The Argosy — page 149: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

134 In the Black Forest. shirked the Murgthal; or, to put it in his own words, ‘‘ for not having known that I cared about seeing the Murgthal”—for I had had it out with him very seriously with the landlord at Achern, who made common cause with me against the practice—pointed out every spot of interest, posted me up in the name of every village, and gave me the history of every wayside house. The backward views were magnificent, as we wound upwards into the forests. Far off mountains stretched away one behind another,. and valleys and plains and villages lay sleeping below. But the trees. soon overshadowed us and shut it all out, and the breeze stirred the pines with a sad melancholy sound. Great shadows cast by the declining sun stretched across our path. Much of the time we might have been winding up grand, well-kept avenues belonging to some ancient estate. ‘To our right ran a narrow, shallow, babbling stream, frothing angrily over huge stones, running on for ever and for ever.. Nature seems to mock man with its apparent immutability—man, vain man, dressed with so brief authority, who plays out his seven ages and disappears as a tale that is told, whilst the monarch of the forest is yet in his infancy. Far up the slopes through the trees we had lovely glimpses ; could trace the long shadows, and revel in a wealth of wild verdure ; bracken, ferns and flowers. Now and then we passed a roadside inn, land- marks evidently known to the coachman, at which he cast long, lingering looks. Things were quiet this evening ; doors were closed ; nothing was in disorder. For all that could be seen stirring, the inns might have been deserted ; probably were so, for the road was. unfrequented and customers were few—especially on a Sunday even- ing. The inn-people were no doubt taking holiday, assembling at each other’s houses, and making merry. The whole road was deso- late and deserted ; there was nothing but the trees and the shadows. to bear us company ; no sound to disturb the stillness but the running stream and the horses’ feet as they beat the hard road, sending: echoes up the slopes to play hide and seek amongst the trees. But this solitude has its charm. | Finally we reached the summit, and then began rapidly to descend into the valley by steep winding paths. Twilight was now falling. Great pine mountains on all sides stretched far above us, looking, in the gathering gloom, black as Erebus. We were descending, as it seemed, into the depths of the earth; gloom and desolation encom- passed us. ‘The air felt damp and cold: a mist was wreathing about some of the higher trees; yet the whole picture was inconceivably wild, grand and beautiful—for this descent into Allerheiligen, the situation of the place, the surrounding scene, is one of the finest things in the Black Forest. At length the little settlement : a group of modern buildings side by side with an old ruin, mixing up together past and present in strange incongruous fashion. Nothing more lonely and desolate Gomichbooks (EO) m