§ 11.-Notes of Information for Travellers.

xxix

small alpine Trout, which are of great excellence; sometimes, also, chamois venison, which, by the way, is far inferior to park venison; wild strawberries are very abundant, and, with a copious admixture of delicious cream,—the staple commodity of the Alps,-are by no means to be despised.

Those who enter a Swiss inn, tired, hot, and thirsty, after a long walk or dusty ride, may ask for a bottle of "limonade gazeuse," under which name they will recognise a drink nearly resembling ginger-beer, but with more acidity, and, when good, very refreshing. It supplies here the place of hock and Seltzer-water on the Rhine.

The best Swiss wines are those of Neuchâtel and Vaud; such as they are procured at inns, they merit no great praise. An effervescing sweet Sardinian wine (vin d'Asti) is common, and may be resorted to for a change.

Notes of Information which ought to be hung up, by Innkeepers, on the Walls of every Coffee-room for Travellers.

"Prices of all Articles supplied by the Hotel. d'hôte-Wines-Baths-Carriages, &c.

Meals Table

"Public Conveyances. Mails-their Time of Starting - Price to various places-Time of Arrival-Diligences, ditto-Steam-boats, ditto -Other Boats, ditto-Printed Papers of Steam-packets to England and down the Rhine-Fiacres.

"There ought to be hung up on the walls a Map of the town, if there is one-Map of the adjacent country-Map of the kingdom. A Directory of the town, if published, should always be kept in the coffee

room.

"Distinct compartments on the walls should be secured for different advertisements, affiches, &c. In large cities, lists of theatres and operas. Every hotel ought to have in the hall, or where the keys are kept, a large board with the numbers of each apartment, and a space opposite in which the name of the occupier is written. The best hotels have this, and it is a very great convenience to enable travellers to discover their friends. A book is of little use, because it is never kept up to the time.

"If the card of the hotel has printed on its reverse a small map of the town, with a dark spot for the hotel, it is extremely useful.

"Several hotels, on the Rhine and elsewhere, have charged a single traveller (who supped in the coffee-room and slept one night) a franc for wax candles. This is not to be admitted, unless he have a private sitting-room. I have never paid it, finding it immediately withdrawn on remonstrance. If travellers will not remonstrate, they will be compelled to pay it on the plea of custom.

"It is the interest of every hotel-keeper to supply his guests with information relative to the modes of leaving him: this renders their return more probable."-C. B.*

• "Every steamer or other boat ought to have hung up in it the tariff of prices. This is rarely omitted (except on the Lake of Geneva), and when omitted, travellers always suppose

§ 12.-DIRECTIONS FOR TRAVELLERS, AND REQUISITES FOR A

JOURNEY IN SWITZERLAND-GUIDES.

The best season for travelling among the Alps is the months of July, August, and September, in which may, perhaps, be included the last half of June. The higher Alpine passes are scarcely clear of snow before the second week of June; and before the middle of October, snow almost invariably falls on the high Alps: and though the weather is often still serene, the nights draw in so fast as to curtail, inconveniently, the day's journey. During the long days, one may get over a great deal of ground. The judicious traveller will economise the daylight by rising, and setting forth as soon after sunrise as possible.

The average daily expense of living at the best inns in Switzerland will vary between 8 Fr. fr. and 10 fr. a-day, excluding all charge for conveyances, horses, and guides. The pedestrian who, with Keller in his pocket, can dispense with a guide, may travel in the remoter valleys of Switzerland at the rate of 5 to 7 fr. a-day, provided he knows German and French. The German students, who understand the art of travelling economically, always proceed in a party, and usually send on one of their number a-head, to their intended night-quarters, to make terms with the innkeeper. There is this advantage in travelling with a party, that numbers are more welcomed at an inn and better attended to than a solitary individual; on the other hand, when inns are full, few stand a better chance than many. All arrangements for the hire of carriages, horses, or guides, should be concluded over-night: he that waits till the morning will generally find either the conveyances engaged by others, or the price demanded for them increased, and, at all events, his departure delayed.

Saussure recommends those who are inexperienced in Alpine travelling to accustom themselves for some time before they set out to look down from heights and over precipices, so that, when they really enter upon a dangerous path, the eye may be familiarised with the depths of the abyss and the aspect of danger, and the head relieved from the vertigo which the sudden sight of a precipice is otherwise apt to produce.

