21 22 $14. 28. Walked to Hospice of the Great St. Bernard. 29. Back to Martigny (an improvement to go by the Col de Ferret, Orsières, and along the Dranse). 30. Tête Noire to Chamouni (a new way is, to ascend from Val Orsine to the summit of the Col de Balme, on account of its magnificent view; thus including the finest part of both passes. It is not quite two hours longer than the straight road). 31. Ascended the Flegère; then crossed the valley to the Montanvert Allée Blanche-Col de Seigne. to the Mer de Glace Chamouni. Col de Bonhomme. 23 24 Chamouni. Sept. 1. Walked across the Col de Vosa to Contamines. The journey Martigny, by Col de Balme and would have been divided better by Tête Noire. 25 E. Münster Thal. Basle. - TOUR OF THIRTY-TWO DAYS, performed in the Autumn of 1837 by W. and R. H., chiefly on foot. "Our longest walks never exceeded 10 or 12 leagues; but on turnpikeroads, such as the Simplon, we always rode. For some of the passes, such as the Col de Bonhomme, the Cervin, and the Rawyl, guides are always necessary, but wherever there is a 'chemin tracé' guides are a nuisance, except after a snow-storm." London to Geneva in fourteen days, including two days at Paris. 7. Crossed the Cervin (Matterhorn) on foot to Zermatt (fatiguing). [Pierre Meynet, mentioned by Brockedon, is the best guide in the Alps.] 8. Descended on mules to Visp; walked thence to Brieg. 9. By char, across the Simplon, to Domo d' Ossola; 10 hours. Baveno; arrived 7 A. M. ; by sailing10. Off at 3 A. M., by courier, to boat, up the Lago Maggiore, to Locarno; by car to Bellinzona (arrived late). 11. By hired carriage to Airolo. 12. Walked over the St. Gothard to Hospital. 13. By carriage to Fluellen, on the Lake of Uri. 14. Crossed lake to Brunnen, by Schwytz and Arth, to the summit of the Righi. 15. On foot to Weggis; by boat to Lucerne; on foot to Winkel; $ 14. Skeleton Tours. xlvii crossed the lake to Alpnach; walked to Sarnen. 16. Crossed the Brunig, on foot, to Brienz; by boat to the Giesbach ; by char to Meyringen. 17. Rested at Meyringen; Falls of Reichenbach. 18. Walked to the Hospice of the Grimsel ; thence to the glacier of the Rhone; and back to the Hospice to sleep. 19. Returned to Meyringen; taking a 3 hours' walk up the Susten Pass. 20. Walked over the Scheideck to Grindelwald; thence over the Wengern Alp; slept at the "Jungfrau Gasthof," exactly opposite the Jungfrau Mountain, to see and hear the avalanches. 21. By Lauterbrunnen to Interlachen, on foot; in char to Neuhaus; in steamer to Thun; in diligence to Bern. 22. Returned to Thun, by char, to Frutigen, on foot to Kandersteg. 23. Across the Gemmi to Leuk Baths, on foot; thence direct to Sion. 24. Walked over the Rawyl to An-der-Lenk. 25. On foot, down the Simmenthal to Thun; char thence to Bern. (It would have been better to have gone by Gruyères to Freyburg, Bern, Soleure, and over the Hauenstein to Basle.) 26. By diligence to Basle. Basle to London by Rotterdam in seven days. Gemmi, and back, 38. Great St. Bernard, 108. Pré St. Didier, 114. Mont Cramont, 114. Col de la Seigne, Col de Bonhomme, Chamouni, 115. $15.- Alpine Passes. 118. Flegère; Montanvert; Mer de Glace, 115. xlix Strasburg, by Zurich, to the Splügen village, 36 hours. Chamberry to Lyons. A railroad conveys passengers to Aix in an hour, whence a steamer crosses the Lac de Bourget, and descends the Rhone to Lyons in 9 hours daily, except Sunday. Agents for transmitting Goods Col de Balme, and Tête Noire, 116, nery's agents, to whom goods may be 117. consigned to forward to England, will save travellers the trouble of dragging after them large quantities of luggage, and the annoyance experienced in bringing goods through the German League, French or Austrian custom-houses. Bâle, Geneva, C. B. Freundler, Rue du London to Basle, by the Rhine, Rhone. 6 days. Basle to London, by the Rhine, 4 days. London to Geneva, by Paris, 7 days, 5 nights (by diligence). London to Lucerne, 7 or 8 days. Lucerne to London, 6 days. Lucerne to Milan, by the St. Gothard, 3 days. Turin, All packages and goods may safely be addressed to Mr. Chinnery, Custom House, London, through these agents. Those which are locked must have the keys attached, in order that they may be opened and searched at the Custom House. 