. George and Rollo. When Rollo proposed to undertake any duty, Mr. George always consideredwell, in the first instance, whether it was a duty that he was reallycompetent to perform. If it was not, he would not allow him to undertakeit. If it was, he left him to bear the whole burden and responsibilityof it, entirely alone. 

Rollo understood this perfectly well, and he liked such a mode ofmanagement. He was, accordingly, not at all surprised to hear his uncleGeorge propose to leave him to make all the arrangements of the journeyalone. 

"You see, " said Mr. George, "when I hire a courier I expect him to takeall the care of the journey entirely off my mind, and leave me tomyself, so that I can have a real good time. "

"Yes, " said Rollo, "that is right. "

And here, perhaps, I ought to explain that what is called a courier, inthe vocabulary of tourists in Europe, is a _travelling servant_, who, when he is employed by any party, takes the whole charge of theiraffairs, and makes all necessary arrangements, so that they can travelwithout any care or concern. He engages the conveyances and guides, selects the inns, pays the bills, takes charge of the baggage, and doesevery thing, in short, that is necessary to secure the comfort andsafety of the party on their journey, and to protect them from everyspecies of trouble and annoyance. He has himself often before travelledover the countries through which he is to conduct his party, so that heis perfectly familiar with them in every part, and he knows all thelanguages that it is necessary to speak in them. Thus when once underthe charge of such a guide, a gentleman journeying in Europe, even if hehas his whole family with him, need have no care or concern, but may beas quiet and as much at his ease, all the time, as if he were ridingabout his own native town in his private carriage. 

The next morning, after breakfast, Mr. George rose from the table, andprepared to set out on his journey. He put the belt of his knapsack overhis shoulder, and took his alpenstock in his hand. 

"Good by, Rollo, " said he. "I will walk on, taking the road to theBrunig, and you can come when you get ready. You will overtake me in thecourse of half an hour, or an hour. "

Rollo accompanied Mr. George to the door, and then wishing him apleasant walk, bade him good by. 

In a few minutes the guide came around the corner of the house, from theinn yard, leading the horse. He stopped to water the horse at afountain in the street, and then led him to the door. In the mean timethe porter of the inn had brought down the trunk, and then the guideproceeded to fasten it upon the saddle of the horse, by means of twostrong straps. The saddle was what is called a pack saddle, and was madeexpressly to receive such burdens. 

After having placed the trunk and secured it firmly, the guide put onthe umbrella, and Mr. George's and Rollo's greatcoats, and also Rollo'sknapsack. These things made quite a pile on the horse's back. The burdenwas increased, too, by several things belonging to the guide himself, which he put on over all the rest, such as a great-coat and a little bagof provisions. 

At length, when all was ready, Rollo bade the innkeeper good by, and setout on his journey. The guide went first, driving the horse before him, and Rollo followed, with his alpenstock in his hand. 

They soon passed out of the village, and then travelled along a verypleasant road, which skirted the foot of the mountain range, --all thetime gradually ascending. Rollo looked out well before him, whenever hecame to a straight part of the road, in hopes of seeing his uncle; butMr. George was nowhere in view. 

Presently he came to a place where there was a gate, and a branch path, turning off from the main road, directly towards the mountain. HereRollo, quite to his relief and gratification, found his uncle. Mr. George was sitting on a stone by the side of the road, reading. 

He shut his book when he saw Rollo and the guide, and put it away in hisknapsack. At the same time he rose from his seat, saying, --

"Well, Rollo, which is the way?"

"I don't know, " said Rollo. 

The guide, however, settled the question by taking hold of the horse'sbridle, and leading him off into the side path. The two travellersfollowed him. 

The path led through a very romantic and beautiful scene of fields, gardens, and groves, among the trees of which were here and there seenglimpses of magnificent precipices and mountains rising very near, alittle beyond them. After following this path a few steps, two girlscame running out from a cottage. One of them had a board under her arm. The other had nothing. They both glanced at the travellers, as theypassed, and then ran forward along the road before them. 

