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"I have seen," he said, "the most beautiful scenes of my own

country; I have visited the lakes of Lucerne and Uri, where the

snowy mountains descend almost perpendicularly to the water,

casting black and impenetrable shades, which would cause a gloomy

and mournful appearance were it not for the most verdant islands

that relieve the eye by their gay appearance; I have seen this

lake agitated by a tempest, when the wind tore up whirlwinds of

water and gave you an idea of what the water-spout must be on the

great ocean; and the waves dash with fury the base of the

mountain, where the priest and his mistress were overwhelmed by

an avalanche and where their dying voices are still said to be

heard amid the pauses of the nightly wind; I have seen the

mountains of La Valais, and the Pays de Vaud; but this country,

Victor, pleases me more than all those wonders.