feet, or nearly 6,000 feet above the level of the sea; and although by no means the highest, it is emphatically the mountain of the district, being to that part of Switzerland just what Snowdon is to North Wales, or Mangerton to Killarney. Every tourist considers it a part of his duty to ascend it, and the greatest facilities are afforded to all who are desirous of so doing. There are nine routes to the summit, most of which are well-kept horse-paths; and its splendid hotels are connected with Lucerne by the electric telegraph, so that to prevent disappointment the intending visitor may for half a franc order his bed before starting. On landing at Kussnacht we found ourselves surrounded by a noisy crowd of men and boys eager for employment as guides or porters, or anxious to hire out horses, mules, or sedan chairs to such persons as desired to ride. The sedans referred to were comfortably cushioned wooden chairs with a long pole fastened to each side, the rider being carried after the manner of a Guy Fawkes; but this mode of transit was somewhat expensive, since it involved the services of five menfour to act alternately as bearers, and the fifth to carry luggage. For our own parts we preferred to walk, and had resolved at starting to carry up our knapsacks also; three of us, however, soon altered our minds in this last respect, for the heat of the day was intense (92° in the shade), and the sun had a scorching power beyond anything of the kind I had ever felt before. Silently we plodded on our upward course for the first mile, our coats off, our umbrellas

profuse perspiration; until Jones and Brown, becoming fatigued, sat down by the wayside, and Smith also loitering, I went on with no other companion than the lad I had employed to carry my pouch. He was an intelligent little fellow, but as he spoke a very few words of English, and fewer still of French, and his native German was an unknown tongue to me, our conversation, though tolerably constant, was only carried on under difficulties. Another half-hour's toiling in the sun, and a sudden faintness seized me; when, thinking that my journey had come to an end, I threw myself upon the ground beneath a bush, cutting my arm badly upon a piece of rock as I fell, but for a long time heedless of the blood which trickled from the wound. I was roused from my stupor by Smith, who overtook me some time after, but who after a few inquiries abandoned me to my fate, and went his way alone. Fortunately, however, three quarters of an hour's rest seemed completely to restore me, and I walked from thence to the summit without another rest. From the place where I had rested the path was steep and zigzag through a wood which afforded welcome shade, and on emerging from it we crossed a level tract of pasturage where a number of cows were grazing, and where some refreshment was obtained. Another piece of hard climbing brought us to an eminence commanding a lovely view of the lake and its environs; here my little companion directed my attention to three persons on the path about a mile below, and whom I recognised as Jones and

Brown, with their attendant porter. So tying a red silk handkerchief upon my alpenstock, I waved it to and fro in the air until their attention was attracted and the signal was returned; then continuing my course I entered another tract of wood, and saw them no more that day. Above the wood the continually expanding view and the increasing coolness and rarity of the atmosphere contributed to make the remainder of the walk very delightful; every breath of the bright clear air seemed to invigorate, and we pursued our upward course at a much quicker pace than hitherto ; sometimes keeping to the beaten path, at others climbing up the steep slopes to cut off corners, and only stopping when some rare and lovely wild flower attracted my attention, or when a mountain stream invited us to taste its limpid waters. About six o'clock we gained the top of the main ridge, where a splendid hotel-the Rigi Staffel-has been built, and at which numerous touters did their utmost to induce me to stay for the night. Excelsior was, however, my motto on this occasion; and deaf to their misrepresentations I passed them by, and proceeded to the summit of the mountain, now about half a mile distant. From the elevation now reached I could see the view which the steep side up which we had been toiling had hidden from us, and a greater contrast to the scenery which we had left behind could hardly have been imagined. Instead of the peaceful lake with its fertile shores and richly wooded landscapes, we now beheld in all their grandeur the mighty chain of the Bernese Alps, peak

rising above peak into the dark blue sky, against which the pure whiteness of their eternal snow stood out in brilliant contrast.

Somewhat less than half an hour's walk brought us to our journey's end, the summit of the Rigi, on which stands that far-famed hotel, the Rigi Kulm. My first inquiry was of course for Smith, who I expected had arrived there a long time previously, and had taken rooms for our party; but to my surprise I could obtain no satisfactory information concerning him; indeed, the only thing about which the waiters were certain was that the hotel was quite full, and that not another traveller could by any possibility be accommodated-cheering, certainly, under the circumstances of the case! However, I was in no mood to retrace my steps, so I joined the crowd assembled on the actual summit, and speedily forgot my disappointment in the contemplation of the grandest and most glorious sunset scene which I ever witnessed. The view from this point was very extensive, stretching far away in one direction beyond the Rhine to the great Black Forest of Swabia. Far below in front lay the Lake of Lucerne, with the town at its extremity, and beautiful Mount Pilatus rising immediately above it on the left. Immediately beneath on the right was the pretty Lake of Zug, and behind me the horizon was shut out by those magnificent snow-capped mountains whose peaks and glaciers now were tinged with richest gold and crimson. Whilst thus gazing with intense delight upon a scene so filled with nature's glories a fleecy cloud encircled the peak, and cut

off the view of everything more than about 500 feet below; at the same time an exclamation from a tourist caused me to look up, and I saw to my surprise a dense mass

of cloud wildly circling in the air above our heads; another moment, and it had descended upon us, and we were at once in almost total darkness.