15. ALPINE PASSES. No part of the Alps are more interesting, either in a picturesque or in an historical point of view, than the passable gaps or notches in the ridge of the great chain, whereby alone this colossal wall of mountains may be scaled, and a direct passage and communication maintained between northern and southern Europe. It has been through these depressions that the great tide of population has poured since the earliest times; from these outlets have issued the barbarian swarms which so often desolated, and at last annihilated, the Roman empire. There are more than 50 passes over the Swiss portion of the Alpine chain alone, or immediately communicating with the Swiss frontier. The following are the most remarkable* :- The Simplon, * Mr. Brockedon has admirably illustrated them both with his pencil and pen in his beautiful work, entitled "The Passes of the Alps," 2 vols. 4to. b Switz. St. Gothard, Bernardine, Splügen, Saanen-moser, Bramegg, am Stoss, Wildhaus, all traversed by excellent high-roads, most skilfully constructed, and passable for heavy carriages. To these may probably be added the Julier and Maloya. The Albula, Septimer, Bernina, Buffalora, Schallenger, Sattel, practicable for light chars and the Col de Trient, Col de Ferret, Grand St. Bernard, Col de Fenêtre, Cervin (Matterhorn), Moro, Gries Nüfanen, Furca, Grimsel, Great and Little Scheideck, Gemmi, Rawyl, Sanetsch, Cheville, Susten, Surenen, Brunig Engstelen, Jochli, Klausen, Oberalp, Lukmanier, Kistengrat, Panix, Segnes, La Foppa, Lenzerheide, Stutz, Greina, Vago, Casanna, Monte del Oro, Druser and Schweitzer-Thor, Schlapiner Joch, &c. &c., which are either bridle-paths or mere foot-paths, and more or less difficult and dangerous. In seeking a passage over the Alps, the most obvious course was to find out the valleys which penetrate farthest into the great chain, following the course of the rivers to their sources, and then to take the lowest traversable part in order to descend to the opposite side. The variety and sudden transition presented by such a route are highly interesting. In the course of one day's journey the traveller passes from the climate of summer to winter, through spring. The alteration in the productions keeps pace with that of the temperature. Leaving behind him stubble-fields, whence the corn has been removed and housed, he comes to fields yet yellow and waving in the ear; a few miles farther and the crop is still green; yet higher, and corn refuses to grow. Before quitting the region of corn he enters one of dark, apparently interminable forests of pine and larch, clothing the mountain-sides in a sober vestment. Above this the haymakers are collecting the short grass, the only produce which the ground will yield. Yet the stranger must not suppose that all is barrenness even at this elevation. It seems as though nature were determined to make one last effort at the confines of the region of vegetation. From beneath the snow-bed, and on the very verge of the glacier, the profusion of flowers, their great variety, and surpassing beauty, are exceed. ingly surprising. Some of the greatest ornaments of our gardens, here born to blush unseen, gentians and lillies, hyacinths and blue bells, intermixed with bushes of the red rhododendron, the loveliest production of the Alps, scattered over the velvet turf, give it the appearance of a carpet of richest pattern. The insect world is not less abundant and varied, thousands of winged creatures are seen hovering over the flowers, enjoying their short existence, for the summer at these elevations lasts but for 3 or 4 weeks: the rapid progress of vegetation to maturity is equalled by the rapidity of its decay, and in 8 or 10 days flowers and butterflies have passed away. Above this region of spring, with its gush of springs, its young herbage and vivid greensward, its hum of insects just burst forth, and its natural flower-beds glittering with raindrops, that of winter in Lapland or Siberia succeeds. All around the summit of a pass over the high Alps is either snow, glacier, or |