"What do you suppose those girls are going to do?" asked Rollo. 

"I can't conceive, " replied Mr. George. "Some thing for us to pay for, I'll engage. "

"And shall you pay them?" asked Rollo. 

"No, " said Mr. George. "_I_ shall not pay them. I shall leave all suchbusiness to my courier. "

The purpose with which the two girls had come out was soon made toappear; for after running along before the party of travellers for abouta quarter of a mile, they came to a place where two shallow but ratherbroad brooks flowed across the pathway. When Rollo and Mr. George cameup to the place they found that the girls had placed boards over thesestreams of water for bridges. One of the boards was the one which thegirl had brought along with her, under her arm. The other girl, itseems, kept her board under the bushes near the place, because it wastoo heavy to carry back and forth to the house. It was their custom towatch for travellers coming along the path, and then to run on beforethem and lay these bridges over the brooks, --expecting, of course, to bepaid for it. Rollo gave them each a small piece of money, and then heand Mr. George went on. 

Soon the road began to ascend the side of the mountain in long zigzagsand windings. These windings presented new views of the valley below atevery turn, each successive picture being more extended and grand thanthe preceding. 

At length, after ascending some thousands of feet, the party came to aresting-place, consisting of a seat in a sort of bower, which had beenbuilt for the accommodation of travellers, at a turn of the road wherethere was an uncommonly magnificent view. Here they stopped to rest, while the guide, leading the horse to a spring at the road side, inorder that he might have a drink, sat down himself on a flat stonebeside him. 

"How far is it that we have got to walk?" asked Mr. George. 

Rollo looked at his watch, and then said, "We have got to walk aboutthree hours more. "

"And what shall we come to then?" asked Mr. George. 

"We shall come down on the other side of the mountain, " said Rollo, "toa little village called Lungern, where there is a good road; and there Iam going to hire a carriage, and a man to drive us to the lake. It is abeautiful country that we are going through, and the road leads alongthe shores of mountain lakes. The first lake is up very high among themountains. The next is a great deal lower down, and we have to go down along way by a zigzag road, till we get to it. Then we go along the shoreof this second lake, through several towns, and at last we come to thelanding on the Lake of Lucerne. There I shall hire a boat. "

"What kind of a boat?" asked Mr. George. 

"I don't know, " said Rollo. 

"How do you know that there will be any boat there?" asked Mr. George. 

"Because the guide book says there will, " replied Rollo. "They alwayshave boats there to take people that come along this road to Lucerne. "

"Why do they not go all the way by land?" asked Mr. George. 

"Because, " said Rollo, "the whole country there is so full of mountainsthat there is no place for a road. "

Just at this time the guide got up from his seat, and seemed ready toset out upon his journey; and so Mr. George and Rollo rose and went on. 

After ascending about an hour more, through a series of very wild andromantic glens, with cottages and curious-looking chalets scattered hereand there along the borders of them, wherever the ground was smooth andgreen enough for cattle to feed, our travellers came, at length, to thesummit of the pass, where, in a very pleasant and sheltered spot, surrounded with forest trees, there stood a little inn. On arriving atthis place the guide proceeded to take off the load from the horse andto place it upon a sort of frame, such as is used in those countries forburdens which are to be carried on the back of a man. 

"What is he going to do?" asked Mr. George. 

"He is going to carry the baggage the rest of the way himself, " saidRollo. "You see it is so steep and rocky from here down to Lungern thatit is dreadful hard work to get a horse down and up again; especially_up_. So the guide leaves the horse here, and is going to carry thebaggage down himself on his back. That rack that he is fastening thetrunk upon goes on his back. Those straps in front of it come over hisshoulders. "

"It seems to me, " said Mr. George, "that that is a monstrous heavy loadto put on a man's back, to go down a place which is so steep and rockythat a horse could not get along over it. But then I suppose my courierknows what he is about. "

So Mr. George, with an air and manner which seemed to say, It is none ofmy concern, walked up a flight of steps which led to a sort of elevatedporch or platform before the door of the inn. 

