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THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND 
 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W, KOFOID 
 
GLANCE AT SOME OF THE 
 
 BEAUTIES AND SUBLIMITIES 
 
 OP 
 
 SWITZERLAND: 
 
 WITH EXCURSIVE REMARKS ON THE VARIOUS 
 OBJECTS OF INTEREST, PRESENTED 
 
 DURING A TOUn 
 
 THROUGH ITS PICTURESQUE SCENERY. 
 
 BY JOHN MURRAY, 
 
 F. S- A, F. L. S, F. H. S, F. G. S, ^c. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 LONGMAN, REES, ORME, BROWN AND GREEN. 
 MDCCCXXIX. 
 
 /m 
 
r. KEILI,, PRINTBB> XOINBURSB. 
 
TO 
 
 EDWARD RUDGE, Esquire, F. R. S. 
 
 p. S. A, F. L. 6, F. H. S, ^C. ifC. 
 
 ABBEY MANOR HOUSE, WORCESTERSHIRE, 
 
 THIS VOLUME 
 
 IS INSCRIBED WITH EVERY 
 
 SENTIMENT OP 
 
 RESPECTFUL ESTEEM. 
 
mi 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 In introducing to public notice this fragment of the pic- 
 turesque of Switzerland, I feel that I am not warranted in 
 saying any thing apologetic, because it might have been en- 
 tirely withheld, and suffered to slumber undisturbed among 
 other manuscripts of a similar kind ; and but for the partia- 
 lities of friends, who were pleased to pronounce a vote in its 
 fevour, such would have been its doom. The reader will 
 doubtless find numerous inadvertencies, and perhaps import- 
 ant omissions. He may, too, discover, that, in ray move- 
 ments, I have been too abrupt and hurried in some parts, and 
 too diffuse and slow in others ; but he will, at the same time, 
 be pleased to recollect, that circumstances have sometimes 
 produced this inequality, and that favouritism for particular 
 pursuits has at other times had its bias. The greater part, 
 however, is a narrative of facts and observations registered 
 on the spot, believing with the late Dr Clarke, that a few 
 notes made under such circumstances are worth a " whole 
 cart-load of Recollections." Where my notes have neces- 
 sarily been incomplete, I have consulted the best authori- 
 ties to whom I could have access, and adopted their informa-- 
 tion when I found it corroborated by personal inquiry. 
 
VI 
 
 In my remarks on the Religion of some of the Cantons, 
 as bearing on their moral features, I have studied to be a 
 conscientious reporter of what I saw and heard. I cannot 
 expect that my readers will feel as much interest in the 
 question of the Religion of Geneva and other Protestant 
 Swiss Cantons as I do, who am a Member of the Church of 
 Scotland, when I remember that it was the cradle of our es- 
 tablished Religion. In my observations on Calvinism, I 
 have simply referred to the question as contradistinguished 
 from SociNiANisM, and the sad defection which the Esta- 
 blished Church of Geneva now presents from the original 
 standard of her religious creed. If my animadversions on 
 Catholicism be considered severe, I can only say that they 
 are not more severe than true, and the facts remain in attes- 
 tation ; but I would not be misunderstood. I have no hosti- 
 . lity whatever to Catholics personally, though I wage war 
 against Catholicism as a system : on the contrary, I should 
 • rejoice, were it in my power, by any means, to emancipate 
 them from a thraldom worse than Egyptian darkness, when 
 no man knew his. brother. 
 
 It will easily be seen, that I have not canvassed with a 
 curious eye, the movements of state machinery, because I 
 have not studied the polity of nations, nor the complicated 
 tactics of international rule— things that 
 
 '* Divert and crack. 
 The unity and married calm of states 
 Quite from their fixture." 
 
 I am, however, a warm friend to the diiFusion of useful know-- 
 
ledge, subordinated to the inculcation of religious principles ; 
 nor would I construct my " Atlantis" on the fictitious basis of 
 Owen's " Eutopia," which appears to me as false in principle 
 as it is inoperative in practice, and proceeds on an assumption 
 at once gratuitous and contradicted by the experience of 
 ages. 
 
 I regret that my time, and the advanced state of the sea- 
 son, did not permit me to skirt the foot of the Jura, and tra- 
 verse the Grimsel, by the Pass of St Gothard, or to thread 
 the Cantons of Tessin, the Grissons, St Gall, &c. via Shaff- 
 house, and the Falls of the Rhine, — but " non omnes omnia 
 possumus." 
 
 My little volume, for in size at any rate it is unpretending, 
 may be pronounced a singular and somewhat curious melange^ 
 and this is not denied; it was intended to be neither entirely 
 scientific, nor altogether commonplace, but to contain what 
 might be esteemed interesting to various tastes. I wish the 
 whole were much better than it is, and more worthy of ac- 
 ceptance with the public. Such however as it is, " The 
 Glance op Switzerland" is respectfully submitted a can- 
 didate, if not for popular favour, at least for a generous re- 
 ception. 
 
 J. M. 
 
 Edinburgh, 
 1st April 1829'. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Paga- 
 
 Introduction — Geneva — Excursion to the Valley of 
 Chamouni — Montanvert and the Mer de Glace 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Lausanne and its Environs — Paragreles — Chilon - 40 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Second visit to Chamouni — Fallof Chede — Passage by 
 
 the Col de Balme to the Vallais - - 74 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Martigny— -The Catastrophe of ISIS—The Great St 
 
 Bernard, and Hospice . _ - 94 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Brieg — The Vallais — Passage of the Simplon into 
 
 Italy— The Lago Maggiore and its Isles — Arona 117 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Milan — Retour via Como — Tourtemagne and Cascade 
 
 — Sion — Goitures - - _ . 140 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Bex and its Salines — Geneva revisited— Sunday- 
 Fete d'Eau—Yverdun—Neufchatel - - 166 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Berne — Fellenberg and Hofwyl — Hindlebank — Thun 
 and its Lake — Unterseen — Lauterbrunnen and 
 the Cascade of Staubach — Grindelwald — The Gla- 
 ciers - - . „ 190 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Lake of Brientz — Cascade of Giesbach — Chanteuses . 
 — The Alpine Horn — The Passage of the Brunig 
 — The Valley of Sarnen — Stantz — Lac des Quatre 
 Cantons— The Three Fountains— -Tell's Chapel— 
 Schwitz— The Lake of Lowertz - - 216 
 
XI 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Goldau and the ruin of the Rossberg~The Rhigi— 
 Sublime Panorama as seen from the Rhigi Culm- 
 Lucerne - - . , . 239 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Zug— Zurich— Basle on the Rhine— Conclusion - 266 
 
GLANCE 
 
 OF 
 
 SWITZERLAND. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTION — GENEVA — EXCURSION TO THE 
 
 VALLEY OF CHAMOUNI MONTANVERT AND 
 
 THE MER DE GLACE. 
 
