panorama, and had been led back in darkness
as I came, I should have considered the
journey, with all its privations, well repaid by
what I saw."

Having seen this crowning glory of mountain
scenery, the tourist intent only upon a
short trip might adopt one of many variations
for his return to Basle. If on going out he
had missed any bright spot, he should see it
on his way back. He must remember:

Interlachen, one of the sweetest spots in all
Switzerland, which, though only about four
miles in extent, affords a perfect specimen of
a Swiss valley in its best form.

The Lake of Thun, inferior to that of
Wallenstadt in grandeur, and to that of
Lucerne in beauty, but superior to the Lake
of Zurich in both; and in respect to the view
from it, beyond all these; none of them having
any near or distant prospect comparable to
that looking back, where the snowy giants of
the Oberland, with the Jungfrau, and her
silver horns, are seen over the tops of the
nearer mountains.

The " show glacier " of the Rosenlaui, which
is so easy of access.

The view from the Hotel of the Jungfrau
on the Wengern Alp.

The lake scenery near Alpnach.

All these points should be made either out
or home. They are not likely to be forgotten
by the tourist when once seen. On the
pilgrimage to these wonders of nature, the other
peculiarities of the country and its people will
be observed, and amongst them the frequency
of showers and the popularity of umbrellas;
the great division of landed property; the
greater number of beggars in the Romanist
as compared with the Protestant Cantons,
and the better cultivation of the latter; the
numerous spots of historical interest, as
Morgarten, Sempach, Naefels; where the Swiss
have fought for the liberty they enjoy (to say
nothing of the dramatic William Tell, and his
defeat of the cruel Gesler); the fruitfulness
and number of Swiss orchards (which give us
our grocers' " French plums "), the excellent
flavor of Alpine strawberries and cream; the
scarcity of birds; and the characteristic
sounds of the Swiss horn, the Ranz des
Vaches, and the night chaunts of the
watchmen.

On the map attached to Dr. Forbes's volume
are the dates, jotted down, when our traveller
entered Switzerland, at Basle, and when he left
it on his return to smoke and duty in London.
He reached the land of mountains and lakes
on the 11th of August; he quitted it on the
12th of September; four days afterwards he
was being bothered at the Custom-House at
Blackwall. The last words of his book are
these:—" In accordance with a principle kept
constantly in view while writing out the
particulars of the Holiday now concluded, viz. to
give to those who may follow the same or a
similar track, such economical and financial
details as may be useful to them, I may here
state that the total expenses of the tour—from
the moment of departure to that of return—
was, as near as may be, One Guinea per diem
to each of the travellers."

The thousands of young gentlemen with
some leisure and small means, who are in
the habit of getting rid of both in unhealthy
amusements, need hardly be told that a
winter's abstinence from certain modes and
places of entertainment would be more than
rewarded by a single summer holiday spent
after the manner of Dr. Forbes and his younger
companions. No very heroic self-denial is
necessary; and the compensation—in health,
higher and more intense enjoyment, and the
best sort of mental improvement—is
incalculable.

What we have here described is an expensive
proceeding compared with the cheap
contract trips which are constantly diverging
from the Metropolis, to every part of England,
Ireland, Scotland, and to all attainable places
on the Continent. These, so far as we are
able to learn, have hitherto been well
conducted; and although the charges for every
possible want—from the platform of the
London Terminus back again to the same
spot, are marvellously moderate—the speculations,
from their frequent repetition, appear to
have been remunerative to the projectors.

CHRISTOPHER SHRIMBLE ON THE
"DECLINE OF ENGLAND."

To Mr. Ledru Rollin.

SIR,

I generally believe everything that is
going to happen; and as it is a remarkable
fact that everything that is going to happen
is of a depressing nature, I undergo a good
deal of anxiety. I am very careful of myself
(taking a variety of patent medicines, and
paying particular attention to the weather),
but I am not strong. I think my weakness
is principally on my nerves, which have been
a good deal shaken in the course of my
profession as a practising attorney; in which I
have met with a good deal to shock them;
but from which, I beg leave most cheerfully
to acquaint you, I have retired.

Sir, I am certain you are a very remarkable
public gentleman, though you have the
misfortune to be French. I am convinced you
know what is going to happen, because you
describe it in your book on " The Decline of
England," in such an alarming manner. I
have read your book and, Sir, I am sincerely
obliged to you for what you have made me
suffer; I am very miserable and very grateful.

You have not only opened up a particularly
dismal future, but you have shown me in
what a miserable condition we, here, (I mean
in Tooting, my place of abode, and the
surrounding portion of the British Empire) are
at this present time; though really I was not
aware of it.