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charming scenes in the Pays de Vaud, enchant thevisiter. The beginning of summer, and even theclose of spring, are often equally favourable. TheAlpine meadows, which are then decked with themost beautiful and rarest flowers, delight the eye,and afford rich stores to the botanist. The curiousatmospheric phenomena, which are frequently seen,and on elevated mountains, even below the spectator,afford a new and sublime spectacle. The mildwarmth, and the long days, render travelling at thisperiod, peculiarly pleasant. May, however, is com-monly more beautiful than June, which is often rainy.Most travellers devote only six or eight weeks tovisiting Switzerland, and limit themselves to the mostinteresting parts. With a proper and systematicplan, a stranger may travel through all the cantons inthree months and a half, if he proceeds mostly onfoot, and remains in every place only as long as isnecessary to view all its curiosities; but, owingto the frequent changes of weather, it is impossi-ble to reckon upon three weeks in succession dry andwarm ; as much as fourteen days, therefore, ought tobe allowed out of the three months and a half, forobstructions from rain or storms. There are no pro-per extra posts in Switzerland, though persons travel-ling in their own coaches may procure a change ofhorses. There are good regular coaches, however.Most travellers who arrive at the frontier places inthe post-coaches, or in their own carriages, hire thehorses and carriages which are always in readiness inthe towns. The horses and mules are so used to thesteep and rocky mountain roads, that, even on thebrink of a deep precipice, the traveller feels himselfperfectly safe. Those should be chosen, however,which have been used to carry, and not to draw.

Roads lead over the Cenis, the Simplon, and, since1818, over the Spliigen. The road over the Simplonmay well be compared with the proudest works of theancient Romans. Over the other summits no one cantravel, except on foot, or, perhaps, part of the way onhorseback. In the valley of Chamouni, and in Grin-delvvald, there are very low and small four-wheeledcarriages, which are extremely inconvenient. It is pos-sible to travel in these a part of the way, also, overthe great mountain of St. Bernard. On account ofthe sudden changes of weather and the cold air onthe mountains, it is necessary to be provided withwarm clothing. The traveller, on excursions, shouldwear a light and easy dress, with half-boots, or, whatis still better, shoes with gaiters, fastened tight aboutthe feet to prevent gravel from getting in. A travellershould provide himself with two pairs of shoes, verystrong, with thick heels and large-headed nails, to beWorn over stony passes in wet weather, and on gla-ciers ; and with light ones for the smooth plains.Experienced travellers disapprove of the commonirons fastened to the shoes. The Alpine shoesinvented by Pictet, are very good. The soles areat least three-quarters of an inch in thickness, witha strong but pliable upper-leather, and with acovering of leather rising about one inch and a halfabove the sole, to secure the foot from any blow.Large steel nails, or rather screws, with heads some-what more than four lines wide, which resemble atruncated four-sided pyramid, are inserted in the solesand heels, about seven in the former and five in thelatter. In the intervals between the steel nails, com-mon nails are driven in so that the heads touch oneanother. With this durable and not heavy shoe, one

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may walk safely over the naked granite, over ice andsmooth grass. A staff, pointed with iron, is indispen-sable. In warm weather, a straw hat is preferableto a felt one. A cloak, of oiled taffety or oiled linen,to keep off the rain, is very convenient and warm, and,for this reason, a good protection on the high moun-tains or in a piercing wind. The traveller should alsotake a flannel shirt, which affords the best protectionagainst sudden colds, light woollen pantaloons, and agreat coat of light cloth ; also a covered flask forcherry-brandy, to bathe the tired limbs. The bestcomes from Grindelwald. To the mineralogist, theapron of thin leather, invented by Pictet, deservesto be recommended. It is never well for one to tra-vel on the mountains alone, nor, on the other hand,in company with more than three or four persons,because of the scanty accommodations of the innsin the small places. A guide should always be pro-cured, and very intelligent ones are easily to be met■ with.

If a person is not used to walking, he shouldbegin with short journeys every day ; but walking inSwitzerland, even for females, is not so difficult as iscommonly supposed. The mountains should beascended, where it is possible, on the western side-The best descent is on the eastern declivities. It isunsafe to travel on the high mountains in spring untilafter the avalanches have rolled down the sides.After a long and violent rain, a person should waittwo days before traversing the high valleys amongthe rocks, where pieces are liable to fall from thesides at such seasons. In snowy vales and amongthe glaciers, it is well to cover the face with a greenor dark gauze. Volatile alkali, diluted with w’ater,mitigates the burning pains in the face, caused bythe bright reflection of the sun’s rays from the fieldsof snow and the glaciers. One should never travelover the glaciers after a fresh fall of snow (whichsometimes happens even in the summer months),particularly at mid-day ; for a traveller might thenvery easily break through the soft mass. To theserules the traveller will easily add such as his ownexperience may suggest.

Many circumstances combine to make travellingin Switzerland more expensive than in the adjacentcountries. But few of the cantons produce the ne-cessaries of life in sufficient quantities for the inha-bitants. In many places, the_people are obliged toprocure them from a distance ; and then the expenseof conveyance augments the price. Innkeepers onthe mountains and in retired valleys are especiallysubjected to this advanced price, and are, therefore,obliged to charge higher than those in cities and fre-quented roads. The hotels, in towns and in largevillages, often even in the rudest Alpine vales as inLauterbrunnen and the valley of Chamouni, are verygood. In Italian Switzerland, and generally beyondthe southern chain, it is common to agree 'upon theprice to be paid to innkeepers, guides, servants, andthe like, beforehand, for otherwise a person is veryliable to be imposed on. The expenses for one whomakes only a short stay at the various places, are, ofcourse, greater than for one who remains longer. Ifa person devotes five or six months to travellingthrough Switzerland, in a carriage or on horseback,his daily expenditure will amount to twelve or six-teen francs ; but if he limits himself to six, four, ortwo weeks, his expenses will be at least eighteenfrancs a day. If he travels on fool, and has a guide