Chapter III: Part 3

_30th._ We left Radstadt this morning in the rain, the first wet weather we have had for some time, and drove on through the fertile and beautiful valley of the Enns to Schladming. The country in many parts resembles a flower garden, for the narcissus, the cyclamen, and many other of our garden flowers flourish here as the common weeds of the fields and mountains. From Schladming we proceeded to Gröbming, the next poste; it is a small village, picturesquely situated at the foot of high rocky mountains. About noon the weather cleared up, and on arriving here Sir Humphry determined to spend the afternoon in this place, and to see if he could find any thing to shoot in the fields. We accordingly went out after dinner, but could not see a bird, and returned in the evening to our inn, where I continued to read Shakspeare, which has been our book for the last six or seven evenings.

_31st._ We quitted Gröbming early this morning, where Sir Humphry had to pay dear for very bad accommodations, the only instance of exorbitant charges which we have as yet met with. To remonstrate with the landlord, however, was in vain; nor did it appear to us extraordinary that a being who had been rendered by illness unable to move, but by the help of a broad wooden bowl, in which he sat and shoved himself about, his legs being shrivelled up and quite useless to him, should be churlish and discontented. From Gröbming we went to Sternach, where we entered upon our former road, and from thence through Mitterndorf to Aussee, where we arrived in the afternoon, just as it began to rain hard.

_June 1st.-7th._ We have spent the whole of this week at Aussee, at a very good country hotel near the poste, which is not, in this little town, an inn, as is generally the case in this part of the country. Sir Humphry has been fishing every day from eight in the morning till three or four, about which time he usually dines, and our evenings have been spent as usual. I generally accompany him in all his excursions, being needed as an interpreter, and whilst he is fishing I take a sketch, or ramble about the lakes and through the woods, thus fully enjoying the beautiful alpine scenery with which we are surrounded. Our first trip was to the Gründtl-See, an exceedingly beautiful lake, about four miles from Aussee. The drive to it is chiefly along the banks of the Traun, and though over a very bad road, which is only passable for a one-horse cabriolet, is very picturesque, and the lake is seen peeping out at intervals through dark green firs. The Traun, which is here only a small mountain stream, but beautifully clear, rushes foaming out of the lake at its southern end; a small covered bridge is thrown across it at this spot, beneath which are sluice gates, by means of which the exit of the waters can be partially hindered. Close to the bridge is a cottage inhabited by the fisherman, who alone has the right of fishing in the lake, which privilege he rents from the crown. A few zwanzigers (an eightpenny coin) easily procured for Sir Humphry every possible facility in his favourite pursuit from this man. He rowed us over to the other end of the lake, where the Traun enters, which he told us was the best spot for fishing. The view of the lake from the southern end is finer than that from the northern extremity. In the centre of the scene at the latter end, some beautiful white cliffs rise to a great height, topped with bright green beech woods. On the right hand appear rugged mountains, covered with dark forests of pine, whilst those to the left are covered with woods of a lighter and more vivid green. Beyond the lake, mountain rises over mountain, the nearer ones finely wooded, whilst those in the distance are rocky and barren, and surmounted by a white crest of snow.

Leaving Sir Humphry occupied with fishing, I followed the course of the Traun for about a mile and a half up a fine narrow valley to the Töplitz Lake, from which issues no longer a broad and deep river, such as it flows from the Traun-See, but a little brawling brook eight to ten yards wide. The Töplitz-See is a small lake, of a wild and gloomy character; its banks are so precipitous that it is impossible to go round it, as I was told by the fishermen of the Gründtl-See, and above these banks nothing is to be seen but vast and sombre pine forests. There was a small canoe, hollowed out of the trunk of a fir-tree, lying at the water's edge, but there being no oar or paddle in it I could make no use of it, and accordingly returned to Sir Humphry. On a second visit to the Gründtl-See, I again went on to the Töplitz Lake, having been told by the fisherman that beyond it, and only a few hundred yards distant from it, lay another lake, the Kammer-See, from which the Traun took its rise, but that to reach this lake it was necessary to row across the Töplitz-See; I therefore took an oar with me, but upon arriving at the lake, I was sadly disappointed at finding the canoe no longer there, nor could I imagine who could have taken it away, for there was not in the surrounding scene the slightest vestige of a human being. I however climbed up the rocks, and attempted to pass round the lake, but was soon obliged to desist, having twice nearly slipped over the edge of the rock, a precipice of many hundred feet above the lake, into the water, upwards of a thousand feet in depth. When I returned with my unused oar to the fisherman, he told me that the canoe had probably been taken by some peasants, who lived in a summer hut at the other end of the Töplitz-See. This fisherman appeared to be a man of considerable information; he was well acquainted with the various fish which inhabit the alpine waters, and amongst other things he told us that the _Ombre Chevalier_, a fish of rare occurrence, was to be met in the Lambach-See and in the Upper Oden-See, two small lakes in the middle of the snowy Alps, at a very great elevation above the Gründtl-See. Sir Humphry much wished to visit these lakes, but was immediately deterred by the account which the fisherman gave us of the roads to them. The Gründtl Lake is famous for its trout and fine char, immense quantities of which are yearly sent to Vienna, potted.

