belonged to Schwyz, and the upper to Unterwalden. The neighbourhood has been the scene of frequent conflicts between the Italians and Swiss, the latter having become masters of the district in the beginning of the sixteenth century.

[From this point Milan may be reached either by way of the Lake of Como, or by the Lake Maggiore. The distance from Bellinzona to Como is 38 miles. Diligence (railway in progress) three times a day to Lugano, whence the railway is completed to Como. Fare, Bellinzona to Lugano, 19 miles, 4 frs. 95 c.; coupe, 7 frs. 65 c. Lugano to Como, 19 miles. Fares: first, 3 frs. 20 c.; second, 2 frs. 25 c.

The road from Bellinzona is a pleasant one, winding up the wooded slope of Monte Cenere for several miles, and affording fine views. After passing the guardhouse at the top of the pass, we reach Bironico, 10 miles, and descend through a fertile and pleasant country to

LUGANO (Hotels: see "HOTEL LIST"), beautifully situated on the north shore of the lake of the same name. It is entirely Italian in character, with dingy and dirty arcaded streets, but its environs display all the richness of Italian scenery. The principal church, San Lorenzo, is built on an eminence, commanding a fine view. Another, Santa Maria degli Angioli, founded in 1499, is adorned with some remarkable paintings by Bernardino Luini. The town has a considerable trade in silk, being the principal entrepôt for traffic between Italy and Switzerland.

The lake, which is 20 miles in length, is very beautiful, and its shores present a great variety of scenery. Small steamboats ply between the various ports and Lugano. By sailing to Porlezza

much of the lake may be seen, and from thence chars or carriages may be hired to proceed to Menaggio, on Lake Como. A diligence runs in summer. This is the pleasantest way of reaching Como, and the drive is through a beautiful district. Soon after leaving Lugano, the railway crosses the Val Tassino by a viaduct 130 feet high, passes through several tunnels, and skirts the lake. Passing near Mendrisio, we soon reach CHIASSO (17 miles), the last Swiss village, where luggage is examined by the Italian Customs officers. After leaving Chiasso a tunnel is passed, and we soon reach

COмO. For a description of Como and its Lake, see Route 169.]

Travellers going to Lake Maggiore continue on by rail to LoCARNO (25 miles from Biasca), where steamer is taken to any point on the lake.

The LAGO MAGGIORE is about 45 miles long, and its average width is three miles. Its principal tributary is the Ticino, which retains its name on issuing from the lake at the southern extremity. It is also fed by the Toso, and the Tresa, the latter flowing from the Lago Lugano. Steamboats start from Mogadino, a few miles south-east of Locarno. They next touch at

LOCARNO (Hotels: see "HOTEL LIST.") It is situated on the western shore of the Lago Maggiore, amid groves of lemon and orange trees, vineyards, and other luxuriant vegetation. There are some good pictures in the Collegiate Church. The Government House is a fine building. From the Pilgrimage Church of Madonna del Sasso, above the town, a magnificent view is obtained. Steamers 3 times daily to Arona in 5 hours. Fares: Locarno to

Arona, 4 frs. 20 c. Good restaurant on board.

Leaving Locarno the steamer proceeds along the western shore. At Ascona there is a castle and a college; numerous villages are seen in succession, many of them beautifully situated on wooded slopes, and surrounded with fruit trees and gardens. Just before we reach Canobbio, one of the oldest villages on the lake, we cross the frontier and enter Italy. Customs officers examine luggage on board. That of foreign travellers is generally passed without opening. Turning eastward we reach

LUINO (Hotels: see "HOTEL LIST"), (the nearest point to Lugano). Opposite it are two singular looking castles (Castelli di Cannero), formerly the haunt of notorious brigands. We next reach LAVENO, behind which rises (5918 feet) the beautiful Mount Sasso del Ferro. [From Laveno a delightful road goes in 12 miles to VARESE, see Route 170.] On nearing INTRA, we observe a monument consisting of a rotunda with a statue, in the grounds of the Villa Prina. At this point there is a view of part of the chain of mountains in which Monte Rosa is situated. We now approach PALLANZA (Grand Hotel Pallanza), and see before us toward Stresa, the Borromean Islands. The chief of these is the ISOLA BELLA, on which is a Château, erected by one of the Counts Borromeo in the seventeenth century. The chateau, near which are the famous gardens, contains several magnificent apartments, in some of which there are paintings of no great merit. Near the chateau is the Hotel du Dauphin, clean and comfortable, where guests are received en pension. The Isola Madre has more garden ground, and is wilder than the

Isola Bella. Visitors are shown through the chateau and gardens by attendants, who expect a small fee-1 franc for one person or 2 francs for a party is ample. The rare trees and plants in the gardens are well worth seeing. The Isola Bella may be reached from the Hotel des Iles Borromees at Stresa by row boat in five minutes. The Isola Dei Pescatori is inhabited by fishermen, whose village covers nearly its whole extent. BAVENO is the next stopping-place after Pallanza. (Hotels: see "HOTEL LIST.") The brick villa just beyond the town, with turrets, was the residence of Queen Victoria for three weeks in the spring of 1879. We next touch at

STRESA (Hotel: DES ILES BORROMEES), a large hotel, and favourite stopping-place for tourists. Its situation is much better than that of Baveno, which latter place, from its position, is deprived of the view of the whole lake which renders Stresa so attractive. It is the nearest and most convenient place for a visit to the Borromean Islands, and for several of the best excursions on the lake. The large hotel is much more comfortable and agreeable than that at Baveno. On the side of the mountain above it is a college, formerly a monastery. The Palazzo Bolongaro is at the north end of the village, and there are many fine villas in the neighbourhood. Passing Belgirate and two or three small stations, we reach

an

ARONA (Hotel: Italia), ancient town on the western shore of the lake. The church of Santa Maria contains a fine altar-piece by Gaudenzio Vinci, representing the Holy Family, and some other smaller pictures around it. About a mile and a half before reaching Arona we see the celebrated collossal statue of St Carlo Borromeo,

Distance to Brienz, 36 miles, to Interlaken, 43 miles. Steamers three times daily to Alpnach in 12 hours, thence diligence to Brienz (or Meiringen) in 6 hours.

