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CHAPTER XIX. 

 TO PAKTENHRCHEN* 



It was about eight o'clock when the smart young ppa . 

 sant, who drove us from Ammergau to Partenkirchen, 

 set us down at the entrance of the high street of the vil- 

 lage, and bidding us farewell, cracked his whip and took 

 the road that, here diverging, leads to Garmisch. From 

 the principal inn issued the cheering sound of merry 

 human voices ; and the windows were full of light, and 

 there was a bustle and a hum that, as one approached, 

 rose upon the hush of the night, and had a pleasant in- 

 fluence on the traveller seeking a night's lodging. And 

 there stands mine host — such a host as I always like to 

 see — of fair dimensions, and in whose jolly face good- 

 humour has ensconced itself. He looks as pleased as 



* Whoever passes through Partenkirchen should take a walk to "The 

 Clam." It is a wonderful place, and the unlearned as well as the learned 

 cannot fail to be impressed by the sight. Even he who knows nothing 

 of geology, will understand that this earth of ours must be very old, 

 when he sees the channel that the water has here for centuries been gnaw- 

 ing through the solid rock. Go and look at it, and stop there awhile ; 

 and as you peep over into the deep chasm, try to think of the years that 

 the water has been thus toiling to wear out the hard stone ; and how 

 one century dragged on, and another weary century, and the still toiling 

 water had only got a little lower down. After that, and when you see 

 what it has accomplished, the word " Time " may perhaps convey to your 

 mind another meaning than it has hitherto done. 