Another of our trips was to the Lower Oden-See, about four miles on the other side of Aussee. This is a small lake, very different in character from the Gründtl-See and Töplitz-See: the shores, though not exactly flat, are formed of slightly varied hills covered with wood. Sir Humphry had excellent sport, and caught a great many small trout in the little stream which flows from this lake.

_8th._ Having paid another visit to the Gründtl-See this morning, we left Aussee and crossed over the mountain which we had passed on our former route to Ischl, and found the road now perfectly clear from snow. Sir Humphry intends to spend some time here, and to make use of the salt baths, which attract much company to this little place during the season.

_9th.-21st._ Sir Humphry has now given the baths a fair trial, and has found great benefit from them, although upon our arrival here, after taking his first bath, he was for giving them up in despair, and determined immediately to quit Ischl. This determination, however, was caused by the imprudent haste in which he had taken that bath, for no sooner were we arrived than he ordered a bath to go into instantly after his dinner. I could not help urging him not to do so, but in vain; he went into it, and was in consequence afterwards very unwell, and passed a most restless night.

In the morning he begged me to order horses to leave Ischl, but consented to my looking at some of the lodgings before we set off. I found one which, from its convenience and pleasant situation, I thought would suit him, and on his going with me to see it he was so pleased with it, that he relinquished his intention of leaving Ischl, and took it for a week, and we entered into it the same afternoon, causing a great bustle to its inmates, who were not accustomed to prepare so quickly for their lodgers. It is a very good large house, standing quite alone on the top of a grassy mound, with a large garden in front and fields behind, at a short distance from the baths, and within a few steps of the little town. The only persons who inhabit it are the owner, an elderly man, formerly bailiff of the district, with his housekeeper and a servant, so that Sir Humphry is certain of enjoying the quiet and tranquillity which are so necessary to him.

Ischl is a small clean town,--if it may be so denominated, for I should think it scarcely contains two thousand inhabitants,--delightfully situated in a valley watered by the river Traun, which flows through it, and is crossed by a wooden bridge. On every side are beautiful walks, some into the woods, some along the river, others again up into the mountains; and even these the invalid may enjoy, as he is sure at every short distance of finding a comfortable seat on which to repose. These benches generally bear the name of some prince or princess, whose favorite spot it marks, and they are always so placed as to command a fine view of the town, the valley and river, or the mountains. On the right bank of the town there is a sort of public garden, which is called the Prater, and is said to be a _very humble_ imitation of the celebrated park of the same name at Vienna. Here are various amusements for the people, the principal ones shooting at the target with the rifle and the cross-bow; behind these gardens rises a little wooded hill, on the top of which is a seat called the Umbrella-seat, from the awning over it, which is spread in the shape of an umbrella. From this spot one enjoys a most beautiful panoramic view of the surrounding scenery. To the west lies the delightful valley that leads to Salzburg, on each side of which, mountain rises over mountain, all richly covered with wood. On the east one sees Ischl, with its steaming saltworks, and beyond it the valley of the Traun, seemingly closed in by the wild and rocky Alps which form the shores of the Traun-See. On the northern side a mighty wall of rocks, many thousand feet high, rises out of dark pine forests, and beyond these appears, in hoary whiteness and surrounded by glaciers and eternal snows, the summit of the Dachstein or Schneeberg, the loftiest of the Styrian Alps, which we often beheld in the evening from our windows, glowing with the ruddy beams of the setting sun long after all light had departed from the nearer and less elevated mountains. A fine range of wooded hills, at whose feet runs the Ischl, a small mountain stream that falls into the Traun, forms the southern boundary of this scene. The chief street in Ischl runs parallel with the river, and at its end is situated the _Pfannhaus_ or boiling house, with its adjacent works. This is a large circular building, containing an enormous iron boiler or pan, between thirty and forty feet in diameter and a foot and a half in depth, in which the solution of salt, conveyed there in pipes from the mines, is evaporated.

Ischl has but one church, which is Catholic. A small theatre is being erected, and is to be finished by the middle of the season, which will be in July. The houses are all arranged for lodgers, and rooms may be had on any scale, from those adapted to the habits of the most simple and retired individual, to those of the prince and his suite. The lodgings are dear, but living, on the contrary, is very cheap. An excellent dinner at the _table d'hôte_, where I usually dine, costs from one to two _paper_, or _schein_ florins (ninepence-halfpenny to twenty-pence English;) but a person may dine at what expence he pleases, as the dinner is always served _à la carte_, and a good plate of soup costs not more than one penny. A few days after our arrival, I met at the _table d'hôte_ Mr. B----, a most agreeable and well-informed man, with whom I enjoyed many a walk in the neighbourhood during his stay, which was unfortunately of short duration.