 XAKiNG it for granted that the greater part 
 of my readers have seen Paris, as a matter of 
 course^ and visited Pere la Chaise^ the Jardin des 
 Plantes, and the other marvels of the metropolis, 
 for the full account of which " Planta's Guide 
 to Paris" is an ample directory ; and as the sub- 
 ject is trite enough, I shall conduct them at once 
 to that land of romance, Switzerland, and, by my 
 title page, the land of promise ; deeming it alto- 
 gether superfluous to enter upon a description of 
 the parade and paraphernalia displayed on the 
 
2 
 
 entre du Roi, Charles X. into his good city 
 of Paris, after being crowned and installed, with 
 all due form and ceremony, at Rheims, King of 
 France and Navarre. Suffice it then to say, that, 
 after having, propria persona, witnessed all this 
 state pomp, we were transported, as travellers 
 generally are, by the voiture publique, to Geneva, 
 in the usual period of four days and four nights, 
 amid whirlwinds of dust, and the intense heat 
 of a more than ordinary summer's sun, the te- 
 dium of the route being unrelieved, until we ar- 
 rived at the limestone mountains of the Jura, 
 invested with all their geological and botanical 
 interest, — since for me the scenery of France is 
 void of charms, destitute alike of the peasant's 
 hamlet and the mansions of the great ; neither 
 pretty pleasure-grounds decorate the landscape, 
 nor " beauteous semblance of a flock at rest" is 
 seen. The fields of France are naked and cheer- 
 less, and the woods are mantled in more than 
 forest gloom, while the villages we pass through 
 seem desolate and forsaken. My readers must 
 also forgive me if I say but little even about 
 Geneva — ^its republic and its inhabitants, and 
 their clock and watch making propensities, as the 
 phrenologists would term it — the costume of the 
 canton — the edifices of the city, its arts and ma- 
 nufactures, its literature and its science. All 
 these are very generally known, and have form- 
 
ed the theme of many a writer ; and I would not 
 injure such portraits by any pencilling or colour- 
 ing of mine. Besides, Geneva is not a city a 
 mem gres, nor would it, even with my pretensions 
 to the character and habits of a citizen of the 
 world, be selected as my domicil. I do not ad- 
 mire its religion, notwithstanding its pretensions 
 to the mjorale of christian ethics. I think I see 
 " Ichabod" written over the cold formal walls 
 of her sanctuaries, in despite of the affected senti- 
 mentalism of her pastors ; and fear that, in this 
 point at least, the converse of the motto of the 
 city's escutcheon, " Ex tenebris Itix" is unhap- 
 pily but too true. 
 
 About 3 o'clock p. m. on Saturday 18th June 
 1825, we arrived at the gates of Geneva, where 
 we and our luggage were subjected, by the Cer- 
 berus and two soldiers, to much unnecessary de- 
 tention. It was our duty, as we were informed, 
 to exercise patience, and submit to scrutiny, 
 however impertinent, and curiosity, however 
 vulgar, insulting, or long continued. At length 
 the preliminaries of our entre having been ar- 
 ranged, we proceeded to the " Hotel de la Ba- 
 lance," in the fond hope of enjoying repose after 
 our varied fatigued; but here we had to hold a 
 levee. The first character that was formally 
 announced, or rather that acted on self intro- 
 duction, was " La Blanchisseuse, Madame." It 
 
 a2 
 
A 
 
 was certainly well she announced herself, for we 
 could never have guessed her avocations from 
 her appearance. Being Saturday, perhaps the 
 week's work was ended, for the lady entered in 
 full dress : hair decorated in Parisian fashion ; 
 low gown, with a handkerchief somewhat ele- 
 gantly thrown over her shoulders, short sleeves, 
 and long white gloves. This prologue was follow- 
 ed hy gargons, eager to engage their char-a-hancs 
 for excursions in the environs. 
 
 The following day we attended M. Malan's 
 neat little chapel extra muros, he not heing per- 
 mitted to exercise his pastoral functions within 
 the city,. from his adherence to what is common- 
 ly termed evangelical sentiments, and his refusal 
 to subscribe to a document drawn up and sanc- 
 tioned by the " venerable compagnie ;" the es- 
 sential character of which was, the imposition of 
 an interdict involving the great doctrines of Chris- 
 tianity, and, though certainly not totidem verbis, 
 yet unquestionably by implication, including a 
 denial of the divinity of Christ. But this is not 
 a place to expose the sentiments of religion, now 
 generally prevalent here, or to entangle myself 
 in a fruitless controversy. 
 
 On Monday we perambulated the city, which 
 certainly has very little, as a city, to recom- 
 mend it. It is characterized by much active 
 industry within doors, the s^avans and mecha- 
 
niciens being pent up in their closets and ate- 
 liers ; and veiy little gaiety pervades the pro- 
 menades. Some parts of the town are suffi- 
 ciently picturesque ; the overhanging roofs, for 
 which it is remarkable, are, however, too lofty to 
 screen the pedestrian from the rain, especially 
 if accompanied by a high wind, and form no 
 shade from the sun. The pavement of the 
 streets is bad, and their irregularity is a consi- 
 derable drawback from the internal appearance. 
 The pavement of the inclined plane in the Hotel 
 de Ville, by which we gain the arduous ascent 
 that conducts to the Passport Office, is a curio- 
 sity of its kind, and perhaps unique. The city 
 is tolerably well fenced in with walls within 
 walls, draw and suspension-bridges, and gates ; 
 while stakes and chains secure from surprise on 
 the part of the lake. The small canton of Ge- 
 neva, though in the vicinity of the great Alpine 
 chain, and the mountains of the Jura, includes 
 no mountains. The name of the city and can- 
 ton has been traced by the etymologist to a eel- 
 tic origin ; Gen a sally-port or exit, and av a 
 river, probably because the Rhone here leaves 
 the Leman lake. The eagle on the escutcheon 
 of the city arms, indicates its having been an 
 imperial city ; and it is believed the key was an 
 adjunct of Pope Martin V., in the year 1418. 
 The motto on the scroll " Ex tenebris lux," ap- 
 
pears to have existed anterior to the light of the 
 Reformation. The number of inhabitants may 
 now be estimated at about 22,000 ; but it ap- 
 pears, by a census in 1789, to have been 26,148. 
 In this Tmral city, it is computed that every 
 twelfth birth is illegitimate. The number of 
 people engaged in clock and watch making, and 
 jewellery, may be safely rated at 3000. In years 
 favourable to these staple manufactures, 75,000 
 ounces of gold are employed, which is almost 
 equally divided between watches and jewellery. 
 The daily supply of silver is about 134 ounces. 
 Pearls form an article of considerable value in 
 the jewellery, and have been rated at no less a 
 sum than 1200 francs daily. 70,000 watches 
 are annually made, only one-twelfth of which 
 are in silver. More than fifty distinct branches 
 are comprised in the various departments, and 
 each workman on the average earns about three 
 shillings a day. 
 
 The constitution of the canton of Geneva was 
 accepted by the Genevese on the 24th August 
 1814. The sovereign power is vested in a re- 
 presentative council, four syndics, a council of 
 state, and four tribunals for the administration 
 of justice. 
 
 The Rhone and the Lake mingle their inte- 
 rest in the picture, and give it a character which 
 would not otherwise be possessed. The frame- 
 
work cast across the former, with wash-houses, 
 baths, mills, machinery, wooden-bridges, and all 
 the natural and artificial associations connected 
 with the edge of such a lake as that of Geneva, 
 and such a river as that of the Rhone, cannot 
 fail to interest and amuse for a time. The wa- 
 ters of the Rhone possess a fine blue tint, from 
 what cause it is not easy to determine. It di- 
 vides the city into two unequal parts, and, at 
 about three-fourths of a mile distant, encoun- 
 ters the Arve, which springs from the Glacier 
 de Bois, in the vale of Chamouni. The conflu- 
 ent stream, now turbid from the junction of op- 
 posing waters, after traversing a gap in the 
 chain of the Jura, and suffering a temporary 
 eclipse by plunging into the earth, and rolling 
 through a subterranean tunnel beneath the val- 
 leys of Savoy, at length enters the territories of 
 France. 
 
