The boatman took up the trunk, and the girls the other parcels of baggage, and so carried the whole, together with the oars, down to the boat. Rollo followed them, and the whole party immediately embarked. It was a bright and sunny day, though there were some dark and heavy clouds in the western sky. The water of the lake was very smooth, and it reflected the mountains and the skies in a very beautiful manner. Mr. George and Rollo took their seats in the boat, under an awning that was spread over a frame in the central portion of it. This awning sheltered them from the sun, while it did not intercept their view. The man and the girls took each of them an oar, standing up, however, to row, and pushing the oar before them, instead of pulling it, according to our fashion.[16] Thus they commenced the voyage.
Every thing went on very pleasantly for an hour, only, as the boatman and his daughters could speak no language but German, Mr. George and Rollo could have no conversation with them. But they could talk with each other, and they had a very pleasant time. At length, however, the clouds which had appeared in the western sky rose higher and higher, and grew blacker and blacker, and, finally, low, rumbling peals of thunder began to be heard. The boatman talked with his daughters, pointing to the clouds, and then said something to Mr. George in German; but neither Mr. George nor Rollo could understand it. They soon found, however, that the boat was turned towards the shore. They were very glad of this, for Rollo said that he had read in the guide book that the Swiss lakes were subject to very violent tempests, such as it would be quite dangerous to encounter far from the shore. Rollo said, moreover, that the boatmen were very vigilant in watching for the approach of these storms, and that they would always at once make the best of their way to the land whenever they saw one coming on.
In this instance the wind began to blow, and the rain to fall, before the boat reached the shore. Rollo and Mr. George were sheltered by the awning, but the boatman and the two girls got very wet. They, however, continued to work hard at the oars, and at length they reached the shore. The place where they landed was in a cove formed by a point of land, where there was a little inn near the water. As soon as the boat reached the shore Mr. George and Rollo leaped out of it, and spreading their umbrella they ran up to the inn.
They waited here nearly an hour. They sat on a piazza in front of the inn, listening to the sound of the thunder and of the wind, and watching the drops of rain falling on the water. At length the wind subsided, the rain gradually ceased, and the sun came out bright and beaming as ever. The party then got into the boat, and the boatman pushed off from the shore; and in an hour more they all landed safely on the quay at Lucerne, very near to a magnificent hotel.
Our two travellers were soon comfortably seated at a table in the dining room of the hotel before an excellent dinner, which Rollo had ordered. Mr. George told Rollo, as they took their seats at the table, that he had performed his duty as a courier in a very satisfactory manner, and had fully earned his pay.
Chapter XIII.
Conclusion.
It is not possible to describe in such a volume as this more than a small part of the excursions which Mr. George and Rollo made or the adventures which they met with in the course of their tour in Switzerland. They remained in the country of the Alps more than a fortnight; and they enjoyed, as Rollo said, every moment of the time. There was no end to the cascades and waterfalls, the ice and snow-clad summits, the glaciers, the romantic zigzag paths up the mountain sides, the picturesque hamlets and cottages, and the groups of peasants toiling in the fields or tending flocks and herds in the higher pasturages. Rollo's heart was filled all the time that he remained among these scenes with never-ceasing wonder and delight. The inns pleased him, too, as much perhaps as any thing else; for the climbing of mountains and the long excursions on foot gave him a most excellent appetite; and at the inns they always found such nice breakfasts, dinners, and suppers every day that Rollo was never tired of praising them.
Rollo found the cost, too, of travelling in Switzerland much less than he had expected. He did not expend nearly all the allowance which his father had granted him. When he came to settle up his accounts, after he had got back to Paris, he found that he had saved about seventy-five francs, which made nearly fifteen dollars; and this sum he accordingly added to his capital—for that was the name by which he was accustomed to designate the stock of funds which he had gradually accumulated and reserved.