Sir Humphry is now engaged in composing a new work, which he intends to call _A Vision_; this usually occupies our mornings, he dictates to me for an hour or two, then reads over what has been written, which I afterwards copy off fair, and at 12 o'clock he takes a bath. These baths are made with the _mother-water_, or residue which remains after the greater part of the salt has been crystallized out of the salt water by evaporation, and is an intensely strong solution of chloride of sodium and some other salts. This is diluted according to prescription for the various patients, so many gallons to so much common water. The same solution of salt is also employed for _douche_ and shower baths, which are much used, and said to be very efficacious. The situation and arrangement of the vapour baths are rather extraordinary. Above the large boiler in the panhouse, on the scaffolding which supports the roof, and from which the boiler is suspended, a number of small closets are erected, in which the person taking the bath is seated, so that he is not only completely surrounded by the vapour of the boiling salt water, but breathes an air impregnated with many volatile particles. These baths are used twice a day, and the patient usually remains in his cabinet, or walks along the gallery suspended over the pan from one to two hours at a time, which proves in a variety of cases of the greatest utility. Sir Humphry generally dines at three, and afterwards goes out fishing, with his servant, and often does not return till nine o'clock, when I read to him. There are a great number of visitors here, who come during the summer months to use the baths and to enjoy themselves, but Sir Humphry sees no one, and appears to wish to avoid all society, and of course I see none but those I chance to meet at the _table d'hôte_, or in a walk.

_21st._ Having agreed yesterday with the apothecary of the place (to whose shop I go almost daily with some prescription or other from Sir Humphry, who often varies his medicines) to ascend one of the nearer Alps, we started for the summit of the Zimitz early this morning: we crossed over hills and dales, through woods and fields, till we came to the foot of the mountain, on the top of which we proposed eating our dinner, which we carried in our pockets. My companion had told me before that he had already ascended this Alp, and was well acquainted with the road; but when we began the ascent he confessed that he was at a loss, and our only alternative was to turn back, or find our way as we could. We chose the latter, and confiding in our own eyes and limbs, we followed the course of a mountain torrent, which came rushing down the rocks. Stepping from rock to rock, we in a short time came to the entrance of a snow-cave, through which this little stream flowed. Close to the snow we found many rare plants, and amongst others the yellow violet of the Alps. Before entering into this cave, which had been formed in a fallen avalanche, I slipped on the rock, and was obliged to jump into the icy cold water, which was fortunately not deep. The cave, however, repaid me for my cold bath. Entering through an opening in its roof of snow, the rays of the sun illuminated its dark and rocky sides, and were reflected upon the water that flowed through the middle. On looking towards the opposite end of the cave, through a lofty arch of snow, we beheld a distant waterfall, whilst the rocks and bushes, finely lighted by the rays of the sun, contrasted strongly with the darkness of the cave, whose fretted roof seemed as if hewn out of the finest white marble into large descending points, from which the melting snow was continually dropping. Having made a slight sketch of this fairy scene, we left the cave, and, following the rivulet, soon reached the waterfall which we had seen in the distance through the arch of snow. An immense barrier of rock here put an end to our progress in this direction, and we were obliged to turn to the right, where the ascent appeared more possible. My companion made a considerable detour whilst I attempted to climb up the rocks; but I had not ascended more than twenty feet, when, on catching hold of a small fir-tree, it snapped off, and I rolled down the rocks into the rivulet below. In spite of my fall I reascended, and with some difficulty reached the uppermost rock, and found myself in a situation whence I could no longer ascend nor descend. At last my companion appeared above, and reaching down to me his long alpine pole, I clung to it, and with his assistance thus extricated myself from my most unpleasant and perilous situation; I was, however, so exhausted, that we were obliged to wait a full half hour before we could proceed on our ascent. Our road then lay for a long time through a forest of pine and beech, till we came to a brook, whose course we followed to its rise, which was in a large snow. We passed quickly over this, and then saw that we only had about a fourth part of the ascent to accomplish. We journeyed on merrily, although we were obliged, for upwards of an hour, to climb with the help of hands and feet over the rocks, till we came to the last, though not easiest part of the journey. This was a wood of dwarf firs, which an avalanche of the last winter in its descent had laid flat upon the ground, though their roots generally remained fixed. We scrambled over and through these, and, after all difficulties, I found myself, about two o'clock, on the snow-clad ridge of the mountain. My companion was still battling with the prostrate firs, but arrived about a quarter of an hour afterwards, and we then went on to the highest of the five peaks which form the summit of the Zimitz, between seven and eight thousand feet above the sea. The view from this spot amply repaid us for the toil and danger we had encountered in reaching it. Many thousand feet below us we beheld four large lakes surrounded by green mountains and vallies glowing in the sun; beyond these lay the wide extended plains of Bavaria, clothed with glittering towns and villages, over which the eye wandered to a far distant horizon, bounded only by the clear blue sky.

