J. J. Tobin

“ Many thousand feet below us we beheld four large lakes surrounded by green mountains and vallies glowing in the sun; beyond these lay the wide extended plains of Bavaria, clothed with glittering towns and villages, over which the eye wandered to a far distant horizon, bounded only by the clear blue sky.
Looking back we saw down into many a dark valley, out of which rose numberless snow peaks, and high above the rest the majestic Schneeberg, with its eternal glaciers, and at a yet greater distance the still more lofty peaks of the Salzburg chain ”

“ In the afternoon, as he did not feel strong enough to mount the hill to the castle, he took a short walk over the bridge along the northern banks of the Neckar, and appeared much to enjoy the beautiful scenery that encircles this spot, and is indeed every where to be found around Heidelberg. From this side one sees the ancient ruin with its mouldering towers, backed by a lofty amphitheatre of finely wooded mountains, with the town standing immediately under it, and the broad river rushing through its light and airy bridge, often foaming over many a rugged rock. ”

“ On looking towards the opposite end of the cave, through a lofty arch of snow, we beheld a distant waterfall, whilst the rocks and bushes, finely lighted by the rays of the sun, contrasted strongly with the darkness of the cave, whose fretted roof seemed as if hewn out of the finest white marble into large descending points, from which the melting snow was continually dropping. Having made a slight sketch of this fairy scene, we left the cave, and, following the rivulet, soon reached the waterfall which we had seen in the distance through the arch of snow. ”

“ At the end of the road, on driving down a hill, the lake of Veldes opened upon us. This lake is on a much smaller scale, and totally different from the Traun-See, and to many would perhaps appear more beautiful. At the bottom of the hill, near the lake, lies the village of Veldes, with its church steeple and a few of the houses peeping out from between the trees; above the church an enormous lofty rock rises perpendicularly out of the waters of the lake, bearing on its top an old imperial castle, to which on the land side a pathway is seen winding up through the wood. ”

“ The best inn at Gmünden, the Ship, is close upon the edge of the water, and commands a magnificent view over the whole extent of the lake, and every window being provided with a little cushion, one may enjoy the scene leaning on the window-sill for hours, without any detriment to one's elbows. Gmünden itself is a pretty clean little town at the north end of the lake, exactly on the spot where it empties itself into the river Traun with an impetuous rush, thus dividing the town into two distinct parts, connected by a strong wooden bridge built on piles. ”

“ Before arriving at this little town, we beheld on our left a fine and magnificent view of the Schneeberg, and the Alps of Hallstadt and Aussee, and on quitting it we caught the first glimpse of the Salzburg chain, which we continued to behold increasing in grandeur and beauty the nearer we approached it. The next poste from Frankenmarkt is Neumarkt, and from hence we drove through many villages and hamlets, the road being now and then rather hilly, till, at about half-past one, we saw Salzburg lying before us in the broad valley of the Salza, backed by a gigantic rampart of Alps. ”

“ Three leagues beyond Assling we turned out of the post road, and drove to Radmannsdorf, passing through what much resembled an English park; fine large trees rising from a verdant turf, rendering the drive at once shady and agreeable. Radmannsdorf is a small insignificant town; the only inn it has to boast of was being repaired and not habitable, so that we were obliged to go somewhere else, and Sir Humphry determined to proceed to Veldes and to spend a day or two in that beautiful neighbourhood. ”

“ We set out early this morning for the Wochain lake, and as we drove along the banks of the Save, the country became at every mile more and more romantic; and upon arriving at the spot where the river issues from the lake, it seems to have reached the highest pitch of wild grandeur. Barren rocks, from four to six thousand feet high, rise up to the clouds, in which they hide their lofty snow-clad peaks. ”

“ Wurzen is a wretched little village, a collection of a few dozen of wooden huts, situated about two thousand feet above the level of the sea, at the foot of a pass which leads from Carniola into Carinthia, similar to that of the Löbel, but by no means so elevated. The post-house is tolerable, and the view from the windows magnificent, so much so, that Sir Humphry requested me to take a sketch of it for Lady Davy. ”

“ Towards evening I had hoped to have seen the rosy tinge upon the Alps, caused by the reflection of the sunbeams upon the snow of the summits, but I was disappointed, for they faded away into the grey clouds of evening as we drove up a very steep but short hill into Neu-Ötting, a neat little town, in the streets of which we saw many pretty women and girls knitting before their doors; on the whole, the people are much handsomer here than in the country we have hitherto passed through. ”

“ In the plain beneath us lay Horace's Soracte; and beyond this mountain, and stretching towards the north as far as the eye could reach, the chain of the Appenines, whose lower regions were clad in the fresh green of spring, while the higher ridges were mostly covered with snow, above which rose the more distant summits of the Velino and many other snowy peaks, now hidden by light fleeting clouds, and then again glittering in a morning sun. ”

“ To the west lies the delightful valley that leads to Salzburg, on each side of which, mountain rises over mountain, all richly covered with wood. On the east one sees Ischl, with its steaming saltworks, and beyond it the valley of the Traun, seemingly closed in by the wild and rocky Alps which form the shores of the Traun-See. ”

“ The paths through the cavern are generally very good, and broad enough for two or three persons to walk abreast, and have in many places been widened and levelled by art, but the road from the curtain to the end of the grotto, passes over a chaos of rocks and large broken stalactites; these, though now united by the all-binding lime-water into shapeless masses of rock, formerly composed the roof, but have now given place to newer formations, so that even in these subterraneous caverns, as in all other of nature's works, man beholds destruction only as making way for regeneration. ”

