so that it is daily resorted to in summer by hundreds of travellers of all countries and ages, and of both sexes. The upper part of the mountain is composed, like the Rossberg, of the brecciated rock called Nagelflue. Externally the entire summit is clothed with verdant pastures, which support more than 2000. head of cattle in summer, and the middle and lower region are girt round with forests.

Owing to the uncertainty of the atmosphere, at high elevations, travellers should prepare themselves for disappointment, since the trouble of an ascent is often repaid with clouds and impenetrable mist, instead of a fine sunrise and extensive prospect. He is wise, therefore, who, in fine weather, manages to reach the summit before the sun goes down: he, at least, has two chances of a view. It not unfrequently happens, however, that the traveller who has commenced the ascent in sunshine and under a clear sky, is overtaken by clouds and storms before he reaches the top.

Horses and Guides.

The 3 principal bridle-paths to the Culm, or top of the Righi, are those from Goldau, Küssnacht, and Weggis. At each of these places, as well as at Arth, Lowertz, and Brunnen, horses, guides, and porters may be hired at prices regulated by tariff fixed by the Government of the canton, which is always hung up in the inns.

The usual charge for a horse is 9 Fr. francs to the top, and 6 to return next day by the same road; 9 by a different road on the opposite side of the mountain. A porter, to carry bag. gage, 6 fr. and 3 to return. A horse may be hired for 6 fr. up to the convent of Maria zum Schnee, below which is the steepest part of the ascent. Chaises à porteur may be procured for ladies who do not like to ride or walk, and each bearer receives 9 fr. up and down. In the height of summer, when the concourse of visitors is immense, it is a good plan to send a lad up the mountain before you to secure beds at the Rigiculm inn. The pedestrian, unless he desire to be relieved of his baggage, has scarcely any need of a guide, as the paths are most distinctly marked, and are traversed by so many persons that he can scarcely miss his way. To those who ride on horseback, the man who leads the horse will serve as guide, and no extra charge is made.

Ascent from Goldau,-3 1/2 hours; descent 2 1/2. Travellers usually make Arth (p. 56) their starting-place (1/4 of an hour farther off) because the inn is better there; but the ascent of the mountain begins at Goldau. This is, indeed, the best point to ascend from, because the path runs along a deep gulley in the interior of the mountain, the sides of which

shut out all view until the summit is reached, where it bursts at once upon the sight: the other paths wind round the exterior of the mountain.

At Goldau a toll of 5 batz,=15 sous, is paid for each horse, and goes to keep the path in repair. The path strikes at once from the inn of the Cheval Blanc up the side of the mountain; at first across fields strewn with blocks from the Rossberg, which, by the force acquired in their descent down one side of the valley, were actually carried up the opposite slope.

Near a small public-house, called Unter Dächli, where the guides usually stop to give breath to their animals and a glass of schnaps to themselves, the path is very steep indeed, carried up a rude staircase formed of trunks of trees fastened between the rocks.

This is a good point for surveying the fall of the Rossberg and the vale of Goldau below, mourning in ruin and desolation. The long train of rubbish thrown down by that convulsion is seen stretching across to the lake of Lowertz, which it partly filled up (see p. 61). A steep footpath from Arth falls into our road here. Here begin "the Stations," a series of 13 little chapels, each with a painting representing an event in our Lord's Passion, which lead up to the pilgrimage church of Mary-of-the-Snow. The steepest part of the road is over at the 4th station. At the chapel of Malchus, containing the bearing of the cross, the path from Lowertz falls into our

route.

Notre Dame des Neiges, or Maria zum Schnee, is a little church much frequented by pilgrims, especially on the 5th of August, on account of the indulgences granted by the Pope at the end of the 17th century to all who make this pious journey. Adjoining it is a small hospice, or convent, inhabited all the year by 3 or 4 Capuchin brothers, who do the duty of the church, being deputed by the fraternity at Arth on this service. The church is surrounded by a group of inns, the best of which (the Schwerdt and Sonne) are sometimes resorted to by invalids, who repair hither to drink goat's whey, and might even afford a homely lodging to travellers benighted or unable to find room in the two inns on the top of the mountain the others are public-houses, chiefly occupied by pilgrims. Half an hour's walking, up gently-sloping meadows, brings the traveller to the inn called Rigi-Staffel.

Ascent from Küssnacht,-3 1/2 hours to mount; 2 1/2 to descend. A mule path, as long as that from Goldau, and more steep. Leaving Küssnacht it passes on the 1. the ruins of Gessler's Castle (p. 55); is carried in zigzags up the steepest part of the mountain, through forests, and across the pastures

called Seeboden. The lake of Lucerne is in sight almost the whole way. The path emerges on the brow of the hill in front of the Staffel inn.

Ascent from Weggis.-Weggis-Inn: Löwe (Lion),-a small village on a little ledge at the foot of the Rigi, on the Lake of the Four Cantons, is the spot where those who approach the Rigi by water land. It supports 12 horses, 15 Boatmen, and guides in corresponding numbers. A bad path. winding round the foot of the Rigi, connects it with Küssnacht: but the chief communication is carried on by water.

