places not even trees or grass abound, I felt glad once more to see a
group of human habitations, and determined to count them, so that I might
record their number. I passed along the edge of the mountains where I
could easily overlook the village, but it was in many instances impossible
to determine by a survey of their external appearances, which were the
stables and which the houses or huts, so I counted them all, large and
small, and found their number between 60 and 90. I once intended to count
these buildings only with windows, as houses; but I soon discovered that
some huts had windows only on one or several sides, and looked like
stables on the other sides!

A question to dairy men: Do thunder and lightning affect fresh milk? A
lady keeping a cafe in Brienz, told me that if a thunder storm overtook
those which were bringing the fresh milk from the mountains, the milk
would suddenly turn sour, so that it could no longer be boiled for
drinking it sweet. She said, "_Es thut sie verbolera, so das sie gerinnt
wen man sie kochen will!_"




Chapter XVI.

Geneva to Turin.



Switzerland has two national languages, the German and the French, both of
which are recognized by the Government. Geneva is French, so I had some
trouble in getting my information and procuring a ticket for Italy. I left