¡MONG popular epidemies it would be unpardonable to omit the Aquarium mania, which reached its height about the time when many | of our readers had proceeded no further than the initial A, and were as yet in happy ignorance of the remainder of the word. The attack was general, being most severe in towns and cities; and not a few young ladies and gentlemen "felt bad," as our American cousins phrase, it. The consumption of glass was alarmingly great, and it is a wonder the price was not permanently raised. Rough plate, smooth plate, bell glasses, show glasses, milk pans, basins,—in short, everything that could be used as a tank or made into one, was seized upon, and converted into an aquatic Noah's ark, for the edification and amazement of admiring friends. There was grand messing, spilling, and slopping, though, behind the scenes; tanks would leak, in spite of white-lead, red-lead, and Portland cement; bowls would capsize and saturate the carpet with a compound of dark-coloured mud,

spasmodic beetles, slimy weeds, gasping fishes, and convoluted worms; while the inhabitants of vessels which escaped such catastrophes set peace principles at open defiance, as if determined to afford a practical commentary on the poet's lines,—

"The pond's a mirror'd world, where strong on weak,

Cunning on simple, prey."

Thus many a "weak" fish and "simple" tadpole reached (if we may so say) Ponder's End by a route quite different from the Eastern Counties Railway.

In this and other ways-not to omit the bursting of vessels in frosty weather, so graphically sketched by John Leech in a former number of Punch-the aquarium mania received a check which threatened to prove a checkmate. Tanks were banished to sculleries, dark cupboards, and outhouses; and bell glasses were turned to purely horticultural uses. But among a comparatively select few a different effect had been produced. They had learned, after many failures and discouragements, that it was quite

tolerably uniform prosperity, and that under such circumstances there was an abundance of instruction and amusement to be extracted from them. And so it has come to pass that now most aquarium keepers take a genuine interest in their bowls or tanks, and are in thorough sympathy with the little world of life which each vessel contains.

Presuming that some of our readers desire to reap the benefit of the practical experience which has been gained during the last fourteen or sixteen years, we purpose to devote a page to sundry jottings that may be helpful "to persons about to set up a fresh-water aquarium.

A "pond in a parlour" is dependent for its purity, and its inhabitants for their life and health, upon certain conditions, easily explained. In nature, standing water may, as every one knows, be perfectly sweet and drinkable; but if so, its condition is due to a balance of animal and vegetable life. The duck weed which covers the surface of a pond, the reeds and rushes which fringe its margin, and the floating vegetation. which is suspended in its waters, combine to prove a powerful agency for the production of oxygen gasor "vital air," as it was formerly called; and when the sun shines, this gas is freely given off by the plants, which it studs with innumerable bubbles. On the other hand, every animal-fish, insect, worm, or whatever it may be-exerts an exactly opposite influence, breathing out carbonic acid (carbon + oxygen) gas into the water. A process of exchange, of the highest importance

acid is absorbed by the plant, which retains the carbon, and returns the oxygen. The latter is at once breathed in or respired by the animals, to be breathed out or expired as carbonic acid. It is plain that where this wonderful "balance" is true, animals and plants will alike be maintained in a living and healthy condition; and the object of the aquarium keeper should be to attain and then to maintain this desirable equality.

It is equally plain that a globe of gold fish is no aquarium at all; and when it is also remembered that in the latter we are seeking to imitate nature as closely as possible, it will be seen that the position of a globe on a round table, in front of a window through which the sunshine pours uninterruptedly, is anything but a natural one. If we have fish in an aquarium; we must neither starve, nor boil, nor dazzle them after any such fashion. If we are able to afford a square or oblong tank, one side and both ends should be of slate, not glass; and if a glass vessel (such as an inverted bell glass) is chosen, it should be placed in a somewhat shady place, or, by means of green paper pasted on the glass, shelter should be afforded from the direct rays of the sun.

A layer of clean river sand is placed at the bottom of the aquarium, and on this small pebbles should be spread to a depth of a full inch at least. If rock work is introduced, much care is needed to avoid outraging good taste by the introduction of unnatural scenery. To make a subaqueous grotto of bright minerals