The Argosy — page 68: what you’re looking at

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

In the Black Forest. 55 surprise, a new and delightful sensation at every turn. Now we followed one bank of the stream, and now, crossing an old stone bridge, skirted the other. All the time the water ran and frothed and appeared to sing for joy at its beautiful home; and we seemed to race with it. The willing horses wanted no urging, but with a small car- riage anda light weight, fancied themselves out for a holiday, and went careering down the valley at full speed. But between the Wehrathal and the Albthal (they are often brought into comparison, and each has its supporters), there is this difference: In the Albthal the road runs far up the mountain side. You are elevated and look down constantly from a height more or less con- siderable. You gaze from deep, precipitous banks into a river running far below at the bottom of the wild pass or ravine. You seem to be above it all, to command all; a sense of wings, of soaring, takes possession of you. ‘There is a great deal of rugged wildness and erandeur. You have far-reaching views of extraordinary beauty ; mountain after mountain covered with forest trees ; a wealth of wood and verdure, sufficient, one would think, to supply the world with all its needs for the next age to come. ‘The road, running beside the steep, wild precipice, is diversified by tunnels cut out of the solid rock. In spite of so much elevation, still the pine-clad mountains rise towering above you; but here they slope outwards, so that the upper portion of the valley is expansive: only from the road down- wards does it contract into a wid ravine. The Wehrathal, on the other hand, has none of this wild, savage srandeur. ‘There is no looking into great depths, which always gives a far stronger sense of the sublime and the splendid than looking upwards from the depth itself. Here the road is for ever on a level with the stream. ‘The.rush of the water is every now and then almost a disturbing element in one’s journey. From this depth we gaze up into the wealth of wood and verdure of the mountains that tower and almost meet on the right hand and on the left. They are beautiful exceedingly ; but it is a softer beauty than that of the Albthal: the ereen is not confined exclusively to pine trees. I saw it under every disadvantage ; the weather was almost as bad as those three days passed at Wehr in hopeless expectancy. This had to be taken into consideration. But when all due allowance was made, the Albthal seemed infinitely more impressive than the Wehrathal. Human nature happily embraces every variety of taste and senti- ment; the sublime to one mind will be a matter of indifference to another. Therefore, whilst some might prefer-the rugged grandeur of the Albthal, others might find greater enjoyment in the gentler influence of the Wehrathal, whose beauties also often touch the sublime point. But though I thought that the two valleys could not be compared, yet undoubtedly the Wehrathal yields the palm Only to the Albthal. Both should be seen, and he who neglects either, misses two of the choicest, loveliest spots in the Black Forest, COMMICDXOOKS.€O