Wengern Alp; and, on melting, send forth a stream which falls into the Lutschine, a little above Lauterbrunnen. A part of Lord Byron's "Manfred" was either written or inentally composed on the Wengern Alp, in full view of the Jungfrau, and (he says in his Journal) within hearing of its avalanches. "Ascended the Wengern mountain; left the horses, took off my coat, and went to the summit. On one side, our view comprised the Jungfrau, with all her glaciers; then the Dent d'Argent, shining like truth; then the Little Giant, and the Great Giant; and last, not least, the Wetterhorn. The height of the Jungfrau is 13,000 feet above the sea, and 11,000 above the valley. Heard the avalanches falling every five minutes Bearly. "The clouds rose from the opposite valley, curling up perpendicular precipices, like the foam of the ocean of hell during a spring tide- it was white and sulphury, and immeasurably deep in appearance. The side we ascended was not of so precipitous a nature; but, on arriving at the summit, we looked down upon the other side upon a boiling sea of cloud, dashing against the crags on which we stood-these crags on one side quite perpendicular. In passing the masses. of snow, I made a snowball and pelted Hobhouse with it"Swiss Journal. "Ye toppling crags of ice Ye avalanches, whom a breath draws down In mountainous o'erwhelming, come and crush me! Crush with a frequent conflict; but ye pass, The mists boil up around the glaciers; clouds Manfred. About 2 miles beyond this chalet the summit of the pass is attained, 6280 feet above the sea-level. Near it there is anoter chalet, which, as well as the former, furnishes beds to strangers, who sometimes pass the night here to await the sunrise. The view from the top is very fine, including, besides the Jungfrau, the Mönch, the two Eighers, and the Wetterhorn. The Jungfrau, or Virgin, received its name either from the unsullied purity of the snow, or because (till Lately) its crest had never been reached or trodden by human foot. She has now lost her claim to the title on the latter score, the highest peak having been attained in 1812, by two, brothers, named Meyer, from Aarau; and, in 1828, by six peasants, from Grindelwald. It is the fourth in height of all European mountains, rising to an elevation of 13,748 feet above the sea-level. The Silber-hörner are, properly speaking, inferior peaks of the Jungfrau. Farther on appears the Mönch or Klein Eigher, 13,52 feet, and the Great Eigher (Giant), 13,050 feet. On approaching Grindelwald, the Shreckhorn (Peak of Terror), 13,470 feet, comes into sight. The sharp, needle-formed point of the Finster-Aarhorn, the highest of the group, 14,070 feet above the sea-level, is only visible at intervals peering above his brethren. The glaciers, which cling around these peaks, and fill up the depressions between them, extend without interruption from the Jungfrau to the Grimsel, and from Grindelwald in Canton Berne, nearly to Brieg in the Vallais. The extent of this glacier has been calculated at 115 square miles, or about one-sixth of all the glaciers among the Alps. Within a few years, a chalet has been erected on the very summit of the Wengern Alp, to afford refreshment by day to passing travellers, and shelter by night to those who wish to enjoy the sunrise from hence. Both the fare and the beds are of a very humble description. The descent from this chalet to Grindelwald takes up about three hours. The path is steep and difficult, strewn with fallen rocks. It passes within sight of a forest mown down by the fall of avalanches. The trunks, broken short off close to the ground, still stand, like stubble left by the scythe Byron describes "whole woods of withered pines-all withered; trunks stripped and barkless, branches lifeless; done by a single winter, their appearance reminded me of me and my family." In descending into the valley, the Wetterhorn is seen in front, and on the 1. the Faulhorn, surmounted by an inn, like that on the Righi, which furnishes night-quarters to those who ascend for the sake of the sunrise, and the celebrated panoramic view (p. 109). On the rt., low down, appears the white glacier of Grindelwald, issuing out of a gorge, on a level with the habitations of the valley. Travellers, instead of proceeding at once to Grindelwald, usually skirt along the base of the mountain, in order to visit this glacier on their way. Grindelwald (Inns: Adler-Eagle; Bär-Bear; both tolerable). They are more than a mile distant from the lower glacier in summer they are often very full, so that it is advisable to send on beforehand to secure beds. The village of Grindelwald, consisting of picturesque wooden cottages, widely scattered over the valley, lies at a height of 3250 feet above the sea, from which cause, and from its vicinity to the glaciers, the climate of the valley}is cold, and unstable even in summer. Its inhabitants are chiefly employed in rearing cattle, of which 6000 head are fed on the neighbouring pastures. Some of the peasants act as guides; the younger females pick up a few batz by singing Ranz de Vaches at the inns, and most of the children are beggarsoccupations arising from the influx of strangers into the valley, which has exercised an injurious influence upon its morals and ancient simplicity of manners. Grindelwald owes its celebrity, as a place of resort for travellers, to the grandeur of the mountains which surround it, and to its two Glaciers (8 17), which, as they descend into the very bottom of the valley below the level of the village, and almost within a stone's-throw of human habitations, are more easily accessible here than in other parts of Switzerland. Three gigantic mountains form the S. side of the valley-the Eigher, or Giant; the Mettenberg (Middle Mountain), which is, in fact, the base or pedestal of the magnificent peak, called Schreckhorn; and the Wetterhorn (Peak of Tempests), at the upper end. Between these three mountains the two glaciers of Grindelwald issue out. They are branches of that vast field or ocean of ice mentioned above as occupying the tableland, and high valleys amidst the Bernese Alps, and being pushed downwards by the constantly-increasing masses above, decend far below the line of perpetual snow (S 17). Α Their chief beauty arises from their being bordered by forests of fir, which form, as it were, a graceful fringe to the white ice, while the green pastures, with which they are almost in contact near their