 Near the Boucherie, on the wall which fringes 
 the lake, we observed cages containing three re- ' 
 markably fine living specimens of the golden 
 eagle (Falco chrysdetos). They differ somewhat in 
 their plumage, but it seems highly probable that 
 the only difference between the common and 
 the golden eagle arises from age, and we are in- 
 clined to concur in the opinion of their identity ; 
 at any rate, " non nobis tantas componere litest 
 Several migratory birds visit the Canton. The 
 
8 
 
 Merops Apiaster is rare, but the cuckoo pays her 
 annual visit. The " syren of Italy " too, sere- 
 nades the gi'ove on an occasional excursion. The 
 gourmand and epicure are seldom feasted on the 
 Ortolan, whose visits are like those of " angels, 
 few and far between." The nightingale and the 
 goatsucker are more regular in their intervals of 
 return. The pelican and the cormorant some- 
 times grace the banks of the lake, and the wild 
 swan is seen to glide on its surface. The Lake 
 of Geneva is about 1126 feet above the level of 
 the Mediterranean sea, and is well supplied with 
 fish, in vast variety, especially of the genus 
 salmo, including the diversity of trout and the 
 cyprinus, or those of the carp and tench kind : — 
 the eel is rare. The most interesting pheno- 
 mena connected with its geology are unquestion- 
 ably the boulders, pitched on the Saleve and 
 Voirons, and scattered here and there on the 
 borders of the lake. That the angles of the 
 gi'anitic block have been abraded is obvious, but 
 the power which has effected it is by no means 
 easily ascertained, and involves one of the most 
 curious problems in geological science, namely, 
 their transport. Valleys intervene between their 
 original site and the elevated plane where they 
 now repose. The Merino sheep were introduced 
 into the Canton in 1799, and several fine flocks 
 adorn the agi'icultural districts. The vineyards 
 
yield an annual return of about one million gal- 
 lons of wine. In some of the woods, that pretty 
 plant the dog-tooth violet is seen, and the mea- 
 dows disclose some interesting orchidece. On the 
 hills among other interesting plants may be found 
 the Ornithogcdum pyrenaicum, Trifolium incarna- 
 tum, Vinca major. Geranium sanguineum, &c., and 
 near to Dole the Orobus luteus, a plant rare even 
 in Switzerland : also the Androsace villosa, which 
 is curious for its change of tint ; the central star 
 in the flower, at first green, becoming subsequent- 
 ly yellow, and finally flesh coloured. This brief 
 summary proves that the canton is not without 
 its interest and its charms, and the city can 
 boast of its wise men, men of no ordinary cali- 
 ber in the republic of science : a Decandolle, a 
 JuRiNE, and others, support her pretensions to 
 this distinction. The Botanic Garden, Li- 
 braries, and Cabinets of Natural History, are 
 sufficient to gratify the most fastidious taste. 
 
 Having engaged a char-a-banc for Sallenche 
 in Savoy, for twenty-four francs, a distance of 
 thirty-six miles, we left Geneva to explore the 
 wonders of the Valley of Chamouni, and had 
 to apply, even for this limited excursion, for our 
 passport. The greater part of our luggage was 
 left behind, and we had no cause to regret it, 
 for the emissaries of the Crown of Sardinia, sta- 
 tioned on the Frontiers of the Canton, execute 
 
 a3 
 
10 
 
 their commission in a manner the most severe 
 and revolting. We witnessed some very rude- 
 ly handled, the sacks prohed with a long iron 
 spear, and sometimes their contents emptied on 
 the pnhlic road. We were amused, especially, hy 
 their officious scrutiny of hooks, which, however, 
 their ignorance cannot decypher. The hihle is the 
 chief ohject of their violence, and should it he 
 discovered, it is immediately made lawful seizure, 
 and of course destroyed. One English gentleman, 
 we were informed, on whom this volume was 
 found, was actually ohliged to retrace his steps. 
 Unfortunately the day proved wet, which was a 
 great drawhack to our enjoyment; hut after wind- 
 ing through a most interesting valley along the 
 meander in gs of the Arve, with mountains on the 
 right and on the left, we at length reached Pont 
 St Martin, where Mont Blanc, clothed with the 
 snow of centuries, stood in terrific majesty hefore 
 us. We reposed for the night at the Hotel de Belle 
 Vue at Sallenche. The landlord is a great rogue, 
 as appeared in the sequel ; indeed, we had prac- 
 tical evidence of it, and are inclined to give 
 preference to the Hotel de Mont Blanc, Pont St 
 Martin. I had set out in quest of a chai'-a-hanc 
 for Chamouni, and in my ramhles encountered 
 a procession, with the host elevated, the retinue, 
 hare headed, and a hell announcing its approach 
 — the summons for prostration. As I was a 
 
11 
 
 ^^ wayward wight" in this respect, and did not 
 care to pass the cavalcade, I turned my back, and 
 leisurely walked as a kind of pioneer to the inn; 
 my hat, to the annoyance of the " faithful," re- 
 maining in its proper place, and my ear deaf to 
 the execrations by which I was assailed. I 
 know many would have had no scruple in this 
 matter, but in my mind, in whatever way it may 
 be regarded by my readers, it was a deep rooted 
 conscientious principle that admitted of no com- 
 promise. The church at Sallenche is, as Catholic 
 churches generally are, tinselled and tawdry, a 
 melange of rags and ribbons. From our inn we had 
 a fine prospect of Mont Blanc, and many a sur- 
 rounding mountain. Before our window rose a 
 towering pyramid of aiguilles, whose top mingled 
 with the clouds that flitted before its awful front, 
 and seemed to shut us in by an insurmountable 
 barrier. During the night, the sky sparkled 
 with a thousand glories more than we had been 
 wont to contemplate; and the solemn mountain, 
 which bounded our vision, was girded by a zone 
 of clouds, its dome stretching to the skies. 
 
 On our road to Chamouni the following morn- 
 ing, we turned aside on the left to visit the fall of 
 Chede, and were conducted by an old female, with 
 a group of children. The ascent was tolerably 
 steep, and not a little difficult to those who were 
 unaccustomed to scale the mountain acclivity. 
 
12 
 
 On the left the torrent rushed past us with consi- 
 derable impetuosity, struggling for its freedom to 
 join the Arve in the valley. The cascade is fine 
 and much broken in its fall, and a rainbow rose 
 on its bosom. In our progi'ess thither, we ob- 
 served several interesting plants, such as the 
 Rosacinnamomea, sea huckthxyrn, juniper, tamarix, 
 spirea, §*c., and, on looking round to contem- 
 plate the alpine picture we had just left, a sin- 
 gular and beautiful scene presented itself: a 
 dense cloud formed a rouleau or band on one of 
 the mountains, and the sun-beams reflected from 
 its surface, sparkled with intense radiance. On 
 our descent from the fall of Chede, we observed 
 the potentilla, aquilegia, cisti, 8fc., together with 
 the daisy, pleasing from association. About 
 half way to Chamouni is Servoz, where we re- 
 mained a short time to survey the picturesque 
 and sublime mountain scenery, by which we 
 were surrounded. There is a small collection 
 of objects of natural history adjoining the inn, 
 consisting of mocha stones, onyx necklaces, 
 rock crystal cut into various forms, as well as 
 agate, horns of the chamois goat, collections of 
 alpine seeds and herbaria of various parts of 
 Switzerland. Their local interest added much 
 to their value. Here I purchased a beautiful 
 green tourmaline in situ, the crystal every way 
 perfect. The road from hence becomes more 
 
