the mountains is most beautiful at sunset, but the peculiar atmospheric conditions on which it can be commanded are of very inconstant character. If, however, the sky be clear, fortunate indeed is the spectator. Six of the most celebrated of the Bernese peaks, the Wetterhorn (on the east), next it the Schreckhorn, then the Finster-Aarhorn, the Eiger, the Mönch, the Jungfrau, the Gletscher-horn, the Mittaghorn, the Blumlis Alp, rise before the view, and with the Niesen and Stockhorn in the middle distance, reflect the rays of the declining sun in a thousand combinations of the most delicate hues. Besides this view, the principal objects to be seen in Berne are-The Minster; The Church of the Dominicans, now a parish church; The Church of the Holy Ghost; The Library; The Museum, or Cabinet of Natural History; The Hall of Antiquities; The Picture Gallery, near the Military Hospital; The Hôtel de Ville; The Bear Garden; The Arsenal; The Mint; The Observatory.

The Bear, of whose name the word Berne is the middle old German equivalent, is in especial favour in this city, which has its effigy for its arms; and either in living bodily presentment, carved on public buildings or on coins, his figure is perpetually recurring to the eye. The Bears-ditch, just without the Aarburg gate, is a menagerie of these animals, which has been maintained at the public charge for centuries. In the revolutionary wars the French took away the bears to Paris, and their restoration was one of the first cares of the citizens upon the return of more peaceful times. On a fountain in the Street of Justice, the canton is represented in a militant attitude by the effigy of a bear in knightly armour, with sword and belt, and banner in paw. Another fountain has a bear attending a cross-bowman in the capacity of his squire.

The Minster is a fine specimen of Gothic architecture. It was built in the period 1421-1457, and had for one of its architects the celebrated Erwin of Steinbach, so often mentioned with regard by the historiographers of the middle ages, and known to the Rhine tourist as the builder of Strasbourg Cathedral, to which this minster is not unlike. On the principal or western portal are several sculptured designs and groups, one of which represents the Last Judgment, and another the Wise and Foolish Virgins.

D

The interior contains the memorial of 700 Swiss, who fell in 1798 fighting against the French.

Another object which may reward the traveller of Strasbourg is the clock in the Zeitglockenthurm, or clock-tower, which stands between two other old watch-towers in the Justice Street. Just as the hour is about to strike a wooden figure of Chanticleer makes his appearance, and crows twice with a great flapping of wings. Another puppet strikes the hour on a bell, and forthwith a number of bears emerge from the interior of the clock, and pay their duty to an enthroned figure, who at every stroke opens his mouth and inclines his sceptre.

The Museum of Berne deserves a most honourable mention, and is not to be classed with the common, miscellaneous, and often-increasing collections to be found in so many continental towns. It is truly a repertory of whatever is characteristic in the natural history of Switzerland. Here are specimens of the lämmergeyer, or lamb-vulture, with the exception of one species the largest of birds, and building only in the highest mountains of the Alps. The highly-interesting geology of Switzerland, on which our countryman Forbes has bestowed so many years of successful study, is amply illustrated in the geological and mineralogical departments of this museum, as well by fossils and minerals as in a series of plans in relief. The bear meets one again in the zoological department, stuffed specimens of the animal, from the size of a kitten to that of the full-grown quadruped, being here carefully preserved.

The distance from Berne to Thun by the direct road on the right bank of the Aar is rather over five stunden, or about seventeen English miles. Diligences leave Berne twice in the forenoon and once in the afternoon. Fare: cabriolet, 18; interior, 15 batzen. The road on the left bank, i.e. to the right of the river in going, offers prettier prospects, but is two stunden longer than the other. A fourth diligence starts for Thun by this route at noon. A cheaper conveyance (personwagen) than these leaves Berne at halfpast five A.M., and returns in the evening. The marketboat, which leaves Thun daily for Berne, and makes the passage of the Aar in about two hours, has few conveniences, but may at a pinch be a serviceable conveyance, especially to pedestrians: the fare is 4 batzen. A decked

boat from Thun to Berne may be had for 30 French francs. A voiturier charges for the land journey 18 French francs and trinkgeld; he has no right to charge back-fare by this route. A Thun voiturier returning thither may be engaged for 10 or 12 francs.

Leaving Berne by the customary route, the traveller ascends the hill of Muri-Stalden, and can now look down into the deep valley of the Aar, whose azure waters announce their origin among the pure glaciers of the Hautes-Alpes. Presently Berne disappears, and the vicinage of the Aar is only recognisable by the hoarse murmuring of the stream. At the distance of a mile from Muri-Stalden the way diverges, one road leading to the Emmenthal, the other tending directly to the Oberland. At the egress from the grove of trees, through which the high-road leads, the view becomes more rural; the villas of the citizens occur at longer intervals, and are separated by small woods, farms, and houses, with thatched roofs. About two minutes' walk from the church of Muri, a road leads to the right of the highway; a point from which the artist Aberli has taken one of his most charming landscapes. The way leads between a few houses right up a hill, which may be climbed in five minutes. When the ground is not sown, the stranger may ascend as far as to the two lindens, which cross its summit, and enjoy a wide and delightful view.

