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EW YORK JOURNAL;
Sn Alluetrated Literary 4Deriadical.
PART SIXTH.] JANUARY, 1854.
[VOLUME ONE,
THE SIMPLON PASS. seldom meet with as much praise as they really
deserve. ’
We left Basle the next morning, for even here we
A LADY'S WINTER ADVENTURE. ‘| were met by the intimation that we were already late,
T was in the latter part of the month of Ootober,| and had chosen a bad time for crossing the Alps; so
1845, that I left ~—— to join some part of my | after some tiresome negotiations with one of the most
family, who were at that time residing in the north | avaricious and obstinate of all classes, the Swiss
of Italy. I was ac- —
——
The romantic beauty of this road hardly begins until
the little village of Soleure is passed. Here we
stopped to dine; and soon after leaving the spot, the
defile was entered where, properly speaking, the Val-
Moutiers, or valley of the Birs, begins. The whole
road is excellent, and is known to have existed from a
very early period. In fact, it was used as such by the
companied by a friend, ©
who was a complete
novice in all the diffi-
culties, discomforts, and
crosses, which . even
in these days inevitably
attend: on those who
ramble abroad.- Such
troubles are passed over
as trifles by those who
“really love travelling ;
but, to many, . they
form an insurmountable
hindrance to the plea-
sures they might other-
' wise experience. My
friend, belonging to this
class, looks back even
now with more of horror
and Wismay than gratifi-
cation to the incident I
am about to relate.
I will not inflict on ~
my readers any account
of the dull and tedious
journey by the Belgian
railway to Cologne,
whereby the pleasure,
doubtless found by many
in former days in ex
ploring the really beau-
fiful and - interesting
towns of Belgium, is
entirely brought to an
end; for though there
is now no. actual
hindrance to our doing
this, some kind of infa-
tuation seems toe pro-
hibit it; and we hasten
on from station to sta-
tion without even be-
stowing a thought on [THE PARTY ARRIVE AT THE HOSPICE.]
what lies 60 meaty x et . . Drawn by John Gilbert, and Engraved expressly for the New York Journal by Van Vranken.
unseen. Neither willl :
S
linger to recount the - =
days that we devoted to the attractions of Cologne, voituriers, we did at last. effect an: agreement with
Heidelberg, and Strasburg ; but will at once hasten on| him, and started for Berne by the picturesque route
to the time of our arrival at Basle, where we spent a| of the Val Moutiers. Our carriage was comfortable
delightful evening, in a room almost overhanging the | enough, but T could not feel as well satisfied with the
Rhine, and affording us a most erchanting view of] appearance of those lean, feeble-looking white horses
that noble river, its picturesque wooden bridge, and| which were appointed to convey us on so Jong a
“the good old town and cathedral, which I think} journey. :
Romans, who thus kept
up the communication
between the Rhine and
the capital of Helvetia.
It may now be described
as a succession of
narrow and rocky de-
files, alternating with
open valleys or basins,
cheered and enlivened
by numerous pretty
villages and mills. In
some parts the preci-
pices overhang the road,
and these being well
clothed with wood, the
dark foliage of the fir-
trees adds greatly to
the beauty of the scene,
in which the river Birs,
foaming and rushing
through the rocks below,
forms also an important
feature.
Tcan give no account
of the view, usually
reckoned so fine, of the
Alps from the last slope
of the Jura, for, as we
descended on Bienne in
the afternoon of our
second day, the whole
surrounding country
was enveloped ina sheet
of thick white mist,
+ which, as we approached
Berne later in the even-
ing, almost presented
the appearance of a vast
lake, stretching out on
every side.. For this
loss, however, we were
amply . indemnified . the
next,“ day, when we
began our sight-seeing
in Berne with the plat-
form behind the Minster,
so celebrated for its view, which, happily for us, was
clearer and finer than any I had ever before enjoyed,
The whole range of the Bernese Alps appeared before
us, absolutely glittering against the sky like peaks of
solid silver.
From this point six snowy mountains
may be counted; but from the Eughe-terrace, where
we went latcr in the day, twelve of their gigantic