Journal of a Tour in the Years 1828-1829, through Styria, Carniola, and Italy, whilst Accompanying the Late Sir Humphry DavyTobin, J. J.
History
Journal of a Tour in the Years 1828-1829, through Styria, Carniola, and Italy, whilst Accompanying the Late Sir Humphry Davy
Tobin, J. J.
Davy, Humphry, Sir, 1778-1829; Europe -- Description and travel
The mountains are more thickly wooded, and the springs of the various
turnings of the road present a view of the distant Styrian Alps, one
of which, called the _Bischoff's Mütze_, or the Mitre, is of a very
singular form, consisting of two peaks exactly resembling gigantic
termites, (anthills,) rising out of vast fields of snow. Along the side
of the road runs a mountain torrent, clear as crystal, forming at every
hundred yards fine cascades, some of which, increased considerably by
lateral streams, are beautiful and picturesque to a high degree. The
road then winds through a narrow valley, closed in on all sides by
stupendous masses of dark blue-limestone, (for we are again travelling
over a calcareous chain,) till upon turning suddenly round a corner,
we looked down with surprise upon an open, wide, extended, and fertile
valley, with hamlets and villages peeping through the trees, and
bounded at a great distance by another chain of snowy Alps. Before
arriving at Unter-Tauern, (below the Tauern,) the first village in
this valley, situated at the foot of the Alps, we passed on our left a
noble cascade, bounding in many a broken column from an amazing height;
the last of these columns falls more than five hundred feet, and is
dispersed into a light white foam before it reaches the pool which
receives it below. From Unter-Tauern to Radstadt is a short poste. This
latter is a small town, still surrounded by its old wall and towers,
and appears to possess nothing remarkable. The poste where we passed
the night is a very indifferent inn.
_30th._ We left Radstadt this morning in the rain, the first wet
weather we have had for some time, and drove on through the fertile
and beautiful valley of the Enns to Schladming. The country in many
parts resembles a flower garden, for the narcissus, the cyclamen, and
many other of our garden flowers flourish here as the common weeds of
the fields and mountains. From Schladming we proceeded to Gröbming,
the next poste; it is a small village, picturesquely situated at the
foot of high rocky mountains. About noon the weather cleared up, and
on arriving here Sir Humphry determined to spend the afternoon in
this place, and to see if he could find any thing to shoot in the
fields. We accordingly went out after dinner, but could not see a bird,
and returned in the evening to our inn, where I continued to read
Shakspeare, which has been our book for the last six or seven evenings.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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