base, contrast agreeably with their frozen peaks. Though inferior in extent to those of Chamouni, they yield to them alone; and the traveller who has not seen them will do well to explore the Glaciers of Grindelwald. The Lower Glacier, also called the smaller, although four times as large as the upper one, forces its way out between the Eigher and Mettenberg, and its solid icebergs descend to a point only 3200 ft. above the level of the sea. path, practicable for mules, ascends for nearly 2 hours along its left margin, beneath the precipices of the Mettenberg, commanding a most interesting view of the bristling minarets of ice, rising in the most varioust and fantastic shapes. The glacier, which is narrow at the bottom, gradually widens, and spreads out into what is called the Sea of Ice (Eismeer), where its surface, though traversed by crevices, is less shattered than below. The best view of it is from the grotto called Nellenbalm. Strangers should not venture upon the ice without a guide. In 1821, M. Mouron, a clergyman of Vevay, was lost in one of the crevices. Suspicions were entertained that the guide who accompanied him had murdered him, and search was immediately commenced for the body. After 12 days of, fruitless attempts, it was at length drawn out of an abyss in the ice, said to have been 700 feet deep (?), by a guide named Burguenen, who was let down from above, at the peril of his life, by a rope with a lantern tied to his neck. He was twice drawn up without having been able to find it, nearly exhausted for want of air; the third time he returned with it in his arms. It was much bruised, and several limbs were broken; so as to lead to the belief that life, or at least sensation, had departed before it reached the bottom; but both the watch and the purse of the unfortunate man were found upon him, so that the suspicions regarding the guide were proved to be groundless. He was buried in the church of Grindelwald. On the way up to the Eismeer a singular depression in the rocks, called Martinsbrück, is pointed out to the traveller; and opposite to it, in the crest of the Eigher, a small hole, called Martinsloch, through which the sun's rays shine twice ayear. Once on a time, according to the tradition, the basin now occupied by the Eismeer was filled with a lake, but the space between the Mettenberg and the Eigher being much narrower than at present, the outlet from it was constantly blocked up, and inundations produced, which ruined the fields of the peasants in the valley below. At length St. Martin, a holy giant, came to their rescue; he seated himself on the Mettenberg, resting his staff on the Eigher, and then with one lusty heave of his brawny back not only burst open the present wide passage between the two mountains, but left the marks of his seat on the one, and drove his walking-stick right through the other. The Upper Glacier may be visited in going over the Scheideck. Ascent of the Faulhorn. The Faulhorn is a mountain 8140 feet above the sea-level; situated between the valley of Grindelwald and the lake of Brienz, and commanding from its summit an excellent view, especially over the neighbouring chain of Bernese Alps. On this account it is ascended in the summer-time, like the Righi, by numerous parties of travellers. "For an excursion up the Faulhorn, the horses that have brought travellers to Grindelwald may be used. For ladies who do not ride, and are yet willing to undergo the fatigue of the ascent, chairs may be hired at the inns, with capital bearers, four to each chair, at 6 francs each; or if the party sleep on the Faulhorn, 9 frs. The inn on the summit, which is only tenanted for 4 months of the year, and is totally abandoned to the wind and rain in October, affords 3 very tolerable apartments, and one or two lofts; still it is but sorry sleeping ac-. : commodation, the désagrémens of which are hardly compen→ sated to ladies by the uncertain beauty of the early view of the glaciers for gentlemen the quarters are good enough. The ascent from Grindelwald is totally free from danger, and not very difficult. It may be made in less than 5 hours, and the descent in 31/2. The larder of mine host is said to be better than heretofore; but every thing is of course very dear."-L. A faggot of fire-wood costs from 10 to 15 batz. The path leads over the Bachalp, by the side of a small lake, 1000 feet below the summit. The view of the Bernese Alps from the top forms the chief feature of the panorama, which in this respect, and from the proximity of the Faulhorn to those snowy giants, far surpasses the prospect from the Righi. On the other hand, though the lakes of Thun and Brienz are both visible, only a small strip of each appears, which is but a poor equivalent for the wide expanse of blue water which bathes the foot of the Righi. There is a footpath from the top of the Faulhorn, passing the waterfall of the Giesbach to Brienz; the distance is about 14 miles. A bridle-path leads down to Rosenlaui, on the way to Meyringen, so that travellers about to cross the Scheideck need not return to Grindelwald. Grindelwald to Meyringen, by the Great Scheideck. 61/2 stunden-20 3/4 English miles. Beyond Grindelwald the char road ceases, and those who cannot travel on horseback or on foot can reach Meyringen only by crossing the lake of Brienz, returning first to Interlachen. An hour's walk up the valley from Grindelwald, and a slight detour to the rt. of the direct path to Meyringen, leads to the Upper Glacier. It does not materially differ from the one below, nor is it finer; but it sometimes has a larger vault ofice at its lower extremity. These two glaciers are the chief feeders of the Black Lutschine. It takes 3 hours to reach the summit of the Scheideck from Grindelwald. The ascent is easy, and during the whole of it the Wetterhorn (Peak of Tempests) overhangs the path, an object of stupendous sublimity. It rises in one vast precipice of alpine limestone, apparently close above the traveller's head, though its base is more than a mile off. Four different avalanches descend from it in the spring; some of them reach to the path; and patches of their snow often last through the summer. Upon the slope in front of the Wetterhorn is usually stationed one who blows the alpine horn, a rude tube of wood, 6 or 8 feet long. The traveller should on no account omit to stop and listen. A few seconds after the horn has ceased, the few and simple notes of the instrument are |