. But now let me tell you
a little more about the country. You must not imagine that the northern
slope, as I called it, is one smooth and uniform surface of descending
land. There are mountains, and valleys, and lakes, and precipices, and
waterfalls, and every other variety of mountain scenery scattered all
over it, making it a most picturesque and romantic region. It is,
however, on the whole, a slope. It begins with comparatively smooth and
level land on the north and it terminates in a range of lofty mountain
crests on the south; and you have to go over this crest somewhere, by
some of the steep and difficult passes that cross it, to get into the
central valley. We are on the margin of this slope now. When we leave
here and strike into the heart of Switzerland we shall be gradually
ascending it. I am going first to a place called Interlachen, which is
in a deep valley far up this slope, just under the ridge of mountains.
Interlachen is surrounded, in fact, by mountains, and a great many
pleasant excursions can be made from it. We shall stop there a few days
and make excursions, and then cross over by some of the mountain passes
into the valley."

"Well," said Rollo, in a tone of great satisfaction. "I shall like that;
I should like to go over a mountain pass. Shall we go in a carriage, or
on horseback."

"That depends upon which of the passes we take," said Mr. George. "Some
of them are carriage roads, some are bridle paths; and you ride over on
mules or horses. Others are too steep and dangerous to ride over in any
way. You have to go on foot, climbing up zigzag paths cut out of the
rock, and over great patches of snow that horses and mules would sink
into."

"Let's go in one of those," said Rollo, straightening himself up.

"Sometimes the path becomes narrower and narrower," continued Mr.
George, "until it is finally lost among the rocks, and you have to
clamber around the point of some rocky cliff a thousand feet in the air,
with scarcely any thing but the jagged roughness of the rocks to cling
to."

"Yes, sir," said Rollo, eagerly. "Yes, sir. Let's go there. That's just
the kind of road I want to go in."

"Well, we'll see," said Mr. George. "The first thing is to go to
Interlachen. That is in the heart of the mountains, and very near the
passes which lead over into the valley. When we get there we will study
the guide book and the maps and determine which way to go."

"And after you get into the valley,