For a moment Rollo himself was a little disconcerted, not knowingwhether it would be safe for a man to go down a steep declivity withsuch a burden on his back; but when he reflected that this was thearrangement that the guide himself had proposed, and that the guide had, doubtless, done the same thing a hundred times before, he ceased to feelany uneasiness, and following Mr. George up the steps, he took a seat byhis side, at a little table, which was placed there for theaccommodation of travellers stopping at the inn to rest. 

Rollo and his uncle spent half an hour at this hotel. For refreshmentthey had some very excellent and rich Alpine milk, which they drank fromvery tall and curiously-shaped tumblers. They also amused themselves inlooking at some specimens of carved work, such as models of Swisscottages--and figures of shepherds, and milkmaids with loads of utensilson their backs--and groups of huntsmen, with dogs leaping up aroundthem--and chamois, or goats, climbing about among the rocks andmountains. Rollo had bought a pretty good supply of such sculpturesbefore; but there was one specimen here that struck his fancy so muchthat he could not resist the temptation of adding it to his collection, especially as Mr. George approved of his making the purchase. It was amodel of what is called a chalet, [15] which is a sort of hut that theshepherds occupy in the upper pasturages, in the summer, where they goto tend the cows, and to make butter and cheese. The little chalet wasmade in such a manner that the roof would lift up like a lid, and letyou see all there was within. There was a row of cows, with littlecalves by them, in stalls on one side of the chalet, and on the otherside tables and benches, with pans of milk and tubs upon them, and achurn, and a cheese press, and other such like things. There was a bed, too, for the shepherd, in a sort of a garret above, just big enough tohold it. 

In about half an hour the guide seemed ready to proceed, and the wholeparty set out again on their journey. The guide went before, with thetrunk and all the other baggage piled up on the rack behind him. He hada stout staff in his hand, which he used to prevent himself fromfalling, in going down the steep and rocky places. Some of these placeswere very steep and rocky indeed--so much so that going down them was awork of climbing rather than walking, and Rollo himself was sometimesalmost afraid. What made these places the more frightful was, that thepath in descending them was often exceedingly narrow, and was bordered, on one side, by a perpendicular wall of rock, and by an unfathomableabyss of rocks and roaring cataracts on the other. To behold the skilland dexterity with which the guide let himself down, from rock to rock, in this dreadful defile, loaded as he was, excited both in Mr. Georgeand Rollo a continual sentiment of wonder. 

At length the steepest part of the descent was accomplished, and thenthe road led, for a mile, through a green and pretty valley, with loftyrocks and mountains on either hand, and chalets and pretty cottages atvarious distances along the roadside. At one place, in a very romanticand delightful spot, they came to a small chapel. It had been builtthere to commemorate some remarkable event, and to afford aresting-place for travellers. The door of this chapel was fastened, butRollo could look in through a window and see the altar, and thecrucifix, and the tall candles, within. He and Mr. George sat down, too, on the stone step of the chapel for a little while, to rest, and toenjoy the view. While they were there another traveller came by, ascending from Lungern, and he stopped to rest there too. He was lame, and seemed to be poor. He had a pack on his back. Mr. George talked withthis man in French while they sat together on the steps of the chapel, and when he went away Mr. George gave him a little money. 

After leaving the chapel the travellers continued their descent, thevalley opening before them more and more as they proceeded, until, atlength, the village of Lungern came in sight, far below them, at thehead of a little lake. 

"There!" said Rollo, as soon as the village came in sight. "That isLungern. That is the place where the carriage road begins. "

"I am glad of that, " said Mr. George. "A ride in a carriage will be verypleasant after all this scrambling over the mountains--that is, providedyou get a good carriage. "

When, at length, the party reached the inn, the guide set down his loadon a bench at the door of it, and, smiling, seemed quite pleased to berid of the heavy burden. 

"Are we going to take dinner here?" said Mr. George to Rollo. 

