ascent of the Rigi. Three of us were mounted on horses. Mrs. Hayden was borne in an arm-chair (chaise-à-porteur), and the doctor walked. Thus, with four bearers and three guides, we reached the summit of the Rigi in about 3 hours, and took up our abode for the night at the Inn which stands on the top. The house is warmed with stoves even in summer; and the cold is often intense. You will not be surprised to hear this when I inform you that the mountain is 5676 feet above the sea level, and 4270 feet above the Lake of Lucerne. All the additional clothing that I required was a thin great coat. We were not permitted to see either a sunset or a sunrise; but we witnessed, which of the two, I think, I should prefer, a thunder storm not above us but below us. Not having seen such a thing before, I was wonderfully struck with its awful grandeur. There was not much thunder, but Ꭰ the lightning was very vivid, and its colour somewhat different to that which we are accustomed to see in England. "The thunder rolls: be hush'd the prostrate world; In the morning we were not roused about an hour before sunrise, as is customary, by the grating sounds of a long wooden horn that we might gaze at the glorious prospect of a sunrise, because the view was wholly shut out by clouds. This is a very common occurrence. The clouds, however, before we left our bed-rooms, suddenly departed, as only clouds know how to depart, in excellent majesty, and permitted us to enjoy this wonderful panorama, which is said to extend over a circumference of 300 miles, the most striking feature of which is the Lakes of Lucerne and Zug. What gives the mountain a peculiar advantage is, its isolated situation. In a word, it would be difficult to exaggerate the beauty and grandeur of the scenery. "These are thy glorious works, Parent of good, Thus wondrous fair; thyself how wondrous then! In these thy lowest works; yet these declare 7th, Tuesday. We left the hotel at 7 a.m., and, having descended the Rigi, proceeded by steamer from Weggis to Lucerne. No lake in Switzerland is comparable to the Lake of Lucerne for the beauty and sublime grandeur of its scenery, or for the historical recollections connected with it. Here is Tell's chapel and other objects which remind us of those memorable events which gave freedom to Switzerland. "Land where Tell leaped ashore--and climb to drink Of the three hallowed fountains? He that does Comes back the better Each cliff and headland, and green promontory, I would that I could describe my feelings as I passed along the shores of this classic region; for neither William Tell," the mountain Brutus," nor Oliver Cromwell could lay claim to a more intense loathing of oppression, or a purer love of liberty, in the widest and holiest acceptation of the term, than myself. Let me, however, as I feel my incompetency to express myself on this subject as I could wish, make use of the words of Sir James Machintosh. "The combination of what is grandest in nature, with whatever is pure and sublime in human conduct, affected me in this passage (along the lake) more powerfully than any scene which I had ever seen. Perhaps neither Greece nor Rome would have had such power over me. They are dead. The present inhabitants are a new race, who regard with little or no feeling the memorials of former ages. This is, perhaps, (the only place in our globe where deeds of pure virtue, ancient enough to be venerable, are consecrated by the religion of the people, and continue to command interest and reverence." I should like to finish the passsage, but it is too long. You will find it in Murray's Hand-book. We are now at Lucerne, the capital of the canton. It contains but few Protestants, and about 10,000 Roman Catholics. It is surrounded by a circle of watchtowers, erected in 1385; but its chief pe culiarity is in its bridges. Touching these bridges, there are two errors in the Gazetteer of the World; for one of the bridges is uncovered and passable for carriages, and their number is not four but three. One was removed in 1852. The lowest and the upper are hung with paintings. Beneath the latter the clear and pellucid |