Looking back we saw down into many a dark valley, out of which rose numberless snow peaks, and high above the rest the majestic Schneeberg, with its eternal glaciers, and at a yet greater distance the still more lofty peaks of the Salzburg chain; but the reflection of the sun from the vast and glaring fields of snow was so strong that the eye could scarcely bear to look at them, and turned with delight to the green woods and lakes below. Having spent an hour in the pure air of these upper regions, we began to descend by a very different road to the one we had chosen in ascending, which, though better and not so rocky, was in many parts so steep, that we were in continual danger of pitching forwards, and were therefore obliged to seat ourselves each upon a stout branch of a fir-tree, and thus ride down. Having traversed two snow fields, we came to some as yet uninhabited huts, about half-way down the mountain, from whence a good sheep path conducted us into a valley. Here we got some milk in one of the dairy huts, and then made the best of our way towards Ischl, as a thunderstorm, which we had for some time seen approaching, was now fast gathering round us, and the peasants advised us to hasten as quickly as possible, but long before we could reach home it burst over us with tremendous violence. The rain came down in such torrents, that in five minutes the road was more than ankle deep in water, but it soon changed into hail, like a shower of nuts, accompanied by the loudest thunder and most vivid lightning. Thus, soaked but much refreshed, we reached Ischl about eight o'clock in the evening.

_July 13th._ Sir Humphry is already tired of Ischl, and has left off the use of the baths, by which, however, he has been much strengthened, and his health in general improved, but I suppose we shall soon quit this place, though he seldom fixes on his departure till a day or two before. New guests arrive daily, and this little place is filled with company. Parties of pleasure and jaunts are arranged every day to some of the neighbouring lakes or vallies, or other points worthy of being visited. I have only joined a few of these, for Sir Humphry not knowing well what to do with his morning if I am out of the way, I can of course only be one in those parties which occupy the afternoon. The first of the two most interesting trips was to the _Chorinsky Klause_.

A _Klause_, in these alpine countries, generally signifies a dam or embankment, built over some mountain stream, in the centre of which are flood-gates, which can be closed so as to shut in the stream, which by degrees collects behind the wall or dam, till it forms a small lake. The use of this arrangement is to float down the wood which is cut in the mountains into the larger rivers, the mountain streams not having in summer a sufficient body of water to effect this without this contrivance. The fir-trees, cut into pieces from five to ten feet long, are rolled down from the mountain into these artificial lakes. When a sufficient quantity is collected on the surface, or the water rises too high, the _Klause wird gesprengt_, that is, the flood-gates are opened, and the pent up lake rushing out with tremendous velocity, carries the wood along with it into the river of the neighbouring valley. It was to see the water let out that we went to the Klause. We started from Ischl after dinner, at one o'clock, a large party in six or seven carriages, and drove up the valley of the Traun, for about a league and a half, to Weissenbach, a village at the foot of the mountain on which the Klause is situated. Here we left our carriages and walked up the mountain, the road being very steep. I joined a party consisting of Madame de B---- and her daughter, a Greek gentleman and his wife, and two or three others, and we seemed much to have shortened a hot walk of an hour and a half up hill by chatting on various subjects.

We found the Chorinsky Klause to consist of a very strong and thick wall, from thirty to forty feet high, built across a narrow valley. In the centre of the wall was a large flood-gate, and on each side of it a much smaller one. These were situated at a considerable height above a clear shallow pool which lay at the foot of the wall, and was formed by the superfluous water which had drained from the lake, already over full. The whole party having taken a good position in front of the Klause, the signal was given. The workmen struck the spring of the flood-gates in the centre, which instantly burst open with a noise resembling a sudden but hollow clap of thunder; at the same moment an immense spout of water rushed forth, filling the space before occupied by the invisible air. It was the work of a second, and it was a magnificent sight to see the tranquil pool in an instant transformed into a basin of curling foam, pouring with irresistible violence over the rocks of the foreground, and whirling up the sand from the bottom of the stream, which was for the first five minutes nothing but foam of a muddy brown colour, till it changed by degrees to a pure white. The lesser flood-gates were afterwards opened, and then three streams poured forth at once from the lake. This scene lasted for nearly half an hour, the cascades becoming less and less as the quantity of water in the lake diminished, until the latter was perfectly drained; and where but a short time before we beheld a beautifully clear lake, we now saw only cleanly washed pebbles and sand, through which a little insignificant rill was running. Our walk back was very pleasant and shady. Among the party Madame A---- and Madame L----, two celebrated actresses, the one in comedy, the other in tragedy, from Vienna, were pointed out to me; the former of whom was a handsome woman, though of small stature, and lively and animated in her conversation. After this excursion I very often met a great many of the party in a small public garden called the Volksgarten, to distinguish it from the Prater, and where it is the fashion to spend an hour before dinner. The conversation one day turned upon the following lines, which were found written upon a table in the garden:

Espérance d'un meilleur sort
Toujours renaissante et trahie,
Voila l'histoire de ma vie;
Il n'est rien de vrai que la mort!

