(_For the Mirror._)
The Alpine Horn is an instrument made of the bark of the cherry-tree, and
like a speaking-trumpet, is used to convey sounds to a great distance.
When the last rays of the sun gild the summit of the Alps, the shepherd
who inhabits the highest peak of those mountains, takes his horn, and
cries with a loud voice, "Praised be the Lord." As soon as the
neighbouring shepherds hear him they leave their huts and repeat these
words. The sounds are prolonged many minutes, while the echoes of the
mountains, and grottoes of the rocks, repeat the name of God. Imagination
cannot picture any thing more solemn, or sublime, than this scene. During
the silence that succeeds, the shepherds bend their knees, and pray in the
open air, and then retire to their huts to rest. The sun-light gilding the
tops of those stupendous mountains, upon which the blue vault of heaven
seems to rest, the magnificent scenery around, and the voices of the
shepherds sounding from rock to rock the praise of the Almighty, must fill
the mind of every traveller with enthusiasm and awe.