It is scarcely necessary to repeat the caution against "drinking cold water or cold milk, when heated; but the guides, and natives accustomed to mountain travelling, never drink before resting; exercise afterwards will render the draught harmless.

It is tiresome and unprofitable in the'extreme to walk along a high road over a flat and monotonous country, where conveyances are to be had, and there is a carriage-road: here it is best to ride; the cost of a conveyance is counterbalanced by the economy of time.

In crossing one of the minor passes of the Alps-those not traversed by carriage-roads, but merely by foot or bridle paths-a guide should

they are charged higher than the natives. Steam-boats ought also to be furnished with printed lists of the time of starting of mails and diligences, from the points at which they stop."

§ 12.-Directions and Requisites for Swiss Travelling. xxxi

always be taken, as, in the upper part of the valleys, such paths almost invariably disappear, and become confounded with the foot-tracks of the cattle. This rule should especially be observed when the pass terminates in snow or glacier. It is also advisable to eschew short cuts, remembering the old proverb of "the longest way round."

After the middle of June, when the season for travelling in Switzerland begins, little danger is to be feared from avalanches, except immediately after snow-storms, which constantly occur among the high Alps, even in the height of summer. The precautions to be adopted in crossing spots exposed to avalanches are stated in § 18.

It is rash to attempt to cross a glacier without a guide, and he should always be allowed to take the lead, and the traveller follow his footsteps. The few instances of fatal accidents occurring to strangers among the Alps arise from their either not taking a guide with them, or neglecting to follow his advice. In the same way, in traversing Swiss lakes, notorious for their sudden storms, implicit reliance should be placed on the advice of the boatman, and no attempt should be made to induce them to launch their boats when they foresee danger.

Avoid, sedulously, stopping for the night near the embouchure of a river, where it empties itself into a lake. The morasses and flat land, created by the deposits of the river, are the hotbeds of malaria, and inevitably teem with disease. To stop in such situations for the night will probably be followed by a fever; and it is even dangerous to sleep in a boat or carriage in crossing such districts. Should, however, any accident compel the traveller to take up his night-quarters in such a spot, let him choose the highest house in the village, and the uppermost room in the house; the malaria does not rise above a certain height; and let him close carefully the windows. It is, however, far better to walk on all night, should there be no other means of advancing or avoiding a spot so situated, than to run the risk. Such morasses are most dangerous in spring and autumn.

Signs of the Weather among the Mountains. When, in the evening, the wind descends the valley, it is usually a sign of fine weather; the contrary when it ascends. The same may be said of the march of the

clouds at all times of the day.

When the roar of the torrent and the knell of the church-bell reach the ear, at one time loud and clear, at another indistinct and apparently distant, it is a warning of rain.

If, when the clouds clear off, after several days of rain, the mountaintops appear white with fresh snow, steady, fine weather will almost invariably follow.

It is a bad sign when the outline of the distant mountain-peaks appears particularly sharp and defined-cut out, as it were, against the horizon.

To cure blistered Feet.-Rub the feet at going to bed with spirits, mixed with tallow dropped from a candle into the palm of the hand; on the following morning no blister will exist. The spirits seem to possess the healing power, the tallow serving only to keep the skin

soft and pliant. This is Captain Cochrane's advice, and this remedy was used by him on his Pedestrian Tour.' To prevent the feet blistering, it is a good plan to soap the inside of the stocking before setting out.

At the head of the list of Requisites for Travelling in Switzerland may properly be placed Keller's admirable Road Map of that country, which indicates, not only every place and every road, but distinguishes each kind of road, whether carriage, char, bridle-road, or foot-path; marking at the same time the heights of the mountains, the depths of the lakes, the waterfalls, points of view, and other remarkable objects. It almost enables the traveller to dispense with a guide. Of course, it cannot be faultless, but its errors are remarkably few.

Travellers should provide themselves with the Swiss edition (the second) of this map, published by Keller himself, at Zürich. Both the English and French copies of it are very inferior both in clearness and accuracy, and worse than useless on difficult passes.

Requisites for Travelling.-The following hints are principally addressed to those who intend to make pedestrian journeys.