IS 
 
 and more romantic, frequently traversed by the 
 foaming torrent. Deep embosomed among 
 mountains, many of them sombre from their gar* 
 niture of pines, rolls the river Arve ; the alpine 
 scene is in other parts relieved by the Pinus ha- 
 rix^ surrounded by a canopy of the cembra pine, 
 forming a buttress to the line of perpetual snow. 
 On the right towered Mont Blanc, in dazzling 
 whiteness, — in silvery majesty, crowned with im- 
 perial snows. We passed a very romantic bridge, 
 cast over a torrent, that rushed forward with 
 fearful impetuosity, and tumbled to an awful 
 depth beneath us. The prospect up this vast 
 chasm was exceedingly striking : the slightly in- 
 clined alpine walls were clothed in a living robe 
 of pines, while here and there the common birch 
 or hazel relieved the monotony ; and high above 
 all we perceived a magnificent casque of weeping 
 birch, waving in the breeze, and imparting much 
 majesty to the wondrous scene. On our route 
 we were followed by the children of the valley, 
 with fragments of rock-crystal, flowers, speci-r 
 mens of the libellula, and various beetles, still 
 writhing on the pin by which they were trans- 
 fixed. Elsewhere, we were presented with a 
 draught of ice cold-water from the crystal 
 springs, or with alpine strawberries and cream. 
 Here and there the mountain torrent is turned 
 to account in being directed to machinery con- 
 
14 
 
 nected with saw-mills, which are numerous and 
 necessary, and are of the most simple construc- 
 tion. On turning round angles in the defile, we 
 either pounced suddenly on a saw-mill or on 
 some cottages, grouped or insulated, almost all 
 of them supplied with apiaries. The Poland, or 
 log hive, is universally used. The honey of 
 the valley of Chamouni is considered remark- 
 ahly fine ; the very name is a sufficient note of 
 recommendation. The roofs of the houses, 
 though occasionally of tile, are more frequent- 
 ly covered with flat slips or plates of wood, the 
 general material of the houses, at once stout and 
 neat in their structure. After having passed on 
 the right the Glacier de Boissons, where the in- 
 trepid Saussure ascended Mont Blanc, we met 
 with Charlet, one of the guides of Chamouni, 
 who presented his alhum of credentials, where, 
 among others, we found the following testimonial. 
 
 " Jos. Charlet would have made an ex- 
 cellent study for Salvator Rosa. But he is an 
 honest good fellow, particularly attentive, full of 
 anecdote, and as strong as Hercules." 
 
 Such an individual was not to be lost sight of, 
 and he walked by the side of our char-a-banc to 
 the Hotel de TUnion, at the village or priewe 
 of Chamouni, where we arrived at 3 p. m., and, 
 after having made our arrangements for that pe- 
 rilous enterprise, an excursion to the Jardin^ 
 
15 
 
 amid the terrible glaciers of Talefre, after tra- 
 versing the Mer de Glace ; and selecting our in- 
 telligent accompaniment, Joseph Charlet, " dit 
 le doyen," as our chef-guide, we left the valley 
 at five for our ascent of the Montanvert. After 
 traversing several meadows, we had to thread 
 our way through woods of pine, — enjoying from 
 various points of ascent the fine views of the 
 valley far beneath us. Opposite to us was an 
 alpine ridge parallel to that we scaled, with the 
 insulated challet called the Chapeau, like an 
 eagle's nest perched on high, the residence of a 
 shepherdess of the Alps. Mules are usually ta- 
 ken to the mountain, but we much preferred to 
 walk, the foot-path being in places very steep, 
 and difficult of ascent. About half-way up, there 
 is a kind of resting place by the side of a moun- 
 tain rill, where we halted for a few minutes to 
 allay our thirst. We had nearly gained the sum- 
 mit, when an eagle hovered over us, soaring in 
 the empyreum. We arrived at our destination 
 at eight o'clock, having occupied three hours in 
 the ascent. The thermometer then stood at 46° 
 Fahr. This mountain is interesting for its ve- 
 getation, and, among its Flora^ the following may 
 be mentioned ; Anemone hepatica, Viola biflx/ra^ 
 Primula viscosa, PotentiUa aurea. Azalea pro- 
 cimibens. Ranunculus glacialis ; also the Pteris 
 crispa, and the Lycopodvum davatum^ or club- 
 
 4 
 
16 
 
 moss. Even the very margin of the Mer At^ 
 Glace was beautifully fringed with the Rosier 
 des Alpes, (the Rhododendron ferrugineum), and 
 the Soldanella alpina, including the minor sort, 
 most of which were in full flower. The rose- 
 coloured blossoms of the former, with the in- 
 tense blue of the latter, sprinkled here and there 
 in rich profusion, formed a beautiful enamelled 
 carpet, rendered much more interesting and cu- 
 rious, from its extraordinary contact, — an icy 
 sea. The blue tints on alpine elevations attain 
 a depth and intensity scarcely credible to those 
 in the plain, and we are persuaded that this does 
 not proceed from any visual aberration, but is a 
 real and virtual phenomenon, which a cyano- 
 meter would certainly substantiate. On this 
 verge, too, we perceived the Cerastium lanntum. 
 Having reconnoitred our extraordinary situation, 
 we examined the shepherd's challet, at a short 
 distance, which we found a mere projecting 
 rock (art having been but little concerned in its 
 construction), with a few loose stones huddled 
 together to form the front ; but neither a secu- 
 rity against the mountain snows, which are fre- 
 quent even in summer, nor a shelter from the 
 piercing wind ; yet here the hardy mountaineer, 
 his brawny limbs braced by the alpine breeze, 
 finds sufficient repose, and circumstances which 
 would soon consign to the arms of death the 
 
17 
 
 waxen imagery of the greater part of the popula- 
 tion of the metropolis of England, seem but to 
 afford him strength and energy. 
 
 Having glanced over the cases which contain- 
 ed the display of cut or polished stones, mine- 
 rals, &c. a rude alpine repast was spread out, 
 and though the board was not furnished with 
 delicacies, the unsuspected but real cause of the 
 numerous diseases which luxurious life is heir 
 to, our appetite was enhanced by the bracing air 
 which breathed around us, and imparted a re- 
 lish otherwise unknown. 
 
 Our arrangements had been made to remain 
 for the night in a challet (elevated 2568 feet 
 above the valley, or 5724 feet above the sea's le- 
 vel), in order to gain sufficient time, the following 
 day, for our fatiguing, lengthened, and danger- 
 ous enterprise, for such we really found it. 
 Charlet stayed with us, and two other guides 
 were to join us at day-break on the following 
 morning, with the requisite supply of wine and 
 provisions. 
 