Various were the discussions upon them, and the ladies took great pains to discover the author. Who could he be? Who was there in Ischl whose character at all answered to this description? No one could be hit upon with any certainty; but at last the lively Mademoiselle Marie, the daughter of Madame de B----, with whom I had walked to the Chorinsky Klause, declared it must be the solitary young Englishman, who so rarely joined in their parties of pleasure, and who visited nobody. It was in vain that I denied having written them, for they determined with one accord that I should be considered as the author, unless I should by the next morning produce four lines which might convince them of their error. I accepted the challenge, and accordingly after dinner, for the first time in my life, attempted to compose a couplet, and after ransacking my brains, I could produce nothing better than the following;--

Est elle donc vraie cette mort tant souhaitée?
N'est ce pas naître à une plus mauvaise vie?
Ne dirais tu pas dans l'éternité,
La mort que j'ai desiré m'a trahie?--

which I the next morning wrote under those of the anonymous author. In the evening I met the greater part of the company at the little theatre, which had been finished the week before, and in which a small company of players from some neighbouring town were doing their best to amuse the gay visitants of the baths. The ladies, and especially Mademoiselle Marie, said they had read the verses, and were more than ever persuaded of their being in the right, nor could all my rhetoric, aided by a pocket full of bonbons, convince them of the truth.

_18th._ This evening at a late hour Sir Humphry returned from his fishing, without either fish or rod, and, not a little vexed, begged I would go directly to the Commissary of the Police, and endeavour to regain his rod, which he told me had been taken from him in the following manner. He had driven along the banks of the Traun for about five miles, in a little chaise which he sometimes uses in his longer excursions, had been fishing for some hours, and was just preparing to return, when two men came up, one of whom began to talk to him and George in German, but as neither of them understood him, Sir Humphry proceeded to get into the carriage, whilst George took up the fish which had been caught. Upon this the man became more violent in his words and actions, and at last forcibly seized the rod and basket, and walked off with them. Although it was just ten o'clock, I went to the inn where I knew the Commissary generally supped, and luckily found him. I related to him what had happened, and he was very polite, but said nothing could be done that night, but begged me to come to him the next morning, and to bring the servant with me.

_19th._ I took George this morning to the Commissary, who, from his description, immediately recognized the offender, but found that he did not belong to his district, but to that of Ebensee, to the Commissary of which place he gave me a very civil letter. I returned to Sir Humphry, who said that I should take a carriage and drive over at once to Ebensee with George, and he gave me letters of introduction, which he had with him, to the Governor of the province, and some other great men, to show the Commissary. Arrived at Ebensee, I found the Commissary all civility, and the fisherman, who lived at some distance, was immediately summoned. In the mean time the Commissary told me that the rivers and lakes were let out in different portions to various fishermen, who alone have the right to fish, or allow any other person to do so, in that part which they rent, and he supposed that Sir Humphry had exceeded the limit of the portion belonging to the fisherman at Ischl, from whom he had obtained permission to fish.

Whilst waiting for the fisherman, I asked the Commissary if I could not see the salt works; he said certainly, and that he should be happy to show them to me, and I accordingly accompanied him thither, and found them to be on a very large scale. There are several evaporating pans, much larger than the one at Ischl, and immense reservoirs for the salt water are kept constantly by three pipes, through which it is conducted from Hallstadt, more than twenty-seven miles distant. These pipes, the master of the works told me, are always running, and should any accident happen to either of them, it can be easily repaired, in spite of the great distance they traverse, there being, at very short intervals, places where the pipes may be uncovered and examined. From the reservoirs the water is conducted into the pans, and the salt produced by the evaporation is taken out twice every day, and put into large conical baskets to drain, after which it is pressed into conical six-sided forms, of various sizes, from twenty to a hundred pounds each. These pyramids are then placed, some thousands at a time, in the baking rooms, where they are exposed to a very high temperature, which renders them quite firm and hard, after which they are carried into the store-houses, from whence the salt is sent to all parts of Austria. The quantity produced in this part of the country, in these salt-works, in those of Ischl, Aussee, Hallstadt, &c., must be immense, for I understand that from the warehouses of Ebensee alone, upwards of 25,000 tons of salt are sent annually across the lake of the Traun.

Upon the arrival of the fisherman we found the case to be as the Commissary had supposed, and the man pleaded in his defence that it was allowed to take away both rod and fish from any one so offending. The Commissary, however, told him he ought to have warned Sir Humphry of this. The poor man said he had done so, but they would not understand him, and in spite of his defence, the Commissary compelled him to deliver up the rod and basket, with which I returned to Ischl.