“ A little below the cataract a lofty wooden bridge is thrown over the Traun, and from beneath it one beholds a truly sublime scene. The greater part of the river here precipitates itself from a height of nearly fifty feet, in one immense mass of foam over the impeding rocks, which are of considerable breadth. Thick clouds of mist are continually rising from the boiling pool, and the spectator standing within a few feet of the descending river is completely wetted in an instant. In the centre of the river stands a large rock, from which three smaller falls throw themselves into the greater pool ”

“ It rained heavily this morning, but cleared up before we left Sienna. The country at first is rather barren and hilly, but improves the nearer we approach to Florence. Tavernelle, where we stopped to dine and bait the horses, is a small and insignificant village; the country beyond it becomes very pretty; the road is bordered with neat villages and villas, from the gardens of which immense clusters of roses hang over the walls, and the distant hills are covered with fine wood, and with the beautiful fan pine. We saw Florence in the valley of the Arno long before we reached it ”

“ After dinner we went on to Sienna, and the country became rather more interesting, being now and then diversified with country houses and villas. The roads are excellent, and very well kept. Sienna lies very high, and is seen from a considerable distance, especially two of its towers; one of them very lofty and slender, and the other streaked alternately with black and white lines, just like a Prussian boundary-post. We entered the town by a spacious old brick gateway, and driving through a long and wide street, paved with broad flagstones, arrived at the Aquila Nera, a very good inn. ”

“ The gardens too, which, from their situation, sweeping as they do around the hill on which the castle stands, and abounding in fine large trees, are at once commanding and beautiful, afford many a delightful walk and striking view of the country beneath; and wandering amid their risings and descents, one feels that here art has been considered as she really is, the handmaid, not the mistress of nature's works. ”

“ When the Rutsch is very long, as in the mines at Hallein, near Salzburg, the miner always sits upon a thick leather apron, and when alone makes no use of the cord, but rushes down with a fearful impetus into the salt-cave below. When we arrived at the Rutsch, and the ladies had all got out of their barrows, after much discussion and many fears and doubts, they consented thus to descend, as the miners assured them it was more dangerous to do so by the steps cut in the rock at the side, which were exceedingly precipitous and very wet. ”

“ The mountains are more thickly wooded, and the springs of the various turnings of the road present a view of the distant Styrian Alps, one of which, called the Bischoff's Mütze, or the Mitre, is of a very singular form, consisting of two peaks exactly resembling gigantic termites, (anthills,) rising out of vast fields of snow. Along the side of the road runs a mountain torrent, clear as crystal, forming at every hundred yards fine cascades, some of which, increased considerably by lateral streams, are beautiful and picturesque to a high degree. ”

“ The only persons who inhabit it are the owner, an elderly man, formerly bailiff of the district, with his housekeeper and a servant, so that Sir Humphry is certain of enjoying the quiet and tranquillity which are so necessary to him.
Ischl is a small clean town,—if it may be so denominated, for I should think it scarcely contains two thousand inhabitants,—delightfully situated in a valley watered by the river Traun, which flows through it, and is crossed by a wooden bridge. On every side are beautiful walks, some into the woods, some along the river, others again up into the mountains ”

“ The height of the fall must be nearly four hundred feet, and from the transparency and icy coldness of the water, and its gushing out of the middle of a perpendicular wall of rock, which exhibits no trace of vegetation, except here and there a stunted fir-tree thrusting itself through a crevice, it is probably the exit of a subterraneous lake, confined in the interior of the mountain, and supplied from the snows of the still loftier summits. ”

“ What most strikes a stranger in the streets of Rome, are the numerous shops of mosaics, gems, and trinkets in marble and bronze, and a month and a fortune might be spent by those who have nothing better to do with their time and money, in admiring and selecting such objects. The Corso, or high street, the theatre of all the festivities during the carnival, is every afternoon thronged with carriages, which drive up and down in two lines, the one going, the other coming. ”

“ It was our intention to have reached Haag this evening, but having a very long and steep hill to cross, the night overtook us at Ried, a little village, where we were obliged to put up with the accommodations of a miserable inn, with bad coffee and wretched beds, much to the discomfiture of Sir Humphry.
22nd. We left Ried at about nine, and drove through a fine forest of lofty pines to Haag, and from thence to Lambach. Wood seems so abundant in this country, that not only the inferior houses are wholly built of it, but even the fences between the fields are formed of rough deal planks. ”

“ The Traun, which is here only a small mountain stream, but beautifully clear, rushes foaming out of the lake at its southern end; a small covered bridge is thrown across it at this spot, beneath which are sluice gates, by means of which the exit of the waters can be partially hindered. Close to the bridge is a cottage inhabited by the fisherman, who alone has the right of fishing in the lake, which privilege he rents from the crown. A few zwanzigers (an eightpenny coin) easily procured for Sir Humphry every possible facility in his favourite pursuit from this man. ”

“ The four leagues from Mannheim to Heidelberg are through a country, not one spot of which is uncultivated; this is backed by the finely wooded mountains of the Odenwald, on which are still visible the remains of some of the many castles which formerly crowned the different heights. We reached Heidelberg towards evening, and as soon as I had seen Sir Humphry comfortably lodged in the hotel of the Prince Carl, immediately under the imposing ruins of its far-famed castle, he begged me to go and see my mother, he being too fatigued to accompany me ”