 The only couches we could boast of were the 
 wooden benches or seats at each side of the table, 
 but not having even a blanket to keep us warm, 
 we preferred to sit up, as close to the fire as pos- 
 sible, and nurse the dying embers ; for as they 
 are not often favoured by the company of noc- 
 turnal visitors, the supply of dried wood intend- 
 
18 
 
 ed for the next day's fire was soon exhausted, 
 which was a sad misfortune to us ; for at best 
 fires in these elevated regions communicate but 
 little warmth, from the extreme rarity of the 
 air. Dm*ing the night, the thermometer fell to 
 a few degrees above freezing, a sufficiently ra- 
 pid transition for us, for when we left the val- 
 ley it stood at 65° Fahr. The night was clear 
 and cloudless, and the sky above our heads was 
 gemmed with stars innumerable, sparkling 
 with a light so vivid as to defy comparison 
 with the scene witnessed on the level of the 
 sea, or amid the dense and vapoury atmo- - 
 sphere of Britain. It was indeed " a new hea- 
 vens and a new earth." Below our station lay 
 extended the Mer de Glace, with all its icy 
 Jmagery, its avalanches^ its glaciers^ its boulders, 
 and its rocky torrents, terminating in the Col des 
 Geans, and resting on Mont Blanc. Before us 
 rose the Aiguilles de Dru, towering to the blue 
 vault of Heaven, and partially wrapped in a mantle 
 of clouds pierced and overtopped by their peaked 
 and pointed summits. On Thursday morning, at 
 a quarter past four o'clock, the thermometer had 
 risen to 42° Fahr., and we soon after descended 
 the mountain steep to the Mer de Glace, our 
 other two guides having joined us from the val- 
 ley, carrying provisions in knapsacks on their 
 back. Each of us was supplied with a pole about 
 
19 
 
 seven or eight feet long, with sharp iron spikes, 
 to strike into the ice; but we declined the 
 precaution of a'amp-irons being screwed into 
 our shoes, nor does there seem much necessity 
 for such pointed appendages, the ice we had to 
 traverse being rough, with solitary exceptions, 
 and those of unfrequent occurrence, though the 
 shoes of our guides were well supplied with 
 nails. 
 
 In the midst of our rapid descent, we seemed 
 all at once to come to an interminable barrier, 
 and our progress received an effectual pause, by 
 an immense wall of rock, but slightly shelving. 
 To the surface of this rock we clung, supported 
 by our guides, and impelled by them in a lateral 
 direction, the slips in the rock serving as points 
 d^appui for our hands and feet ; the whole mcfr 
 noRUvre being in direct violation of the laws of 
 gi'avity. Having, however, at last gained a firm 
 footing on the Mer de Glace, we proceeded ; but 
 during the night the ice had yawned, doubtless 
 from the infiltration of water, and subsequent 
 expansion in the act of freezing ; and the diffi- 
 culties increasing at every step, we found it ne- 
 cessary to call a halt, and hold a consultation on 
 the best means of advance. One of our guides 
 went forward to explore, and we progressed 
 slowly. He shortly afterwards rejoined us, and 
 while Mrs M. walked in advance between two 
 
20 
 
 of our guides, Charlet and Pierre Coutet, I 
 followed with Balmat. Before we could gain 
 a level surface, it was necessary to clamber up a 
 vertical wall of ice, about thirty feet high, the 
 guides having cut footsteps in the fa9ade, we 
 formed a living chain, and at length stood on 
 its top ; and after many ups and downs of the 
 same kind, gained the centre, where the rents, 
 though profound, were less frequent, and not so 
 wide. In some of these we observed fine groups 
 of icy spiculae, the consequence of the crystal- 
 line arrangement of the preceding night, and 
 the walls of the chasms shed a refreshing light, 
 the effect of the exquisite aqtut-marine tint which 
 invested them. Our path was sufficiently cur- 
 vilinear and zig-zag, from the numerous and 
 formidable obstacles which opposed our pro- 
 gress. About nine we gained a resting place, 
 among some fragments of rocks which had fal- 
 len from the surrounding aiguilles, and having 
 taken refreshment, resumed our advance; but 
 before we began an almost perpendicular ascent, 
 to an elevation some thousand feet above the 
 plane of ice we had traversed, we were obliged 
 to wind round an angle, on the vertical face of 
 an elongation of the Aiguilles de Dru. This 
 steep path was rocky, and so far afforded a 
 firm footing; but it did not exceed fourteen 
 inches in breadth, and as it was necessary to in- 
 
21 
 
 cline the body, which then overhung a precipice 
 of five hundred feet in perpendicular depth, 
 the progress was perilous in the extreme. One 
 of the guides, however, having passed, the ex- 
 tremities of a pole were held by a guide at 
 each end, and we, by the assistance and sup- 
 port of the third, at length gained the opposite 
 side. As I passed, I instinctively shuddered; 
 but it was necessary that I should suppress any 
 expression of the emotions I often felt. We 
 had now to scramble up among rugged rocks, 
 and their debris, peat-earth, arising from the de- 
 composition of mosses and lichens, and some 
 patches of grass ; but these were thin and bare, 
 scarce affording, even amid the days of summer, 
 pabulum for the marmot, much less for the cha- 
 mois. Here, however, we found the Salix hel- 
 vetica. 
 
 It became oppressively hot, from a combi- 
 nation of both direct and reflected heat. The 
 day was delightful, and the heavens serene, 
 and if there had been clouds, we were far above 
 their station, and the usual region of the tem- 
 pest and the storm. We left our cloaks, and 
 the guides disincumbered themselves of their 
 baggage, soon after we had surmounted the 
 rock which overhung the dangerous pass we had 
 left below. 
 
 Having scrambled over a somewhat steep and 
 
I'ugged mountain, we arrived at an immense tor- 
 rent of gigantic rocks, which seemed to have 
 been dashed from the alpine heights which still 
 towered above us. Our motion over this new 
 obstacle was slow and snail-like, and many an 
 up and down characterized our progress. Af- 
 terwards, we wandered among the insulated py- 
 ramids of ice of the glacier of Talefre, some of 
 which were of a magnitude truly terrific, and 
 seemed like emmets at their base, while they 
 gloried in their height sixty or seventy feet above 
 us. Our subsequent path conducted over an 
 avalanche, which lay asleep on the side of the 
 mountain, and some recently fallen snow, into 
 which we repeatedly sunk nearly to the mid- 
 dle. After a few more struggles, we gladly 
 scaled our point and resting place, the courtU or 
 jardin, a curious oasis in the glacial desert. The 
 aiguilles of the Glacier of Talefre in the Mer do 
 Glace are enormous, and among them rises a 
 vast rounded rock, covered during July and Au- 
 gust with plants and flowers. The following 
 comprises nearly the entire of its interesting 
 flora. Juncus Jacquini^lSilene acaulis, Gent tana 
 nivalis, Achillea nana, Cardamine alpina, Trifo- 
 lium alpinum. Lichen nivalis, Pedicularis rostrota, 
 SeneciO'inmmss, and Geranium nodosum. At this 
 our greatest elevation, the thermometer in the 
 shade was 64° Fahr., and in the crystalline water, 
 
23 
 
 which bubbled from beneath the avalanche in 
 its vicinity, 33°. Here we rested for some time, 
 and took refreshment, which indeed was suffi- 
 ciently acceptable. We had a small flask of bran- 
 dy, as well as the wine which the guides carried 
 with them, being fearful to risk the beverage qf 
 ice-cold water after the feverish excitement 
 which such an extraordinary excursion neces- 
 sarily produced. Amid these awful and icy so- 
 litudes, no voice was heard but our own. The 
 stillness of death reigned around, save only that 
 it was, at distant intervals, broken by the shrill 
 signal of alarm given by the sentinel stationed 
 by the marmots at their outposts, or the thun- 
 dering crash, announcing the fall of a distant 
 avalanche, or the rending of the mighty glacier. 
 In this vast amphitheatre, walled in by moun- 
 tains of snow, here and there penetrated by the 
 peaked summits of their aiguilles, reigns an eter- 
 nal winter, the accumulated snows of many 
 ages, the wreck and ruin of rocks, and all the 
 magnificent personification of dread desolation. 
 Far beneath us lay, in all its vast dimensions, 
 the Mer de Glace, its monotony only relieved 
 by the pyramids of ice, the boulders and the frag- 
 ments of rocks on its surface, as if scattered by 
 some giant arm. Almost en face rose the Col de 
 Geans, and at its side Mont Blanc, towering in 
 stately form above the other Alps. 
 
