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The Far-Famed Mount Rigi

A - ON of it were just like islands half emerging DER- to the view. It lay over the Bay of Kuss- FULnacht at our feet, like the white robe of views an infant in the cradle, but the greater can be part of the Lake of Lucerne was sleeping obtain- quietly without it, as an undressed babe. ed from Over the whole of the Lake of Zug the Mount mist was at first motionless, but in the Rigi, breath of the morning it began slowly to extend- move altogether towards the west, dising to closing the village of Arth and the veran im- durous borders of the lake, and then mense uncovering its deep sea-green waters, dis which reflected the lovely sailing shadows tance and displaying the grandeur and of the clouds as a mirror. beauty of Alpine scenery. A recent Now the church bells began to chime traveller gives us the following graphic under this body of mist, and voices from description: the invisible villages, mingled with the The amazing panorama is said to ex- tinkle of sheep-bells, and the various stir tend over a circumference of three hun- of life awakening from sleep, came stilly dred miles. In all this region, when the up the mountain. And now some of the upper glory of the heavens and mountain- mountain-peaks themselves began sudpeaks has ceased playing, then, as the denly to be touched with fleeces of cloud,. sun gets higher, forests, lakes, hills, rivers, as if smoking with incense in morning trees and villages, at first indistinct and worship. Detachments of mist begin also gray in shadow, become flooded with to rise from the lakes and valleys, moving sunshine, and almost seem floating up towards you. from the main body up into the air. The villages, cottages, and white roads, dotting and threading the vast circumference of landscape, come next into view. And There was for us another feature of the view, constituting by itself one of the most novel and charming sights of Swiss now on the Lake Zug you may see rescenery, but which does not always ac- flected the shadows of clouds that have company the panorama from the Rigi, risen from the surface, but are themselves even in a fine morning. This was the below us. soft smooth white body of mist, lying on The ascent of the Rigi has recently most of the lakes and in the vales, a sea been facilitated, but at the same time of mist, floating or rather brooding, like vulgarized, by the construction of a raila white dove, over the landscape. The way. It is, of course, only worked during spots of land at first visible in the midst the summer months, and is exposed to a was serious risk of dariage or even destruc-vehemently against so unheard-of tion in the early spring from the melting breach of precedent. "No horses could snow, the rush có swollen torrents, and be had, the route was unsafe after nightmasses of falling rocks, which come fall, the hotel on the summit thundering down with resistless force. crowded;" and they rehearsed a series of The entire length of the railway is 17,500 disasters to benighted travellers which feet, worked by engines of 120 horse- would have terrified a tourist unversed in power. Much more enjoyable, if more the manners and customs of Swiss hotel-