Following the road, the Aar is again seen on the right; and beyond it, at the foot of the Belpberg, the great village of Belp; behind which again the Laengenberg is seen, whose gently-inclined slope had been hitherto concealed by the Gurten. From Muri the road is continued, almost on a level, between pasture-lands, orchards, and fields, as far as Allmendingen, where it rises gently and intersects a small wood. On the left is a small eminence called the Höhullin, whose summit bears traces of human operations of a very remote antiquity. In the neighbourhood of Allmendingen are found the remains of a temple, where the Druids offered their sacrifices. From Allmendingen as far as Thun, the view on the left of the route is of a commonplace character, and limited, with the exception of some occasional vistas, through one of which is seen Gümlingen. Further on the eye penetrates the pretty valley of Diessbach and its green

pastures; and near Thun, the village of Steffisburg may be discerned.

From Rubigen, a hamlet where now only one sad solitary house is standing, the road leads to Münsingen (inn, Löwe), a parochial village, which has several times been burnt down, -a fact to which it owes much of its present beauty. It was at Münsingen that was held, in the spring of 1831, the great popular assembly, which wrested the cantonal government from the oligarchy, and established the existing present more democratic constitution. The village is situated opposite the Belpberg, and at the foot of the Haube; a hill, on the slope of which lies the little village of Heutlingen. The road now passes by Wichtrach, Heimberg, and Neuhaus to Kiesen, through a well-cultivated country. A pretty château, surrounded with hives and acacias, crowns the gentle height at this latter place, and some new well-built houses lie at its base. The clear stream of the Kiesen, issuing from the smiling valley of Diessbach, becomes suddenly visible, and runs close to the road. Above the village of Diessbach, situated in a fertile and well-watered valley, between the mountains of Kurzemberg and Bucholterberg, is the steep rock of Falkenfluh. To the south of the Falkenfluh, and nearer to the road, the rock called Heimbergfluh rises, and forms with its fellow the powerful bulwarks of the Emmenthal. The scenery now changes, and the route enters a sombre region of forests, which forms the entrance to the district of the Heimberg, which extends as far as Sulg. The forests traversed, the country opens again to the right, towards the Bünberg; on which are seen the houses of Thunergeschreit. Further on, Eichberg, Uetendorf, and Burgistein rise into view. In this part of the journey the thickly-scattered rural dwellings, chiefly those of substantial farmers, surrounded with neat gardens, give an idea of agricultural prosperity, and agreeably diversify the landscape. Near the extremity of the Heimberg, a pretty valley opens on the east, and ascends at a gentle inclination as far as to the plateau of the Schwarzenerb. The mountain itself starts suddenly and perpendicularly from the plateau. The Sulg or Salg, a wild torrent, precipitates its waters from the mountain to the bottom of a pebbly ravine. It takes its source among the heights of Segriswild and Mont Blume. The

masses of the Stockhorn and the Niesen now appear, and engross attention by their imposing aspect, The first rises to the height of 6760 feet, the second 7340 feet above the sea level. Entering Thun the traveller enters the Oberland.

Inns.-The Bellevue is not only the best in Thun, but one of the best in all Switzerland. It stands on the border of the lake, near the steam-boat landing-place. The quiet, dignified tone prevalent in the establishment, assimilates it rather to a private mansion than to a hôtel.

Its gardens are as large as many a baronial castle, and in them is a chapel, where the English service is performed. These gardens are situated on the slope of a height, and by winding paths the visitor may ascend to Jacob's Chapel, from which there is a beautiful prospect over the lake. Messrs. Knechtenhofer, the proprietors, have another inn near the Bellevue, the Bateau-à-Vapeur, at which the boat lands passengers, and also a pension: at these houses the visitors may be well entertained, at lower charges than at the chief establishment. The Freyenhof and Falke, Kreuz and Krone, are fair second-class houses. The pensions are mainly supported by English visitors, who flock here in considerable numbers, and are provided with everything for five francs a-day.

THUN, placed in the vestibule of the Oberland, uniting the sublimity of mountain scenery with the softer parts of the country which stretches towards Berne, is one of the most picturesque spots in all Switzerland: the town is full of character and reminiscence, while its environs present a perfect miniature of Oberland scenery. The older and chief portion of the town is cramped and crowded. Some of the streets remind an Englishman of the rows in the city of Chester, there being a kind of terrace, about ten feet high, on each side, by which the shops are gained; the carriage-way passing between what are, in fact, the cellars of the houses. The Aar flows here clear as crystal, in two separate streams, one of which intersects the town, while the other laves its external walls. The ancient church stands on a height overlooking the most delightful scenery: the town, with its outlying gardens and pretty country-houses, lies beneath the spectator; the gigantic Niesen and Stockhorn back the view, and the tranquil lake reflects the whole picture from its clear surface.

From the pavillon of St. Jacob, the ascent to which is rather