24 
 
 . '* Monarch of mountains ! 
 
 They crowned him long ago 
 On a throne of rocks, in a robe of clouds 
 
 With a diadem of snow. 
 Around his waist are forests braced, 
 
 The avalanche is in his hand." 
 
 There is something in the awful solitudes of 
 mountain scenery which moves the soul. The 
 world far beneath is shut out from the gates and 
 avenues of her contemplation, and she seems to 
 hold converse with aerial beings. The philoso- 
 pher, wrapped up in the mantle of thought, is lost 
 in his abstractions, and the christian cannot for- 
 get that, in regions such as these, many of the 
 sublime and awful mysteries of his religion were 
 transacted. Over these frozen and snowy cloud- 
 caped regions hovers the Laemrmrgeyer, that ter- 
 rible of birds, which often alights from his 
 skyey elevation, to give chase to the agile cha- 
 mois, which, bounding from rock to rock, is for- 
 ced at last to yield itself a prey to this condor 
 of the Alps, which is often found to measure 
 from tip to tip of the wings, when outstretched, 
 nearly sixteen feet. In our return, we passed 
 two pools of water on the surface of the Mer 
 de Glace, and numerous fragments of granite, 
 mica-slate and rock-crystal scattered here and 
 there. Some stones had penetrated deep into the 
 ice ; and, by absorbing and retaining heat from 
 
25 
 
 the sun-beam, in vktue of their opacity, sunk in 
 the transparent medium by which they are sur- 
 rounded. They afforded me a practical hint, 
 which, though still unmatured, may ultimately 
 be of extensive and varied application. We also 
 observed at the sides of the mountain several 
 excavations, the work of the marmots. These 
 little creatures may be termed regular hay- 
 makers. They bite off the grass, and turn and 
 dry it in the sun-beam, and it is even said 
 that one of the party lends himself to be loaded 
 as a cart for the transport of their provender. 
 The Alpine marmot inhabits the highest ac- 
 clivities of the Alps, and forms societies varying 
 from five to fourteen in number. When basking 
 in the sun-beam, on some ridge or green patch, 
 a sentinel in advance whistles on the approach 
 of danger, — sl signal for the whole party to 
 retire into their nests, which are curiously lined 
 with moss and dried grass. They finally with- 
 draw into their abodes in the month of Septem- 
 ber, and remain torpid till March following, 
 and during this time the entrance is plugged up 
 with earth. They are occasionally dug out in 
 winter : the flesh is esteemed by the peasants, 
 who frequently eat it, tender and delicate : the 
 skins are valuable, and the fat is by the Savoy- 
 ards held to be medicinal. 
 
 The ice of the Glaciers resembles consolidat- 
 
 B 
 
26 
 
 ed frozen snow, and is rough, especially on the 
 summit of lofty mountains ; but it becomes more 
 transparent and icy in its texturp in the lower 
 glaciers, and as we descend into the plain. 
 The great danger of traversing the Mer de Glace 
 consists in the difficulty of pronouncing on the so- 
 lidity of the snow. When it assumes a yellow 
 tint, it is considered comparatively safe ; and 
 here the great experience of the guides is called 
 into exercise, because the ice is incessantly 
 opening and exposing chasms, which are often 
 concealed by a mantle of fresh fallen snow, 
 and an individual may, by one incautious step, 
 be precipitated beyond the hope of recovery. In 
 one instance we sunk to the depth of several 
 feet. The guides, however, keep a sharp look out, 
 and are ever on the alert to rescue those com- 
 mitted to their charge. They make it imperative 
 that not one step be taken without their ex- 
 press sanction : and it is essential to personal 
 safety not to leave them for a moment. Charlet 
 told us, that, though we were their masters in 
 the valley, they were ours on the ice, and amongst 
 the rocks. Indeed we had no inclination to stray, 
 being glad enough to keep a firm hold of them. 
 In many places we found that the sun-beams 
 had formed rivulets in the ice, where we 
 quenched our thirst, which was excessive, as 
 every one in the ascent of mountains must 
 
27 
 
 have experienced. It is worthy of particular 
 remark, that ice-cold water, when taken at 
 these elevations, and under ardent exdtement, 
 does no harm, as might be expected ffom the 
 inflammatory tendency to which the system 
 under such circumstances is exposed. I was deter- 
 mined to resist as long as possible the burning 
 thirst that pressed upon me, and ultimately it 
 entirely went off. I feel therefore Confident, 
 that, by resisting it in the first instance, its pain- 
 ful attacks may be altogether overcome, and 
 that the more it is indulged the more intensity 
 it acquires. We paid a visit to the " Moulin,** 
 with its revolving cascade. It is probable that 
 this curious assemblage of water never freezes, 
 its rapid motion preventing it. It tumbles with a 
 tremendous mAse to a vast depth, and flows 
 under the Mer de Glace, issuing from the facade 
 of ice at the source d* Averon. 
 
 We ventured to look down some of the yawn- 
 ing chasms, and^ by casting stones^ and observing 
 with a stop-watchj the interval of time before 
 the sound reached the ear again, I should state 
 the depth at from 100 to 200 feet. Saussure 
 rates the general depth at from 80 to 100 feet: 
 some have estimated the depth of the Mer de 
 Glace at 600 feet. In two instances, to save a 
 circuit, our poles were placed across the chasms, 
 and with the assistance of a guide at each side 
 
 32 
 
£8 
 
 we walked over them; but this was very hazard^ 
 ous, for had the ice given way, or the poles 
 broken with our weight, there was no possibili- 
 ty of being rescued from immediate destruc- 
 tion. 
 
 On our return to Montanvert, we had to 
 make a circuit of some miles, the ice having, 
 during our absence, opened a terrific chasm, too 
 wide for us to pass. We met with a repetition of 
 our former difficulties, and some additional ones 
 arising from our varied path, and had to clam- 
 ber over a vast multitude of enormous boulders ; 
 but finally we scaled, without ropes or ladders, its 
 summit, where we found a party seated at their 
 ease, and enjoying from thence the fine view of 
 the Glaciers, and the snowy furniture of the 
 Alps around them. 4 o'clock p. m. the thermo- 
 meter was 65° Fahr. 
 