To travel on foot is the best mode of seeing Switzerland; and it saves a world of trouble to have no other baggage than a knapsack, containing a change of linen, with a light great coat or cloak, the weight of which need not exceed 14 or 16 lbs."-J. P. C.

The shoes ought to be double-soled, provided with hob-nails, such as are worn in shooting in England, and without iron heels, which are dangerous, and liable to slip in walking over rocks; three rows of nails are better the weight of a shoe of this kind is counterbalanced by the effectual protection afforded to the feet against sharp rocks and loose stones, which cause contusions, and are a great source of fatigue and pain; they should be so large as not to pinch any part of the foot. The experienced pedestrian never commences a journey with new shoes, but with a pair that have already conformed to the shape of the feet. Cotton stockings cut the feet to pieces on a long walk; in their place, thick knit worsted socks, or cotton stockings with worsted feet, ought invariably to be worn. Gaiters are useful in wet weather to keep the socks clean; at other times to prevent small stones from falling into the shoes, but they are liable to heat the ankles. It is advisable to travel in cloth trowsers, not in linen, which afford no protection against rain or changes of temperature in mountain regions. A frock coat is better than a shooting jacket, which, though well enough in remote places, is strange, and will attract notice in the streets of a foreign town.

A very serviceable article in a traveller's wardrobe is a Blouse (Kittel in German), somewhat resembling a ploughman's smock frock in England, but by no means confined to the lower orders abroad, as it is a common travelling costume of nobles, gentles, and peasants. It may be worn either over the usual dress, to keep it clean and free from dust, or it be substituted for the coat in hot weather. This kind of garment may be purchased ready-made in any German town. The best

may

§ 12.-Directions and Requisites for Swiss Travelling. xxxiii

colour is brown; blue is usually worn by agricultural labourers only. A knapsack may be purchased at a much cheaper rate abroad, and on a much better plan than those made in England. Portmanteaus are better in England than anywhere else. A waterproof coat or cloak is almost indispensable, and it is difficult to procure one abroad.

A flask, to hold brandy and kirschwasser, is necessary on mountain excursions: it should be remembered, however, that spirits ought to be resorted to less as a restorative than as a protection against cold and wet, and to mix with water, which ought never to be drunk cold or unmixed during a walk. The best restorative is tea, and as there are some parts of the Continent in which this luxury cannot be procured good, it is advisable to take a small quantity from England. Good tea, however, may be bought in Holland, and in most of the large towns of Germany.

Carey, optician, 181, Strand, makes excellent pocket telescopes, about four inches long, combining, with a small size, considerable power and an extensive range. Black glass spectacles are the best protection for the eyes against the glare of the sun in a southern climate.

Lee, West Strand, London, bookseller and stationer, furnishes many requisites for travellers, including a very portable writing-case.

A stout leather or canvas bag, to hold silver crown pieces and dollars; -cards, or pieces of parchment, for writing directions for the baggage (the managers of public conveyances abroad often insist upon each package being addressed, before they will take charge of it); - and one or two leather straps, to keep together books or small parcels, will be found very useful.

Paper, pen and ink, and soap, should by all means be deposited in the knapsack, being articles difficult to meet with at every place.

The pedestrian, in packing his knapsack, if he intend to carry it on his own back, should not allow its weight to exceed 16 or 20 lbs., even if he be strong. The most part of travellers, however zealous at first in bearing their own pack, grow tired of it after a day or two, transferring it to a guide, who, if young and stout, will carry with the greatest ease a weight of 35 or 40 lbs.

It

The alpenstock is an almost indispensable companion upon mountain Journeys, and may be procured everywhere in Switzerland for 2 fr. is a stout pole, about 6 ft. long, with an iron spike at one end for use, and a chamois' horn for show at the other. The pedestrian who has once tried it, will fully appreciate its uses as a staff and leaping-pole, but chiefly as a support in descending the mountains; it then becomes as it were, a third leg. It enables one to transfer a part of the weight of the body from the legs to the arms, and which is a great relief in descending long and steep hills. By the aid of it, the chamois-hunters glide down snow-covered slopes, almost perpendicular, checking the velocity of their course, when it becomes too great, by leaning back, and driving the point deeper into the snow. In crossing glaciers, it is indispensable, to feel the strength of the ice, and ascertain whether it be free from crevices and able to bear the weight.