14 THE BRITISH NATURALIST. [January 



Surely nowhere can there be found a richer harmony of beauty and 

 grandeur, of grace and sublimity, of loveiiest pastoral and serenest or 

 sternest mountain scenery. Surely here, if anywhere, the lion and 

 the lamb lie down together, peace reclines on the bosom of strength. 



On the east stands Rigi, a mountain nearly 6,000 feet high, with a 

 commanding position which is almost unique. Southwards, behold 

 Pilatus, its bold outline standing out magnificently clear now, though 

 it is rarely free from clouds. This grand feature of the landscape, the 

 most varied in outline of all the limestone mountains of Switzerland, 

 is the last link of a chain of Alps, and 7,000 feet high. Its position 

 seems to give it the dignity of storm centre of the district ; often, 

 when Rigi is peaceful and smiling, Pilatus is cloud-capped and 

 shrouded in vapour, or there is heard the reverberation of the thunder 

 amongst its peaks. 



To the south-east is the St. Gothard range, with its snowy 

 summits ; in the near foreground the lovely lake with its graceful 

 curves and beautiful terraces ; and beyond and around are peaceful 

 valleys and well-wooded slopes, the whole scene being indeed the 

 beautiful sublime, especially under the perfect atmospheric conditions 

 in which it was our good fortune to behold it. 



Early next morning we set off for a five days' tour, which teemed 

 with interest, and embraced every variety of scenery from 1,400 feet 

 above sea-level, to beyond the line of perpetual snow. 



Sailing down Lake Lucerne, we call at two or three quaint and 

 picturesque little places, and then land at Vitznau, from whence the 

 Rigibahn or Rigi railway starts. The train is constructed of one 

 carriage, and an engine which is behind and uncoupled. The 

 carriage lias glass at each end, but none at the sides, which are open 

 from half-way upwards ; the full complement for each train is thirty- 

 two passengers. As the speed at which we travel is only about three 

 miles an hour, there is ample opportunity for looking about. The line 

 ascends the south side of the mountain and has a very steep gradient 

 — in many places of 1 in 5, or occasionally of J in 4. It proceeds 

 by the edge of precipitous cliffs, passes through orchards of large- 

 fruited chestnuts, and soon affords delightful views of the lake and its 

 embosoming mountains. 



Much to the amusement and interest of the other passengers, we 

 took out our nets, and made attempts to capture injects as they 

 flitted by. Though it was entomologising under difficulties, we 

 secured several specimens, the most notable being Zygcena scabiosce 

 (very similar to Z. minus), and a fine male Thecla ilicis, the only 

 specimen of the Thecla family we took during our stay in Switzerland. 



