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full white sleeves, embroidered velvet bodices,
and silver chains and ornaments, were
tossing the dung about in the fields, and even
drawing light carts. When at Thoun, we
were prevented by the weather from going
to see the view from the church-yard, which
is said to be remarkably fine. The next
morning we engaged a boat with three men,
to row us to the other end of the lake.
The Lake of Thoun is about ten
English miles in length, and its average
breadth is about two m ile s; it presents
many striking beauties, but the most conspicuous
and characteristic object is a perfectly
pyramidal mountain, called the Neis-
sen, near the middle of the southern side
of the lake : its summit is a little below
the line of perpetual snow. The entrance
of the valley of the Kander, leading to the
passage over the Gemmi, is seen below the
Neissen. The sandstone, and beds of sand,
gravel, and conglomerate, which we had
travelled over invariably from Geneva, continued
on the northern bank of the lake to
near its termination. We were now approaching
another series of rocks, and I
was desirous, if possible, to ascertain where
the new series commenced ; but I was too
distant from the shore to land, and our
boatmen, who knew every part of the lake,
could give me no informiition, as they could
not speak a word of French. Recollecting
something of the Yorkshire dialect, I tried
how far it would assist me in making myself
understood, and I succeeded tolerably
well. “ Tat is sa n d ste in f was answered
with yaa, or nae, as we rowed along, till
it was no longer doubtful that we were
beyond the sandstone range. We landed
at a little village, called Neuhaus, where
chars are in w^aiting to take company to
Interlaken. We hired one of them, and
passing through the town of Unterseen,
(originally Understein, to designate its situation
under the stone or rock which
towers above it on the north), we arrived
in about lialf an hour at Interlaken, a village
deriving its name from its position between
the lakes of Thoun and Brientz.
The small plain in which Interlaken is
situated, might be denominated the Cash-
mere of Switzerland. It is about three
miles in length, and two in b re ad th ; and,
where not occupied by meadows and orchards,
is cultivated like a garden : it is
very populous. This fertile plain is em