CHAPTER XVI.

UNTERSEEN-INTERLACHEN-ADVENTURE ON THE HARDERBERG-1)R. GUGGENBUHL, AND

HIS INSTITUTION AT ABENDBERG.

Interlaciien ! we cannot say with Longfellow that “ the evening sun was sotting when wefirst beheld thee,” hut we can say with him “ that the sun of life will set ere we forgetthee! ” There may he grander and more impressive scenes; there may be more peacefuland secluded spots, more luxuriant fields, more romantic villages, and more stalwartpeasants; but there can be few, if any, 'valleys more enchanting, or, perhaps, distantviews more glorious, or more richly wooded hill-sides, or hinder or nobler people thanthose which may here be discovered. This valley is the fairyland of Switzerland ;and every true lover of nature will delight to hold converse with the genii loci —thespirits of the stream, and the lake, of the field and the mountain, of the ruined castle,and the shady grove. Sucli a scene will excite in his mind a thousand sportive fancies,and fill his soul with rapturous delight.

It was a hot and dusty day when we first entered the valley. Having made a bargainat Xeuhaus with a Swiss , who spoke English , to carry our knapsacks, we determined tomake our entrance on foot. It is true there were plenty of vehicles of all kinds to behad, and the road was pretty straight and level, and very dusty; yet the distance wasnot very great, and the scenery is extremely beautiful; and by sauntering gently along,and halting every now and then, we were enabled thoroughly to appreciate the ever-shifting views. In the distance, far behind us, at the other end of the lake of Thun, wecould discern the dark form of the Xiesen; on our left were steep declivities, clothedwith the richest foliage, and the Aar swiftly rolling at their feet; on the right werebare and rugged mountains, now advancing, now retreating, and then opening, andenabling us to catch a glimpse of the snowy-capped heads of the Oberland giants.Alongside the road were fruit-trees of varied kinds, laden with fast-ripening fruits, fieldsof corn were waving in the gentle breeze, and here and there the inhabitants were busygathering in their flax. Our guide, with his homespun cloth, short coat tails, andbright buttons, was a man full of information respecting the country, and able toexpress himself in very tolerable English . Of' course, he had his little memorandumbook, containing recommendations from travellers of various nations, to whom he hadserved as guide in their excursions in this part of Switzerland , and he was veryanxious to impress upon us the necessity of having guidance and help in mountainexcursions. .

At length we were fairly in the A’alley of Interlaciien, and soon came to the village ofEnterseen, only separated from the village of Interlaciien by the river Aar. The twovillages are remarkable for their cleanliness, and their appearance of neatness and order.In the former there is a considerable number of small hotels and pern ions, or boarding-houses, where the charges are very low, but which are chiefly resorted to by the poorer