 The fragments of rocks that are scattered over 
 the surface of the Mer de Glace, are found oc- 
 casionally rounded and abraded, from their ha- 
 ving been rolled in their precipitous descent 
 from their eagle elevation, detached either by 
 an expansive force, arising from the congela- 
 tion of water, or shattered by the electric 
 bolt of Heaven. Such masses, tumbling head- 
 long from their elevated regions, must acquire 
 a tremendous impetus, and would be hurried 
 onward to a vast distance on the frozen plain ; 
 
39 
 
 hut the torrent of rocks and stones, of fright- 
 ful magnitude, and most extensive numerical 
 array, in the vicinity of the base of the glacier 
 of Talefi'e, can, I think, be only rationally 
 accounted for on the supposition of the rup- 
 ture of a waterspout, by an accidental con- 
 tact with some of the sharp points or salient 
 angles of the Aiguilles de Dru, &c. The singu- 
 lar pyramidal structure of the aiguilles of the 
 glacier, and their insulated form, and detached 
 relievo, is a phenomenon at once extremely sin- 
 gular, and difficult to explain. It seems to be 
 the effect of a solvent power in the atmosphere ; 
 in the same manner as sticks of potassa in the 
 act of solution are abraded equally around, and 
 form delicate and lengthened tapering cones ; or 
 as an amorphous mass of alum, allowed to remain 
 in water, after many days discovers a pyramidal 
 form, encrusted with octahedral crystals in re- 
 lief. 
 
 It seems by no means doubtful that the gla- 
 ciers do advance into the valley; nor does it 
 seem very difficult to account for such a pro- 
 gressive tendency. Water, we know, from 42° 
 downwards expands, the expansive power in- 
 creasing in the ratio of the decrease in tempe- 
 rature. During the day, a portion of the sur- 
 face is thawed, and this liquid water filters 
 through the ice. By the nocturnal cold this 
 
30 
 
 water freezes, and, a» by tlje power of a wedge, 
 th^ gre^t mass is rent and separated. This ^- 
 lo(3^tion, frequently repeated, by a repetition of 
 siinilar agency, pushes forward the great body 
 of ice. The lower parts of the Mer de Glace are 
 thns of necessity impelled toward the valley of 
 Chamouni, to which it declines, and where there 
 is no resistance to oppose its progress. The 
 Mer de Glace abuts on the Col des Geans, and 
 on the acclivity of Mont Blanc ; while towards 
 its embouchure it is flanked on the one side by 
 the rocky walls of Montanvert, and on the other 
 by those of the Aiguilles de Dru. This separa- 
 tion will also account for the movement of the 
 boulders which rest upon it ; while there still 
 remains another circumstance, which will con- 
 tribute its share in the glissement to which we 
 refer, and that is, the water from the moulin, 
 which, after having penetrated the ice, and 
 rolled along its subglacial channel, will neces- 
 sarily fuse the ice in contact, and the glacier 
 will sink in that direction, which will be at a 
 maximum at the source d'Averon, the outlet of 
 the water which flows from the glacier. Thus 
 an inclined plane will be provided for the gra^ 
 dual advance 'of the boulders towards the val- 
 ley. It seems, too, highly probable that the bed 
 of the water under the glacier is always main- 
 tained, even in winter, above a freezing tempe- 
 
SI 
 
 rature; and that, under such circumstances, 
 there is many atf icy cavern and dome be- 
 neath. 
 
 We arrived safely at the village of Chamouni 
 at 7 o'clock in the evening, after having walked 
 that day about thirty-nine miles, according to the 
 calculation of our guides, the greater part over 
 ice, snow, glaciers, boulders, and fa9ades of ice 
 and rock, forming walls some hundred feet high. 
 We were exceedingly amused with the conten- 
 tion among our guides as to the priority of walk- 
 ing into the village with Mrs M., who still con- 
 tinued in advance. Their colloquy was kept 
 up in their patois^ or peculiar dialect, but we 
 gathered sufficient to ascertain the cause of con- 
 tention. When we arrived, we were welcomed 
 by crowds. It had been prophesied that it was 
 impossible Mrs M. should be able to overcome 
 the fatigue and difficulties ; and our guides had 
 won an additional laurel in consequence of their 
 success, this enterprize being second only to the 
 ascent of Mont Blanc, and has been adopted by 
 the few who have successfully reached its sum- 
 mit, as preparatory to that most perilous under- 
 taking, and as a kind of training for it. We 
 were of course ignorant of what lay before us, 
 quite sufficient to put manly courage to the test, 
 much more female heroism ; but the difficulties 
 were disguised from us, and must be our apolo- 
 
S2 
 
 gy. It gives them great distinction, and be- 
 comes their boast, when they can register in 
 their roll of fame so rare an event as conducting 
 a lady to the Jardin, and her safe return, being 
 only the fourth female who had accomplished 
 this feat. Due arrangements, however, had been 
 made to pitch our tent for the night on the Mer 
 de Glace, had exhaustion rendered it necessary. 
 
 When we got to the inn, Mrs M. took a warm 
 bath, and neither of us felt the least subsequent 
 lassitude. A few miles' excursion in the plain 
 would have wearied us far more, so extraordi- 
 nary is the difference between the bracing elas- 
 tic atmosphere on these altitudes, and the dense 
 vapours which lie stagnant in the valley. 
 
 The guides are bold and intrepid, cautious 
 and intelligent, faithful and honest, hardy as 
 their native mountains, and as firm footed and 
 agile as that pretty antelope, the chamois, which 
 inhabits these regions. The guides of Chamouni 
 are, moreover, possessed of a vast fund of infor- 
 mation, and even a considerable store of scien- 
 tific lore, especially that connected with botany 
 and mineralogy. In their address they have 
 much politeness and courtesy ; and though, 
 among themselves, they employ a very peculiar 
 dialect, they speak French in their intercourse 
 with strangers at once with elegance and ease. 
 This character is certainly an elevated one, but 
 
justice demands its application ; and, in spite of 
 the interdict of Sardinia's king, and his Reis- 
 effendi, it is impossible to believe (judging from 
 the intelligence we had an opportunity of prov- 
 ing) otherwise, than that they not only read and 
 write themselves, but that they instruct their 
 children in both. 
 
 To attain thie summit of Mont Blanc is the 
 acme of their ambition. Jacques Balmat was 
 the first to pace the hitherto untrodden snows 
 of its summit, on the 5th July 1786, with two 
 other guides ; and next, on the 8th of August 
 following, with Dr Paccard. Through the me- 
 dium of Charlet, our chief guide or captain, 
 we received much interesting information as to 
 the regulations to which the guides of Chamouni 
 are subject. When employed in the common 
 routine, th^ey receive ax francs per diem, but in 
 any tedious or hazardous expedition, as the 
 " Jardin," for instance, each receives nine francs 
 or more, as the danger is increased. Govern- 
 ment obliges them to contribute half a frane 
 from every six they receive, toward a fund, the 
 object of which is to support them and their fa- 
 milies in the event of sickness, or when incapa^ 
 «itated, from old age or infirmity, to traverse 
 the mountains. If they take any stranger to 
 such a distance as to be unable to return the 
 
 same night, their expences, at an inn for ex- 
 
 b3 
 
34 
 
 ample, which may amount to three francs, are an 
 entire loss resting on themselves, as no extra 
 demand can be levied from the traveller they 
 conduct. The number of guides at Chamouni 
 then amounted to forty, who are obliged regu- 
 larly to take their turn in conducting strangers, 
 unless one is particularly singled out by the in^ 
 dividual, and under such circumstances he can 
 only go as captain over the others, who then 
 take their place in rotation ; and, thus selected, 
 they dare not refuse to go, however hazardous 
 be the enterprise, unless by a parley with their 
 fate they are willing to incur the penalty annex- 
 ed to such a refusal, which amounts to forty 
 francs. Their services are only required four 
 or five months in the summer. They are not 
 allowed to conduct strangers over any mountain 
 out of their own district, without paying a fine 
 of thirty francs to the government of the vallais 
 to which the surrounding mountains belong. 
 Each is obliged to devote two days in the sea- 
 son to the repair of the roads, or pay a fine of 
 ten francs, unless he find a substitute. The in- 
 habitants of Chamouni are prohibited from cut- 
 ting down any trees but those marked by go- 
 vernment, and even such they have to pay for. 
 Each family kills their own meat in autumn, to 
 serve for the succeeding twelve months ; part is 
 preserved in a frozen state, and the rest salted. 
 
