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
On my return to the inn I found Sir Humphry already there, and that
he had dined; and he asked me to accompany him to Aigen, a beautiful
villa, about two miles from Salzburg, the seat of Prince Schwarzenberg.
From the gardens of this villa the view of Salzburg and the whole chain
of Alps is most magnificent, but we could not enjoy it completely, as
the summits of the mountains were mostly veiled in cloud, thus mingling
as it were with the heavens, and only here and there a dark brown peak
was seen piercing through the white shroud, which every now and then
passed over it like the foaming wave over a rock, leaving it for some
moments invisible. We strolled for some time through the gardens, Sir
Humphry on his pony, and then returned to the city.
[Illustration: From nature _by J. J. Tobin_ FALLS of the SCHWARTZBACH]
_11th, 12th._ Were cloudy and rainy days, but in spite of the weather
Sir Humphry has been out shooting the greater part of them, with,
however, very little good fortune; and on the 13th, we left Salzburg in
the morning, and drove through a long avenue of fine beech-trees to
Hallein, passing by the Untersberg, where there are large quarries of
white marble, belonging to Bavaria. To the right, the view of the snowy
Watzmann, and the nearer and finely wooded mountains was exceedingly
striking. Above Hallein two enormous brown rocks rise out of the woods,
bearing a very striking resemblance to artificial walls. Hallein is a
dirty town, celebrated only for its extensive salt mines. The scenery
between it and Golling is fine, but cannot be compared with that beyond
Golling. At this latter place we stopped for two or three hours, and
whilst Sir Humphry took his dinner, I went to see the Falls of the
Schwartzbach, about two miles distant. After crossing the Salza, I
came in about half an hour to the first or lower fall, where, in the
very midst of dark pines, some of which seemed even to grow out of the
falling water, the _Schwartzbach_, or _dark stream_, dashes over the
rocks, and divides itself into two branches, one of which makes but one
single leap to the pool below, whilst the other descends in innumerable
small cascatelles, and the black rocks, peeping here and there through
the white and curling foam, give a very beautiful effect to this part
of the scene. I then ascended with my young guide, a little boy whom
I had taken with me from Golling, to the upper fall, of which nothing
is visible from below but the rising spray, and the beautiful iris
playing upon it. The pathway leads immediately to the front of this
fall, which, in point of singularity of situation, is perhaps
unrivalled.
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