LUZERNE, SWITZERLAND, _June 12, 1857_.
In order to vary my plan in proceeding north into Switzerland, I was
obliged to again take Verona, Vicenza, Brescia, and Milan, en route. It
is not a year since I described to you my visit to these cities, and
my excursions upon the Lago di Como, Guarda, and Lugano. I now wished
to accomplish the last of the five great passes of the Alps, the St.
Gothard, and include Lago Maggiore once again in the circuit, having
last year crossed the Splugen, and on former occasions Mount Cenis, the
Simplon, and the great St. Bernard.
From Milan, I took the poste to Sesto Calende, on the Lake Maggiore,
where our passports were visé, as we were leaving Austrian territory.
The next landing place on the opposite side, in Sardinia, is Arona,
near which stands the bronze monument of San Carlo Boromeo, sixty-six
feet high, upon a pedestal forty-four feet in height, to the head of
which I had once ascended by an inner staircase. The remains of the
saint are in a crystal and gold coffin, in the crypt of the Domo of
Milan. We soon reached the islands called Isola Madre, Isola Bella,
Isola Pescatore, belonging to the same family, and noted for their
beauty. The two first are perfect gems. Isola Bella, with its palace,
picture galleries, terraced gardens, fountains, tropical vegetation,
gold fish, guinea fowls, &c., gives it the air of a little paradise.
The length of the lake may be made in five hours, to Mogidorro, where
an omnibus conveys you to Bellinzona, from which point the road
strikes off over the Splugen Pass to the right, which I took last
year from Como. I now passed in to the left, by diligence at the foot
of the mountain, to Airolo, where I passed the night. Leaving in the
morning, our horses climbed steadily up the zigzag walled roads, until
at mid-day we reached the Hospice, a height of six thousand eight
hundred and sixty-eight feet above the level of the sea, where we
partook of refreshments, and commenced the descent. The height is, you
will perceive, seven hundred and sixty-two feet less than that of the
location of the convent on the great St. Bernard, the highest habitable
point in Europe, once described to you, and which is one thousand feet
above the growth of timber. The mountains were snow-capped, the weather
was fine, and we suffered but little from cold. The snow banks did not
affect the passage. During eight months in the year sleighs are used.
Some of the passes, which are subject to avalanches, are protected
by long galleries, over which the huge masses slide into the gorges
and ravines below. One of these galleries is one hundred and eighty
feet long, and twelve feet wide. The melting snow produced beautiful
cataracts, and the foaming and rumbling of the waters were at times
deafening, particularly near the Teufel’s Brücke, or Devil’s Bridge,
over the torrent Reuss, ninety-five feet in height, about four thousand
feet above the level of the sea. The dangerous passes, on the verge of
precipices hundreds of feet perpendicular, are protected by parapet
walls. In two instances, from the encroachment of the snow upon the
border of the deep chasms, our wheels were blocked with loaded wagons
going in contrary directions, which obliged us to dismount, and caused
some delay. The scattered stone houses of the peasantry in the valley,
from the lofty eminences, looked like bird-cages, and the cultivated
patches in the green fields I could only compare to brown rugs which
had been washed and were lying out to bleach upon the grass. The
descent in the valley, the wild, romantic scenery of the mountains, the
deep greens foliage of the pines and cedars, the neat and airy Swiss
villages, the herdsmen, with flocks of goats, the peculiar costumes
of the peasants, the roaring of the torrents, and the splashing of
cascades, were well calculated to keep up a lively interest, even in
one who had traversed most of the mountains of Europe. The village
where William Tell was born, and the spot where he is represented as
having shot the apple from his son’s head, lent an historical interest
to the route.
At Fuelen, the head of the lake, a small steamer was in readiness to
conduct us, in two hours and a half, to Luzerne, one of the prettiest
positions for a town in Switzerland. I had made the tour of the lake
some years since, and was then, as now, struck with its majestic and
magnificent scenery. The hotels here are excellent.
At the period alluded to, my health did not permit the ascent of Mount
Riga; I have now accomplished it. An hour’s sail, by steamer, takes
one to Waggis, where horses and guides are procured, and where the
ascent to Riga begins. The mountain lies free on all sides, and stands
on one of the most interesting points, in reference to its beautiful
views, also its near approach to the great chain of the Alps, and the
neighborhood of so many lakes and valleys; I counted eleven of the
former. Its height is five thousand five hundred feet. Its extensive
view, not only over north, east, and west Switzerland, but also over
a part of Germany, well repays the tourist, if he be fortunate enough
to have clear weather, in which one is often disappointed. The road
or path is good, but it is laborious on foot, and places for rest and
refreshment are found. The better way is, for ladies and gentlemen
not accustomed to climbing, to take horses; in three hours the ascent
is made. A cold water cure establishment is found half way up. The
Stafelwirthshaus is about a mile from the summit, and on the extreme
top is the hotel called Riga Kulm, where we passed the night. We were
favored with a fine sunset, after which the horn sounded for dinner,
which our party enjoyed under the bracing atmosphere. The sky was
serene, and the moon in the full. We retired early, and the echo of
the morning horn saluted us a half hour before the sun rose on this
grand and imposing spectacle, whose beauties cannot be described with
the pen. Cloaks and overcoats were in requisition, a warm breakfast
enjoyable, and we descended by another route to the village of
Kussnacht, where a vehicle was chartered to convey us to Luzerne. My
next may be from north Switzerland, or from the banks of the Rhine.