that it was here Tell leaped ashore and escaped his gaoler whilst being conveyed to a dungeon, it is not worthy of notice. It is, however, of very ancient date, 1380. Service is occasionally performed here; so say the guide-books. Having passed Tell's Platz, we speedily arrive at the landing place and termination of our voyage, Flüelen. From this place sundry rude conveyances take such passengers as desire it to Altdorf, the capital of the canton of Uri. In the market-place of this town Tell's exploit of shooting the apple from his son's head is said to have taken place. We cared not for visiting Altdorf merely on the strength of the legend, and so slowly sauntered through the village, surveyed its quaint burial-ground, and so for a mile or two up the valley of the Reuss. Some potters were busy on the banks of the stream, but we did not see any of their wares. In the course of an hour, the vehicles having returned from Altdorf, we again embarked, and again revelled in such a succession of scenery that my pen, at all events, will fail in describing. The Rigi is again passed, Mount Pilatus is before us, solemnly grand; and emerging from one of the sinuosities of the lake, we soon reach Lucerne, after a most delightful and never-to-beforgotten voyage." It may refresh our memories to hear the story of Tell briefly told again. The extract is made from that crisp little book, "The Practical Swiss Guide." "The Swiss were fretting beneath the Austrian domination, A.D. 1307. One of its brief authorities,' Gessler, sought to feel the local pulse by ordering the passers to do homage to his hat. Tell refused. Tell refused. Gessler seized his child, and, wishing to see an example of the father's far-famed skill with the cross-bow, commuted his punishment into the carrying off of an apple from the head of the boy. To avoid worse consequences, the fatal shot was taken-and successfully; but, the secretion of a second arrow being detected, Tell boldly confessed that it was for Gessler's own heart, had the other slain his child. Tell then was hurried in chains into a bark for Gessler's stronghold at Küssnacht. A tempest arose: Tell was freed to take the helm; he leapt ashore at the Axenberg on the lake, waylaid Gessler at Küssnacht, and gave him that fatal evidence of his skill and feeling, which, however wrong, can scarcely be regarded as uncharacteristic of such an era and such anxieties." Grütli is remarkable as having the three springs which made their miraculous appearance when the three confederates joined hand in hand in solemn covenant. "For the father-soil which they trod, For freedom and hearth, they stood, While they vowed to the mightiest God Thus our hearts, with thy spirit still glowing, O Grütli, thy name shall retain, So long as our Rhine shall be flowing, So long as our Alps shall remain." Tell's Platte is a small rocky shelf, on which it is said that the Swiss patriot leaped from the boat of Gessler. Above the ledge of rock is a little chapel called "Tell's Chapel," which was erected about thirty years after the death of Tell; it contains some pictures and rough frescoes illustrating the history of Tell. On the Sunday after Ascension Day, the little chapel at Tell's Platte is the scene of a grand national demonstration, mass being performed, and a patriotic sermon delivered, in presence of large numbers of people assembled for the occasion from all parts of the Swiss Republic. Altdorf is reached by omnibus, or other conveyance, from Flüelen; it is a quaint little town, and the huge statue of Tell, which was presented by the riflemen of Zurich, marks the site where the hero stood when he shot the apple from the head of the boy. About 150 paces from the statue is a fountain marking the spot where "That sweet boy Whose head the ruddy apple tops, while he Expectant stands beneath the linden-tree." In the market-place of the town there is an ancient tower, not remarkable for its architectural beauty, but it is interesting from the fact that it is said to have stood where it now stands while Tell performed those gallant deeds which resulted in the liberation of Switzerland from Austrian tyranny. (At Flüelen, the tourist who proposes to journey over the St. Gothard Pass will part company with us here. An account of what to see and do in this route, which is full of surpassing beauty, will be found at page 180). THE FURCA PASS. description of the route Those who wish to take Rhone valley will find On page 180 will be found a over the St. Gothard into Italy. an interesting cross route to the the Furca Pass to be as interesting as any that can be chosen. The road lies as follows: from Flüelen to Andermatt, by the river Reuss, a journey which is perfect of its kind for beauty and desolation. Passing Wasen, a pretty village with a lofty church, and Teufelstein, or Devil's Stone, a huge block of granite said to have been thrown down by the devil, we arrive at the celebrated bridge which also bears his name, and continue on our way until we reach Hospenthal. So far we are on the St. Gothard route, described on page 183. The road now turns off to the right At first we have a level road, towards the Furca Pass. which continues until we reach Realp, a poor little village with a hospice kept by a Capuchin monk, one Father Hugo. Then we begin to ascend through rather monotonous scenery, treeless and barren for a distance of about nine miles, until we arrive at The Summit of the Furca, and here all is beautiful. The Galenstock, nearly 12,000 feet high, is before us, and we are surrounded on every hand by gigantic peaks. The Furca or Fork, so named from its two peaks, between which the Pass lies, is 8,150 feet above the sea, and the road descends on either side of it so abruptly that no one can fail to be conscious of being on the very mountain-top. There is a very good inn here, where Queen Victoria stayed for three days, from August 22 to 25, 1868. It is a rare thing to find the Furca entirely free from snow, and this fact adds considerable interest to those who wish easily to visit a real snow mountain. The descent is by a series of zigzags, very abrupt, and giving the unnecessarily nervous traveller the impression that he is going to the bottom with a bound. There are seven zigzags, which are marvels of engineering skill. The views obtained in the descent more than compensate for the poverty of those in the ascent. Nowhere can finer views be had of those grim giants of the Oberland, the Schreckhorn, and the Finsteraarhorn, or of the glorious Alpine chain from Monte Leone to the Weisshorn. Beside all this, we have the marvels of the Rhone Glacier, one of the finest things in Switzerland. As we descend it is spread at our feet, and every minute we get some fresh impression of the magnitude of its frozen billows and its yawning crevasses. As we reach the foot of the glacier we are struck with its wonderful appearance, which now assumes a fresh form. Above it stand the Gelmerhorn and the Galenstock, and from between them is the great sea of ice, "resembling a gigantic frozen waterfall,” extending for fifteen miles. This is the source of the river Rhone, which flows onward to the sea at Marseilles, 500 miles away. It has been said to issue "from the gates of Eternal Night, at the foot of the Pillar of the Sun ;" and really any poetry is excusable before a scene of such unparalleled grandeur as that before us. We stop at the Hotel du Glacier du Rhone to dine, and then resume our journey. Five hours will bring us to Brigne. We pass Oberwald, the highest village of the Upper Valais (4,316 feet); Obergestlen, burnt down in September, 1868; a large cheese depôt ; eighty-four men perished here in 1720, by the fall of an avalanche; the one grave in which they were buried is to be seen in the church-yard. Münster and Vietch are then passed: and when we arrive at Brieg, we have reached the Simplon route (see page 179.) Sierre, Sion, Martigny, are then reached. At Martigny we have the choice of travelling over the Col de Balme to Chamouny or to Bouveret, or Villeneuve on the Lake of Geneva (see page 131.) |