Fares-Lucerne to Brienz, 10.90 francs; coupe, 12.90 francs; to Interlaken, 13.70 francs; coupe, 16.40 francs; 40 lbs. luggage free.

Carriages-Two horses, Lucerne to Brienz (or Meiringen), 45.50 francs; all the way to Interlaken, 60 francs. From Alpnach to Brienz, 1 horse carriage, 25 francs; 2 horses, 40 francs.

LPNACH (8 miles) may be reached either by the road or by steamer. The 80called Lake of Alpnach is a gulf or arm of the Lake of Lucerne.

Alpnach is situated at the foot of Mount Pilate. The pines along the heights of this mountain were formerly carried down to the lake by a curious channel called the Slide of Alpnach. It was removed in 1819. The church was built of timber so conveyed.

The ascent of Mount Pilate can be best made from Alpnach. Time, 4 to 5 hours; horse, 10 francs.

SARNEN (16 miles) (Hotels: Sarnen Hof, Aigle d'Or). It is agreeably situated on the lake of Sarnen, below an eminence called Landenberg, from the terrace on which we have a beautiful view. The bridge across the river is nearly 300 years old. In the church at SACHSELN, a short distance from Sarnen, are preserved the bones of St Nicholas von der Flue. Ascending the Kaiserstuhl, a steep hill, we reach

LUNGERN (26 miles) (Hotels: Brunig, Lowe), situated near the borders of the lake to which it gives its name, and at the commencement of the Brunig Pass. This lake was reduced in size by one half in 1836 by draining it through a tunnel into the Lake of Sarnen, by which means a large tract of valuable meadowland was recovered. The road ascends by zig-zags through a forest to the summit of the Pass, at a height of 3,294 ft. above the sea. From this point a magnificent prospect extends over the valley of Nidwalden, with Mount Pilate in the distance, and the Lake of Lungern below; it includes also several mountains in the chain of the Bernese Alps. Near the summit is the Brunig Hotel.

The Kulm road to Meyringen leaves our route near the hotel. MEYRINGEN may be reached from this point in 12 hours (see Route 110).

Descending by the new carriage road, from which the views over the lake are very fine, we arrive in about an hour at

BRIENZ (36 miles) (Hotels: L'Ours, Weisses-Kreutz). This town is beautifully situated on the lake of the same name. From hence to INTERLAKEN steamers go three times a day, passing by the Giessbach shore, where we see the HOTEL GIESSBACH, a magnificent new hotel (opened in 1875), one of the best in Switzerland. It commands fine views of the falls and Lakes Brienz and Thun. Passengers are conveyed from the landing-place to the hotel by an ingenious tramway, the carriages of which are drawn up by water power. The tramway is chiefly constructed of iron resting upon stone piers. Its length is 660 yards, the gradient being 28 in 100.

The falls of the Giessbach have a character as well as beauty altogether peculiar; six of them can be seen at one glance, descending in succession from the wooded heights of the mountain above. In the tourist season they are illuminated nightly by coloured port-fires, and then present a singularly beautiful appearance. The middle fall is seen from a small gallery carried directly behind it, and the cataract rushes close before the spectator. The falls above, on the higher declivity, are very fine, though inferior in grandeur to the more impetuous Reichenbach.

Thun and Brienz is occupied by the valley of Interlaken, one of the most beautiful spots in Switzerland. Surrounded by lofty mountains, it is nevertheless open, and might almost be called a plain. On the east and west it looks towards the two lakes, and on the south towards the valley of Lauterbrunnen-its boundaries thus giving it a triangular form. "The beauty and fertility of this valley are extraordinary. The greenest and most luxuriant meadows, the richest and most variegated foliage, orchards red with fruit, gardens enamelled with flowers, form altogether a picture of singular beauty." The plain is strewed with picturesque eminences, rocky and overspread with fine timber; and along the right side of the Aar the bank rises gradually up to the mountains which shut in the valley. The immediate environs present the picturesque in most various aspects, and the peaks of the Silberhorn, Mönch, Eiger, and Jungfrau are the boundaries of its horizon. The climate is mild, and in summer the heat is often intense; but in the hottest sun the fine avenues of walnut-trees offer some measure of shade.

Interlaken has, in later years, changed its physiognomy_and aspect. It is no longer a Swiss village, but__a settlement of foreigners. The wooden houses, with their long inscriptions from the Psalms, their high-pitched roofs and oval windows, have been replaced by fine hotels and comfortable habitations. The indigent have been sent away to Unterseen, and the village is now almost exclusively occupied by foreign tourists and residents. The number of summer visitors is estimated at 50,000. The hotels are sprinkled about amid the trees upon either side of a broad avenue