The mule-path up the Rigi from Weggis is less steep and a little shorter than the two preceding: 3 1/4 hours up; 2 1/2 down. It winds along the outside of the mountain, in constant view of the lake, passing, first, the little chapel of Heiligenkreutz (Holy Cross), and then stretching up to a singular. natural arch (called Hochstein, or Felsenthor), formed by two vast detached blocks of nagelflue (puddingstone), holding suspended a third, beneath which the path is carried. These broken fragments serve to illustrate the tendency which this rock has to cleave and split, and to this cause may be attributed a singular torrent of mud, which, in the year 1795, descended from the flank of the Rigi upon the village of Weggis, destroying 30 houses and burying nearly 60 acres of good land. It advanced slowly, like a lava current, taking a fortnight to reach the lake, so that the inhabitants had time to romove out of its way. It is supposed to have been produced by springs, or rain water percolating the cracks of the nagelflue, and converting the layer of clay, which separates it from the beds beneath it, into soft mud. Had there been any great fracture in the nagelflue, it is probable that a large portion of the mountain would have given way and slipped down into the lake, since the strata of the Rigi slope at a very steep angle. Had this been the case, a catastrophe, similar to that of the Rossberg, might have ensued. As it was, the softened clay was squeezed out by the weight of the superincumbent mass of the mountain, and formed this deluge of mud, traces of which are still visible on the side of the mountain.

About half an hour's walk above the arch lies the Cold Bath (kaltes bad), where a source of very cold water, is uing out of the rock, supplies a small bathing establishment.

A new inn, of wood, has lately been constructed, containing 26 bedrooms and 6 baths. It was once the custom for patients to lie down in the bath with their clothes on, and afterwards to walk about in the sun until they dried on the back; but this method is no longer regarded as essential to effect a cure. Close to the cold-bath is a little chapel, dedicated to the Virgin, to which pilgrims repair, and in which. mass is daily said for the shepherds on the Rigi.

The spring is called the sisters' fountain, from a tradition that 3 fair sisters sought refuge here from the pursuit of a wicked and tyrannical Austrian bailiff; and spent the remainder of their days amidst the clefts of the rocks in the exercise of piety.

Summit of the Righi.

All the principal paths converge and unite in front of the Staffelhaus, a humble inn to which travellers are sometimes driven for a night's lodging, by the crowded state of the inn on the summit. It is half an hour's walk below the Culm, and it is a bad plan to stop short of it, since those who rest here must get up half an hour earlier next morning if they wish to catch the sunrise from the top.

The Culm, or culminating point of the Rigi, is an irregular space of ground of some extent, destitute of trees, but covered with turf. On the apex has been planted a kind of scaffolding, about 18 feet high, a puny additional elevation to that of the mountain, though some ascend it to see the view to advantage. A little lower down, built under the shoulder of the Culm, to protect it from the most serious blasts of wind, stands the Culm Haus, an inn, somewhat resembling a barrack, containing more than 40 beds, in rooms not unlike cabins, and affording very tolerable accommodation, considering the height, which exceeds that of the most elevated mountain in Britain. Travellers should bring all their cloaks with them, as the cold is often very intense, and the barometer at times varies as much as 20° Reamur, within the 21 hours. The house is warmed with stoves even in summer. The following notice, relative to the counterpanes, is hung up in every room :-"On avertit MM. les étrangers que ceux qui prennent les couvertures de lit pour sortir au sommet paieront dix batz; "a threat which seems more likely tosuggest than prevent the commission of so comfortable an offence.

During the height of summer, when travellers are most numerous, the Culm inn is crammed to overflowing every evening; numbers are turned away from the doors, and it is difficult to procure beds, food, or even attention. The house presents a scene of the utmost confusion, servant maids hurrying in one direction, couriers and guides in another, while gentlemen with poles and knapsacks block up the passages. Most of the languages of Europe, muttered usually in terms of abuse or complaint, and the all-pervading fumes of tobacco cnter largely as ingredients into this Babel of sounds and smells, and add to the discomfort of the fatigued traveller. In the evening the guests are collected at a table d'hôte supper; after which most persons are glad to repair to rest. I Lakes some time, however, before the hubbub of voices and the

trampling of feet subside; and, not unfrequently, a few roystering German students prolong their potations and noise far into the night. The beds, besides, are not very inviting to repose; but whether the inmate have slept or not, he, together with the whole household, is roused about an hour before sunrise, by the strange sounds of a long wooden horn, which is played until every particle of sleep is dispelled from the household. Then commences a general stir and commotion, and everybody hastens out with shivering limbs and half-open eyes to gaze at the glorious prospect of a sunrise from the Righi. Fortunate are they for whom the view is not marred by clouds and rain, a very common occurrence, as the leaves of the Album kept in the inn will testify. Indeed the following verses describe the fate of a large majority of those who make this expedition:

Seven weary up-hill leagues we sped,

The setting sun to see;

Sullen and grim he went to bed,

Sullen and grim went we.

Nine sleepless hours of night we pass'd

The rising sun to see;

Sullen and grim he rose again,

Sullen and grim rose we.

View from the Righi.

Long before dawn an assemblage of between 200 and 300 persons is often collected on the Righi Culm, awaiting the sunrise to enjoy this magnificent prospect. A glare of light in the E., which gradually dims the flickering of the stars, is the first token of the morning; it soon becomes a streak of gold along the horizon, and is reflected in a pale pink tint upon the snows of the Bernese Alps. Summit after summit slowly catches the same rosy hue; the dark space between the horizon and the Righi is next illuminated; forests, lakes, hills, rivers, towns, and villages, gradually become revealed, but look cold and indistinct until the red orb surmounts the mountain top, and darts his beams across the landscape. The shadows are then rolled back, as it were, and, in a few moments, the whole scene around is glowing in sunshine. The view is best seen during the quarter of an hour preceding and following the first appearance of the sun; after that the mists begin to curl up, and usually shroud parts of it from the eye.

The most striking feature in this wonderful panorama, which is said to extend over a circumference of 300 miles, is undoubtedly the lakes of Lucerne and Zug; the branching arms of the former extend in so many different directions as