"No, sir, " said Rollo. "At least, I don't know. We'll see. "

The landlord of the inn met the travellers at the door, and conductedthem up a flight of stone stairs, and thence into a room where severaltables were set, and different parties of travellers were takingrefreshments. The landlord, after showing them into this room, went downstairs again to attend to other travellers. Mr. George and Rollo walkedinto the room. After looking about the room a moment, however, Rollosaid he must go down and see about a carriage. 

"Wait here a few minutes, uncle George, " said he, "while I go and engagea carriage, and then I will come back. "

So saying, Rollo went away, and Mr. George took his seat by a window. 

Presently the waiter came to Mr. George, and asked him, in French, if hewished for any refreshment. 

"I don't know, " said Mr. George. "I will wait till the boy comes back, and then we'll see. "

In a short time Rollo came back. 

"The carriage will be ready in twenty minutes, " said he. 

"Very well, " said Mr. George. "And the waiter wants to know whether weare going to have any thing to eat. "

"Yes, " said Rollo, "we are going to have a luncheon. "

Rollo then went to the waiter, and said, in French, "Bread, butter, coffee, and strawberries, for two. " "Very well, sir, " said the waiter, and he immediately went away to prepare what Rollo had ordered. 

In due time the refreshment was ready, and Mr. George and Rollo sat downto the table, with great appetites. Every thing was very nice. Thestrawberries, in particular, though very small in size, as the Alpinestrawberries always are, were very abundant in quantity, and deliciousin flavor. There was also plenty of rich cream to eat them with. When, at length, the travellers had finished eating their luncheon, thelandlord came to say that the carriage was ready. So Rollo paid thebill, and then he and Mr. George went down to the door. Here they founda very pretty chaise, with a seat in front for the driver, all ready forthem. The trunk and all the other baggage were strapped securely onbehind. Mr. George and Rollo got in. The top of the chaise was down, sothat the view was unobstructed on every side. 

"Well, " said Rollo, "do you think it _is_ a good carriage?"

"A most excellent one, " said Mr. George. "We shall have a delightfulride, I am sure. "

Mr. George was not disappointed in his anticipations of a delightfulride. The day was very pleasant, and the scenery of the country throughwhich they had to pass was as romantic and beautiful as could beimagined. The road descended rapidly, from valley to valley, sometimesby sharp zigzags, and sometimes by long and graceful meanderings, presenting at every turn some new and charming view. There were greenvalleys, and shady dells, and foaming cascades, and dense forests, andglassy lakes, and towering above the whole, on either side, were vastmountain slopes, covered with forests, and ranges of precipitous rocks, their summits shooting upward, in pinnacles, to the very clouds. 

After journeying on in this manner for some hours the carriage arrivedat an inn on the shores of the Lake of Lucerne. There was a landingthere, and a number of boats, drawn up near a little pier. 

"Yes, " exclaimed Rollo, when he saw the boats, "this is the place. Thename of it is Alpnach. We are to go the rest of the way by water. "

"That will be very pleasant, " said Mr. George, as he got out of thecarriage. "I shall like a row on the lake very much. I will go directlydown to the landing, and you can come when you get ready. "

So Mr. George walked on down to the pier, leaving Rollo to perform hisduties as a courier, according to his own discretion. 

Rollo first paid the driver of the carriage what was due to him, according to the agreement that he had made with the Lungern landlord, and then explained to the Alpnach landlord, in as good French as hecould command, that he wanted a boat, to take him and the gentleman whowas travelling with him to Lucerne, and asked what the price would be. The landlord named the regular price, and Rollo engaged the boat. Thelandlord then sent for a boatman. In a few minutes the boatman was seencoming. He was followed by two rather pretty-looking peasant girls, eachbringing an oar on her shoulder. These two girls were the boatman'sdaughters. They were going with their father in the boat, to help himrow. 

The boatman took up the trunk, and the girls the other parcels ofbaggage, and so carried the whole, together with the oars, down to theboat. Rollo followed them, and the whole party immediately embarked. Itwas a bright and sunny day, though there were some dark and heavy cloudsin the western sky. The water of the lake was very smooth, and itreflected the mountains and the skies in a very beautiful manner. Mr. George and Rollo took their seats in the boat, under an awning that wasspread over a frame in the central portion of it. This awning shelteredthem from the sun, while it did not intercept their view. The man andthe girls took each of them an oar, standing up, however, to row, and_pushing_ the oar before them, instead of _pulling_ it, according toour fashion. [16] Thus they commenced the voyage. 