_21st._ Sir Humphry set out this morning in his little cabriolet on a fishing excursion up the valley of the Traun, to the lake of Hallstadt, and took me with him. This lake, about eight miles to the north east of Ischl, is of a very grand and imposing character, but still does not equal the Traun-See in the diversity and beauty of its banks. We drove over a wooden bridge at the end of the lake, where the Traun flows out of it, and then round its shores for a short distance to Obertraun, where the road terminated. We here took a boat and rowed for some miles up the lake, opposite to the small town of Hallstadt. The view from hence was superb; the nearer houses seemed built in the water, behind these the salt works are seen, extensive and noble buildings, more like the palace or seignoral chateau of the lord of the surrounding territory, than a manufactory; and beyond them rose the mountain which contains the salt-mine, a stupendous mass of rock capped with eternal snow, and to the left appeared the glaciers of the Schneeberg. Rather to the right of the saltworks, embosomed in wood, lay the rest of the town of Hallstadt, and one large house was situated some thousand feet above the lake, standing alone in the wood. Along the side of the mountain we saw what appeared to be a pathway, but the boatman told us this was the canal cut for the pipes which convey the salt-water from the mines of Hallstadt to the works of Ischl and Ebensee. This is a stupendous undertaking, for the pipes are conveyed a great distance over rivers and vallies and along mountains, where the passage for the pipes has been cut for many miles through the solid rock. Sir Humphry fished for some time but without success, when, not wishing to visit the town, we rowed back to the village of Obertraun, and on our way thither passed by the _Gosauzwang_, the most celebrated part of the saliduct or salt canal between Hallstadt and Ebensee. The three pipes are here carried across a very wild and romantic glen, the defile of the Gosau, a mountain stream which runs down through it. Four lofty columns of brick work, about two hundred feet in height, are built up from the bottom of the valley and from out of the waters of the Gosau, to a level with the pipes, which are thus carried over the valley, being laid from pier to pier; and they serve at the same time as a bridge to any foot passenger who may wish to pass, being railed in on each side. These pipes, after traversing one or two smaller streams, give part of their water to the salt works at Ischl, and are then carried on to Ebensee, where they fill the reservoirs which I saw when I visited the Commissary to procure the return of Sir Humphry's fishing rod.

_23rd._ Yesterday I went with a very large party, consisting of almost all the strangers in Ischl, to visit the _Salzberg_, the salt mountain or rather mine, which was to be illuminated for the visitors. We set out at about one o'clock, a long string of carriages, and after an hour's drive through a very pleasant valley, we arrived at the foot of the mountain which contains the mine. Here a number of miners were waiting with sedan chairs for the ladies, many of whom however preferred walking up the mountain, and in about three quarters of an hour we arrived at the _Haupt Eingang_, or chief entrance of the mine. We were now to be attired, as is usual on entering the mines, in a long white mantle or frock, and a large wide broad brim, the latter to hinder us from knocking our brains out, and the former to keep our clothes clean. Here was confusion dire; this frock was too small, this too long; this lady had no brimmer, this gentleman could find no stick. I laid hold of the first frock and hat I met with, but up came a lady and begged I would exchange with her, as her frock was so long she could not walk in it, and mine so short that it did not reach to my knees. _La grande toilette_ at length finished, the ladies were placed in their carriages, that is two in each wheelbarrow, face to face, with a miner before to pull, who carried a lamp in his hand, and another to push behind, and between every two barrows went another miner bearing a paper lanthorn. The gentlemen were of course on foot, with the exception of one or two gouty invalids.

In this guise, with half-a-dozen miners going before carrying lamps, the whole train entered the passage, and in a few seconds lost sight of daylight. After a long, wet, and (in spite of our many lamps) dark journey through this narrow and low passage, where my head was continually coming in contact with the roof, we came to the _Rutsch_, or slide, which leads down into the salt-chamber. This _Rutsch_ is formed of the trunks of two large fir-trees laid close together, rounded and polished, and placed in an oblique direction, in an angle of about forty degrees. A miner, with a lamp in one hand, places himself astride these trees, and holds with his other hand a cord which is fixed to the rock on the sides. The person who wishes to descend seats himself behind the miner, and holds him by the shoulders. The miner then lets the cord slip through his hands, and down they go like lightning into what seems an abyss of darkness: safe at the bottom, he gives a shout that the next couple may follow. When the _Rutsch_ is very long, as in the mines at Hallein, near Salzburg, the miner always sits upon a thick leather apron, and when alone makes no use of the cord, but rushes down with a fearful impetus into the salt-cave below. When we arrived at the _Rutsch_, and the ladies had all got out of their barrows, after much discussion and many fears and doubts, they consented thus to descend, as the miners assured them it was more dangerous to do so by the steps cut in the rock at the side, which were exceedingly precipitous and very wet. Having reached the bottom of the _Rutsch_, which ends in a slight curve to break the impetus of the descent, we found ourselves in an immense cavern, or room, excavated in the rock, about twelve feet high, and from ten to twelve thousand in circumference, supported in the middle by a massive pillar of rock, and lighted up by some hundred lamps, which, however, only served to give the scene a more awful and gloomy appearance. The visitors, whose number was considerable, in their long white mantles and hats, looked like spectres wandering in the shades of a nether world. The roof and walls of this cavern were covered with minute crystals of salt, not, however, sufficiently large to give to it the glittering appearance which I had expected. The mountain contains a great many of these _Salzkammern_ or salt-chambers, which at different periods are filled with fresh water, conducted into them by wooden pipes. When this has dissolved a sufficient quantity of salt, which operation occupies some months, it is drained off through a deep perpendicular shaft, near the middle of the cave, and is then conducted through wooden pipes, often for a very great distance, to the boiling-houses, where it undergoes the progress of evaporation.

