Part 4 (1/2)

The morning after Mr. George and Rollo arrived at Basle they were looking out upon the River Rhine from the windows of the hotel.

”What a swift river!” said Rollo.

”Yes,” said Mr. George.

”And how blue the water is!” continued Rollo.

”Yes,” said Mr. George. ”The water of the streams which come from the Swiss mountains is turbid at first and very gray from the grinding up of the rocks in the _moraines_ and glaciers and by the avalanches.”

”What is a moraine?” asked Rollo.

”I will explain it to you one of these days,” said Mr. George, ”when you come to see one.”

”And a glacier,” said Rollo; ”what is that?”

”I will explain that to you, too, some other time,” said Mr. George, ”but not now; for the breakfast will come in in a minute or two.”

”Well,” said Rollo, ”I can hear while I am eating my breakfast.”

”That may be,” replied Mr. George; ”but I cannot lecture very well while I am eating _my_ breakfast.”

Rollo laughed. ”I did not think of that,” said he.

”What queer boats!” continued Rollo, looking out again upon the river.

”And there is a long bridge leading over to the other side. May I go out and walk over on that bridge after breakfast?”

”Yes,” said Mr. George, ”you may go any where you please.”

”But suppose I should get lost,” said Rollo. ”What should I do then?”

”I don't know,” said Mr. George, ”unless you should ask somebody to tell you the way to the Three Kings.”

”But perhaps they would not understand English,” said Rollo.

”Then you must say _Trois Rois_,[3a]

which is the French name for the hotel,” rejoined Mr. George.

”But perhaps they would not understand French,” said Rollo.

”No,” replied Mr. George; ”I think it probable they would not; for people talk German generally in this part of Switzerland. In that case you must ask the way to _Drei Konige_.”[3b]

Here the waiter came in with the breakfast. It consisted of a pot of coffee, another of boiled milk, an omelette, some excellent cakes, and some honey. There was a long table extending up and down the room, which was a very large and handsome apartment, and there were besides several round tables in corners and in pleasant places near the windows. The breakfast for Mr. George and Rollo was put upon one of the round tables; and, in sitting down to it, Rollo took pains to place himself in such a manner that he could look out the window and see the water while he was eating.

”What a dreadful river that would be to fall into!” said Rollo. ”It runs so swift and looks so angry!”

”Yes,” said Mr. George. ”It runs swift because the descent is very great. Switzerland is very high; and the water, in running from it, flows very swiftly.”

”I did not know that Switzerland was all high,” said Rollo. ”I knew that the mountains were high; but the valleys must be low.”

”No,” said Mr. George; ”it is all high. The bottoms of the valleys are higher than the tops of the mountains in many other countries. In going into Switzerland, we go up hill nearly all the way; and so, even when we are at the bottom of the deepest valleys in Switzerland, we are up very high. There is Chamouni, for example, which is a deep valley near the foot of Mont Blanc. The bottom of that valley is six or seven times as high as the top of the Palisades on the North River.”