Every thing went on very pleasantly for an hour, only, as the boatmanand his daughters could speak no language but German, Mr. George andRollo could have no conversation with them. But they could talk witheach other, and they had a very pleasant time. At length, however, theclouds which had appeared in the western sky rose higher and higher, andgrew blacker and blacker, and, finally, low, rumbling peals of thunderbegan to be heard. The boatman talked with his daughters, pointing tothe clouds, and then said something to Mr. George in German; but neitherMr. George nor Rollo could understand it. They soon found, however, thatthe boat was turned towards the shore. They were very glad of this, forRollo said that he had read in the guide book that the Swiss lakes weresubject to very violent tempests, such as it would be quite dangerous toencounter far from the shore. Rollo said, moreover, that the boatmenwere very vigilant in watching for the approach of these storms, andthat they would always at once make the best of their way to the landwhenever they saw one coming on. 

In this instance the wind began to blow, and the rain to fall, beforethe boat reached the shore. Rollo and Mr. George were sheltered by theawning, but the boatman and the two girls got very wet. They, however, continued to work hard at the oars, and at length they reached theshore. The place where they landed was in a cove formed by a point ofland, where there was a little inn near the water. As soon as the boatreached the shore Mr. George and Rollo leaped out of it, and spreadingtheir umbrella they ran up to the inn. 

They waited here nearly an hour. They sat on a piazza in front of theinn, listening to the sound of the thunder and of the wind, and watchingthe drops of rain falling on the water. At length the wind subsided, therain gradually ceased, and the sun came out bright and beaming as ever. The party then got into the boat, and the boatman pushed off from theshore; and in an hour more they all landed safely on the quay atLucerne, very near to a magnificent hotel. 

Our two travellers were soon comfortably seated at a table in the diningroom of the hotel before an excellent dinner, which Rollo had ordered. Mr. George told Rollo, as they took their seats at the table, that hehad performed his duty as a courier in a very satisfactory manner, andhad fully earned his pay. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 15: Pronounced _shallay_. ]

[Footnote 16: The Swiss always stand up in rowing, and _push_ the oar. Thus they look the way they are going. ]

CHAPTER XIII. 

CONCLUSION. 

It is not possible to describe in such a volume as this more than asmall part of the excursions which Mr. George and Rollo made or theadventures which they met with in the course of their tour inSwitzerland. They remained in the country of the Alps more than afortnight; and they enjoyed, as Rollo said, every moment of the time. There was no end to the cascades and waterfalls, the ice and snow-cladsummits, the glaciers, the romantic zigzag paths up the mountain sides, the picturesque hamlets and cottages, and the groups of peasants toilingin the fields or tending flocks and herds in the higher pasturages. Rollo's heart was filled all the time that he remained among thesescenes with never-ceasing wonder and delight. The inns pleased him, too, as much perhaps as any thing else; for the climbing of mountains and thelong excursions on foot gave him a most excellent appetite; and at theinns they always found such nice breakfasts, dinners, and suppers everyday that Rollo was never tired of praising them. 

Rollo found the cost, too, of travelling in Switzerland much less thanhe had expected. He did not expend nearly all the allowance which hisfather had granted him. When he came to settle up his accounts, after hehad got back to Paris, he found that he had saved about seventy-fivefrancs, which made nearly fifteen dollars; and this sum he accordinglyadded to his _capital_--for that was the name by which he was accustomedto designate the stock of funds which he had gradually accumulated andreserved. 

Just before Mr. George and Rollo left Switzerland, on their return toParis, they received a letter from Mr. Holiday, who was still in Paris, in consequence of which they concluded to make a short tour on the Rhineon their way to France. The adventures which they met with on this tourwill form the subject of another volume of this series.