Having wandered through these gloomy abodes of silence and night for some time, we ascended the stairs, the ladies resumed their seats in the barrows, and the procession returned as it had entered. To save my head from additional thumps to the many it had received on entering, I took the place of one of the pushers, and after a merry drive of about twenty minutes we again saw daylight, like a distant star, increasing in size till we reached the entrance of the mine. We here unspectred ourselves, and returned home in our usual terrestrial appearance, and a merry party we were.

_24th._ We left Ischl this morning in a little cabriolet for Aussee, leaving the travelling carriage packed and ready for starting at Ischl, for Sir Humphry wished, before he quitted this part of the country, to have a day or two's more fishing in the Gründtl-See; but the weather proving very warm, and a thunderstorm coming on in the evening, he determined not to remain at Aussee beyond to-morrow.

_26th._ We returned this morning to Ischl, and after an early dinner bade adieu to it, and set off for Ebensee. We here again crossed the magnificent Traun-See, and after a row of two hours and a half, and seeing Gmünden, as it were, rise out of the lake, we found ourselves in our old quarters at the Ship.

_27th, 28th._ These were wet days, and Sir Humphry chiefly occupied himself in dictating "The Vision," and reading. In the afternoon of the latter, his coachman arrived from Vienna, and brought with him "Salmonia," which had just been published, and was forwarded to him through the Embassy at Vienna. Sir Humphry had engaged this man, who is an Englishman, at Ischl, whilst in the service of the Polish Princess L----, which he left, not wishing to go to Poland. Sir Humphry now intends buying three additional horses, and thus rendering himself independent of the poste.

_29th._ Sir Humphry this morning finished his "Vision," which, he tells me, is really founded on a dream that he had some years ago, in which he found himself borne through the firmament from planet to planet. Of this dream, which he introduces as the consequence of a highly interesting and animated conversation that he holds with two friends in the Colosæum at Rome, on the grandeur and decay of nations, and the mutability of religions, the general outline, he says, has alone remained in his mind; but it has been his pleasure and delight during his mornings at Ischl, and when he was not engaged in his favourite pursuit of fishing, to work upon this foundation, and to build up a tale, alike redundant with highly beautiful imagery, fine thoughts, and philosophical ideas; and the hours thus passed with Sir Humphry have afforded me high mental gratification and advantage, for I have then marked his mind wandering, as it were, with the associates of his early days; those days, in which he was evidently, by the exercise of his extraordinary powers and quick perception, exciting not only his own mind to dive into, and to unfold to clearer view, the mysteries of creation, but that too of other congenial spirits; thus most naturally collecting around him a constellation of shining lights, the remembrance of whom often awakens vivid thoughts of the past, and rouses his whole soul to action.

In the afternoon I read to him "Salmonia," in which he immediately began to make corrections and additions in preparation for a second edition.

_31st._ Sir Humphry this morning went to look at a pair of horses which he thought of buying. The price demanded was 800 florins, (paper money,) about 32_l._; but Sir Humphry thought them too dear, and did not buy them. In the afternoon we paid another and a last visit to the Falls of the Traun. This grand and striking scene appeared now even more beautiful than when I saw it for the first time. The body of water in the river was considerably less, thus rendering the different cascades more diversified and picturesque. Sir Humphry amused himself for an hour or two with fishing, and we afterwards returned to Gmünden, which we quitted on the 3rd of August, and drove over to Vocklabrück, where we remained the rest of the day, for Sir Humphry to fish in the Vöckla, and went on the next morning across the country for some leagues to Schörfling, a little village on the Atter, or Kammer-See. This lake, the largest of those in Upper Austria, is about fifteen miles in length; the shores on this side are low, but at the opposite end they are formed by the Zimitz Alp, the Schaafberg, and the chain of mountains which separate this lake on the one side from the Wolfgang-See, and on the other from Ischl and the valley of the Traun. Its depth is not very considerable, but the colour of the water is a beautiful green. On a promontory which stretches far out into the lake, stands the castle of Kammer, a fine large building, belonging to a noble family of the same name. The most striking view of the lake is from the little village of See-Walchen, about a mile from Schörfling. We remained at Schörfling in a miserable inn, without having one single fine day till the 9th. Sir Humphry did so, finding there were some quails in the neighbouring fields, and he went out shooting and fishing every day, in spite of the weather, with considerable success.

_9th._ We quitted Schörfling at nine o'clock and went to Frankenmarkt, a long drive chiefly over bad and cross roads. Before arriving at this little town, we beheld on our left a fine and magnificent view of the Schneeberg, and the Alps of Hallstadt and Aussee, and on quitting it we caught the first glimpse of the Salzburg chain, which we continued to behold increasing in grandeur and beauty the nearer we approached it. The next poste from Frankenmarkt is Neumarkt, and from hence we drove through many villages and hamlets, the road being now and then rather hilly, till, at about half-past one, we saw Salzburg lying before us in the broad valley of the Salza, backed by a gigantic rampart of Alps. On the right side of the road we passed by a small lake of no great beauty or extent. The situation of Salzburg is strikingly grand and beautiful, and probably no town in Europe can boast of a finer. Lying as it were close at the foot of the lofty pyramid of the Watzmann, a mountain more than ten thousand feet in height, the town extends along the right and left bank of the Salza or Salzache, which separates it into two parts, the old and new town, which are united by a strong wooden bridge. On a hill on the right bank of the river, considerably elevated above the town, stands the fortress or mountain castle, a very strong and imposing fortification. Both parts of the town are strongly fortified, and that on the right bank of the river is provided by nature with a lofty wall of rock, superior to any means of defence that could be formed by art.

