^T. 28.] JOURNAL. 227 



venient opportunity of going on to Ischl, I was obliged 

 to bid farewell to Gmiindensee. Loveliest, wildest of 

 lakes, I shall not soon forget thee. 



I had not time at Ebensee to look at the works 

 where the brine is evaporated, which seem to be on a 

 large scale. The brine is brought here in aqueducts, 

 some fifteen or twenty-four miles, since fuel is more 

 plenty here, and it is found more economical to bring 

 the brine to the fuel than the fuel to the brine. The 

 stellwagen was ready, and I took my seat. A ride of 

 ten or eleven miles up the valley of the Traun, a nar- 

 row defile bordered by lofty mountains, brought us 

 before noon to Ischl. It is a pretty village, lying in a 

 green valley formed by the junction of the little river 

 Ischl with the Traun ; it contains extensive salt-works 

 and is a favorite bathing-place, people of all degrees 

 coming here in the summer to pickle themselves in the 

 salt water. Three immense ridges of mountains come 

 down almost into the village, leaving a triangular 

 space for the village, with just three ways of getting in 

 or out, viz., by ascending the river as we came, or by 

 either the Ischl or the Traun as they enter the valley. 



I took a hasty dinner, and left the hotel at one 

 o'clock, determined to enjoy the satisfaction of climb- 

 ing a real mountain. The Zeimitz, the highest in the 

 neighborhood, is said to command the finest prospect, 

 and it looked as if I could ascend it in an hour or two 

 with the greatest ease, although the guide-book says 

 that ten to twelve hours are necessary for going and 

 returning. I have accomplished the task ; I climbed 

 the mountain, 5000 feet high, traveled over the snow 

 from one to the other of its four peaks at considerable 

 distance from each other ; enjoyed the most magnifi- 

 cent prospect ; filled my portfolio with alpine plants, 



