in which the weakest would not go to the wall, but most likely be dashed down, it being hardly possible for one carriage to lie down, and let the other gently step over its back, as is said to have been done by two goats which met each other on a narrow ledge of perpendicular rock. The cottages we passed were built like those in Norway, of large logs of wood piled on each other with their interstices filled up by turf. Whether fires are accidents of frequent occurrence I know not; yet such a mode of building seems very well calculated to render them so; which would not be altogether so much the case were the walls constructed of two separate piles of logs, with an intermediate space between them, filled up, as the building advanced, with earth, firmly rammed down, after the manner of pisé. The valley of Lauterbrunnen is characterised by the wildness of its scenery, many of the mountains shooting up into sharp spiry pinnacles which produce a very striking outline; while on the very summits of some of these pinnacles are trees rearing themselves in stately grandeur far above the hollow territory beneath, which is so enclosed that for half of the year the rays of the sun never illuminate it. When we visited it, the valley was clothed with the brightest verdure, and appeared admirably adapted for pasture land; yet we beheld no cattle or flocks grazing in any part of it. The wonder, par excellence, of the place is the stupendous fall of the Staub

bach, that is, stupendous for the altitude from which it shoots down, since its volume is by no means very considerable. Owing to this latter circumstance it is almost insulated from the concave face of the rock from whose projecting crest it launches itself; and part of it is frequently caught by the wind so as to form a slenderer column of water dispersing itself in fine spray before it reaches the bottom. Beyond this is another fall, called that of Murrenbach, which, in the opinion of some, almost rivals the preceding.

After taking a course to the right, we crossed the river Lütschinen, about a couple of miles further on, and entered another valley, where the stream meandered through rich pastures, and where we came within sight of the Vogelflue, the seat of that vulture of the Alps, the dreaded lammergeier. It was not our fortune, however, to perceive either that, or eagle, or any other large bird of prey, in these regions, although they look most fitting haunts for such winged monsters of the air; for, besides the stupendous Jungfrau, both the Mellenberg and the great Eiger form a portion of the scene; the former of which rises to the height of upwards of seven-the latter to more than eight thousand feet. Having at length entered the valley of Grindelwald, which is about twelve miles in extent, we proceeded without loss of time to the glaciers, on our way to which we passed the ruins of an hospital that had been burnt to the ground the preceding year. On arriving within sight of the

ice-mere, piled up and wedged in between mountains, its savage aspect formed a singular contrast with the spot whence we viewed it; for while all was summer around us, winter seemed to be enthroned among those heights. Here we beheld an enormous cavern beneath the ice, which we approached sufficiently near to inspect its yawning arch, but did not care to venture in, as masses of the ice were falling down every now and then from its vault within. The crest of this shelving ice-mere was still covered with unmelted snow; but while we were gazing on it, a dense vapour arose that totally excluded it from view. However, we had seen enough to be able to judge sufficiently of its general character and appearance, and to perceive that this mer de glace was nothing particularly extraordinary after the one we had visited at Chamouni.

We now returned to our inn, called the "King of Prussia," out of compliment to his present majesty, who took up his abode-at least stopped to take some refreshment there when he visited this valley. Whether musical or not himself, we found that "mine host" was determined to be instrumental to the gratification of such guests as might be musically disposed; for in the room into which we were shown we perceived instruments of all kinds, from flute and guitar to piano-forte and organ: which some would say was an admirably organised scheme for detaining the lovers of sweet sounds, and inducing them to prolong their sojourn beneath his roof. There

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were likewise other temptations in the form of cards and chess-boards; but they were all thrown away upon us, who would rather have met with some good topographical models, maps, and views of the surrounding district, by means of which we might have obtained a more exact idea of what we had beheld only in successive portions, and also of its connection with what lay out of the course of our route: this we now resumed, returning in the same direction, through Interlacken and Thun, to Berne.

We now made our final departure from Berne, towards the end of August, when there was a slight frost and sharp piercing wind, with the thermometer as low as 54°. Although there was much to interest us as we passed along, there was nothing to call forth particular remarks till we reached Langenthal; except it be that, when we halted a few minutes on the road to give our horses refreshment, we were surprised to see the hostler, who had received our orders, return with a huge brown loaf. We were puzzled to guess for what or whom it could be intended; at first we suspected some mistake, but discovered that it was on our part, not on his, when we saw him cut it into slices, and portion it out equally between the quadrupeds, without defrauding them of a morsel, by tasting of it himself. What a pity it is, thought I, that justice is not distributed with equal disinterestedness and impartiality! which reflection