_10th._ The first thing I did this morning was to call upon Count W---- for Sir Humphry, in order to obtain permission for him to shoot in the neighbourhood. The Count was not in Salzburg, but I easily obtained leave from the person who acted for him during his absence. Sir Humphry accordingly immediately started for the neighbouring marshes, and I occupied the morning in seeing the town. The most remarkable object is the _Neu Thor_, the New Gate, a stupendous undertaking, which may stand comparison with any of the works of the ancient Romans. It is formed of one long arch, or rather tunnel, some hundred feet in length, between twenty to thirty in breadth, and thirty to forty feet in height, cut through the wall of rock, which surrounds the town on the Bavarian side. On the outside the rock is handsomely sculptured, and forms a very elegant entrance into this long passage. This work was commenced at the beginning of the last century, and forty years elapsed ere it was completed. Another work of a similar kind is the summer riding school, a large amphitheatre, the galleries of which are cut out of the solid rock. From hence I crossed over the Salzache into the new town, to visit the church of St. Sebastian, which contains the monument of the celebrated Theophrastus Paracelsus. It is very simple, and formed of the red brown marble of the country. It bears his head in relief, and the following inscription, which is a proof of the great esteem in which the memory of this famous quack was held even till the middle of the eighteenth century.

"Philippi Theophrasti Paracelsi qui tantam orbis famam ex auro chymico adeptus est effigia et ossa donec rursus circumdabuntur pelle sua sub reparatione ecclesiæ MDCCLII. ex sepulchrali tabe eruta heic locata sunt.

"Conditur hic Philippus Theophrastus insignis medicinæ doctor, qui dira illa vulnera, lepram, podagram, hydropsin, aliaque insanabilia corporis contagia mirifica arte sustulit, ac bona sua in pauperes distribuenda collocandaque honoravit.

"Anno MDXXI. die XXIII Septembris vitam cum morte mutavit."

On my return I passed by the house in which he died, and on the outside of it there is still a painting of him, and a nearly obliterated inscription. From hence I went to the church of St. Peter, in the old town, to see the tomb of Haydn; but unfortunately found the church closed, and could not see the monument.

The cathedral church of St. Rupert is a fine building in the Italian style of architecture. It is built partly of free-stone and partly of marble. The streets of Salzburg, with the exception of the chief street, are narrow and generally ill paved, but the houses are clean and neat, and of a great height. The palace of the former archbishop is a spacious and magnificent building, and before it is a beautiful fountain. Besides its public buildings, Salzburg has many large and elegant private houses.

On my return to the inn I found Sir Humphry already there, and that he had dined; and he asked me to accompany him to Aigen, a beautiful villa, about two miles from Salzburg, the seat of Prince Schwarzenberg. From the gardens of this villa the view of Salzburg and the whole chain of Alps is most magnificent, but we could not enjoy it completely, as the summits of the mountains were mostly veiled in cloud, thus mingling as it were with the heavens, and only here and there a dark brown peak was seen piercing through the white shroud, which every now and then passed over it like the foaming wave over a rock, leaving it for some moments invisible. We strolled for some time through the gardens, Sir Humphry on his pony, and then returned to the city.

_11th, 12th._ Were cloudy and rainy days, but in spite of the weather Sir Humphry has been out shooting the greater part of them, with, however, very little good fortune; and on the 13th, we left Salzburg in the morning, and drove through a long avenue of fine beech-trees to Hallein, passing by the Untersberg, where there are large quarries of white marble, belonging to Bavaria. To the right, the view of the snowy Watzmann, and the nearer and finely wooded mountains was exceedingly striking. Above Hallein two enormous brown rocks rise out of the woods, bearing a very striking resemblance to artificial walls. Hallein is a dirty town, celebrated only for its extensive salt mines. The scenery between it and Golling is fine, but cannot be compared with that beyond Golling. At this latter place we stopped for two or three hours, and whilst Sir Humphry took his dinner, I went to see the Falls of the Schwartzbach, about two miles distant. After crossing the Salza, I came in about half an hour to the first or lower fall, where, in the very midst of dark pines, some of which seemed even to grow out of the falling water, the _Schwartzbach_, or _dark stream_, dashes over the rocks, and divides itself into two branches, one of which makes but one single leap to the pool below, whilst the other descends in innumerable small cascatelles, and the black rocks, peeping here and there through the white and curling foam, give a very beautiful effect to this part of the scene. I then ascended with my young guide, a little boy whom I had taken with me from Golling, to the upper fall, of which nothing is visible from below but the rising spray, and the beautiful iris playing upon it. The pathway leads immediately to the front of this fall, which, in point of singularity of situation, is perhaps unrivalled.