Description

Tales and Legends of the Tyrol by countess Marie A. Günther

136Pages

THE Tyrol, the land of glory and tradition, the wonder-garden of the world, so
often visited but so little known, forms the theme of the following volume; and in
dedicating it to the public the authoress feels certain of a fair share of their
approval, perhaps, even, of their thanks; for many are the dangers which have
been incurred in its production, and many are the days of weary walks and
severe trials that it has cost.
There are no railroads in the mountains, and even cart-tracks are “few and far
between,” and those who wish to see the almost hidden beauty, must, in passing
through this enchanted land, undergo all the authoress has undergone, and share
with her the pleasure as well as the pain.
All that is grand and beautiful, all that is gorgeous and sublime, all that is
shocking and terrible, is to be met with at every step in the Tyrol; and the
following legends are but a poor illustration of the old proverb, “There are finer
fish in the sea than ever came out of it.”
The strange dialect of the inhabitants of this curious country, renders it almost
impossible for any foreigner unacquainted with their language to understand
what they would so willingly recount; and, in consequence, thousands and
thousands of sight-seers yearly pass through, perfectly at a loss how to gratify
their curiosity, except in the natural grandeur and beauty of the mountain world.
The authoress has often noticed large parties of English and foreign visitors
wandering aimlessly through a valley, round a ruin, or on the borders of a lake,
whose history they have vainly tried to discover; for however willing the poor
honest peasants are to explain all their visitors would wish to know, yet their
kindly efforts are of course unavailing, and these foreigners go away back to their
own countries, having passed over, and perhaps seen all, without knowing
anything.
This little work, then, written first for the pleasure of its authoress, she now
places in the hands of the public, trusting that it may not only be a useful guide,
but a pleasant companion in the mountains in which it took its origin.