as 
 
 During their long and severe winter they are 
 chiefly confined to their habitations, their time 
 being occupied in the repair of their miserable 
 huts, mending their clothes, cutting wood for 
 fuel, or making a few rude household utensils, 
 &c., while the women are usually employed in 
 knitting and spinning. Nor is the instruction of 
 their children forgotten. Each guide is allowed 
 to keep one mule for his own use. Strangers 
 are supplied by the neighbouring peasantry, and 
 pay six francs per day. The sagacity of the 
 mules, though the very name has been prover- 
 bial for obstinacy and stupidity, is very remark- 
 able in being able to find their way after having 
 once traversed any road. Charlet related an 
 instance of it in the case of one of his own. 
 He had occasion to pass a mountain, in a night 
 so dark that he could not discover the path, and 
 was obliged to trust himself entirely to the con- 
 duct and guidance of the mule ; and though the 
 animal had only been once before in that direc- 
 tion, it never missed its footing, conducted him 
 in perfect safety, and even stopt at the door of 
 the inn at which it had rested before, though 
 the interval was nine years. When traversing 
 mountain ridges, I have often observed evidences 
 of caution and security ; and in these invaluable 
 properties the mule stands pre-eminent, — qualities 
 which can only be duly appreciated by those 
 
36 
 
 who have been accustomed to witness their firm- 
 ness and caution on the edge of precipices, in 
 devious paths, or in traversing dangerous moun- 
 tain passes, on the verge of projecting rocks, or 
 over some rude plank thrown across the horrid 
 chasm. This much in justice to a much traduced 
 animal, whose courage, steadiness, and calculat- 
 ing prudence, are truly wonderful. 
 
 At 10 o'clock A. M. on the following morning 
 the thermometer was 63° 75'. We left Chamouni 
 on our retiu'n to Geneva at 11 o'clock ; and, in 
 the mean time, employed ourselves in glancing 
 over the album at the inn, where strangers are 
 requested to register their names, and have an 
 opportunity to record any interesting event, or 
 indulge in some jeu <F esprit. Among the latter 
 class, we were amused with the following, which 
 seems well told. 
 
 " The following lines were copied from a 
 pocket-book found near the foot of the Montan- 
 vert, and supposed to have fallen from the pocket 
 of a dandy, who was observed to make an ava- 
 lanche near this spot. It is conjectured, that he 
 had ventured from his chambers in the Rite de 
 la Paix, to explore the romantic beauties of Cha- 
 mouni. Whether he " safely" returned to his 
 crib is not exactly known ; but it is feared that 
 the internal and external works were so much 
 
37 
 
 injured, as would prevent him appearing for 
 some time in the Palais Royal 
 
 " Give me the glace Tartoni makes, 
 And take your Mer de Glace for me, 
 I'd rather eat his ice and cakes 
 Than cross again that frozen sea, 
 " Donkeys and mules conduct us there, 
 Most proper guides for those who go ; 
 If I get safely back, I swear, 
 No more you'll catch me on its snow." 
 
 About 5 p. M. we re-arrived at Sallenche, 
 where we spent a pleasant evening with a trans- 
 atlantic gentleman and his lady, who had amused 
 themselves for some days previous in the envi- 
 rons, hut, from their limited knowledge of the 
 language, seemed to have fallen a prey to the 
 gross imposition that had been systematically 
 practised on them by the landlord and his 
 myrmidons. I proffered my services, and the 
 commissaire de police having been sent for, mat- 
 ters were arranged. We left the Bellevue the 
 following morning, and stopped for breakfast at 
 the Hotel de Mont Blanc, at Pont St Martin, 
 where we engaged a char-a-banc for Geneva. 
 On entering the gates of the Imperial city, my 
 passport was demanded. I demurred against 
 this incessant annoyance, and held parley for 
 some time with the sentinel, and at last refused 
 to yield the document which had so recently 
 
been in their possession. Moreover I wish- 
 ed to hear M. Malan beyond the city gates on 
 the morrow, and in strictness the sentinel had a 
 right to demand it even then. We were also 
 to leave early on Monday morning, and it seem- 
 ed indecorous to violate the solemnity of the 
 Sabbath, by dancing attendance at the passport 
 office on that day, in order to its obtainment : 
 besides, it was merely a few hours* return to a 
 city, where only five days before we had domi- 
 ciled. All this, however, availed nothing ; the 
 passport must be surrendered, and it was given 
 with no good grace ; of which I was duly re- 
 minded at the passport office, where I went at 
 11 o'clock p. M. the same night to demand it. 
 My reproof in reply was tendered in terms as 
 sharp as the language was in which the man in 
 office chose to address me. On the following 
 day, we attended service in the Cathedral of St 
 Pierre, and I must admit the touie ensemble asto- 
 nished me. The address, for it was certainly 
 not a sermon, was altogether a mere tissue 
 of sentimentalism, delivered with a theatrical 
 tone and gesture ; and making all due allowance 
 for the youth of the speaker, it seemed an incohe- 
 rent and dislocated rhapsody of fine words and 
 fine phrases, ^* full of sound and fury, signifying 
 nothing ;" and last, not least, the apostolic bene- 
 diction was wafUing. In repeating the creed. 
 
39 
 
 " I believe in Jesus Christ," &c., it was what 
 the Socinian has said of the exclamation of 
 Thomas, su^auditur. The disproportion of the sex 
 here was truly amazing, not one in twenty being 
 males, and on our dismissal we noticed a " Laza- 
 rus" at the gate. In the afternoon we attended M. 
 Malan, and were much pleased with his sermon, 
 and the solemnity and decorum which every 
 where reigned. The two front seats were en- 
 tirely occupied by respectable English families : 
 the chapel was extremely neat, and well attend- 
 ed. In returning, we noticed some observance 
 as to the letter of the fourth commandment, 
 " the cattle within thy gates," for during public 
 service, at any rate, a barrier interdicts the 
 transit of quadrupeds to and from the city. 
 Our hotel overlooked the " Cafe de Bel Air," 
 and here English servants were amusing them- 
 selves during the day by playing at billiards ! 
 
40 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 LAUSANNE AND ITS ENVIRONS — PARAGRELES — 
 CHILON. 
 
 On the 27th June, we left Geneva for Lau- 
 sanne, by the Guillaume Tell Steam-Packet, at 
 6 o'clock p. M. The fare of the first cabin is 
 five francs. There was an English party on 
 board, whose behaviour seemed to do no credit 
 to their country, for they very much resembled 
 school boys broken loose from their tutelage. 
 We have heard of lads on the eve of the holidays 
 amusing themselves by breaking their cups and 
 bowls, but we did not expect to witness such con- 
 duct here. They did it, however, pour s'amuser 
 et passer le terns, doubtless, but there were those 
 on board who were not indifferent spectators of 
 the boyish proceedings of these grown-up child- 
 ren. I marvelled at this sample of far-famed 
 Britain. Far, far too frequently have we had 
 occasion to blush for our countrymen, both in 
 Italy and France, as well as in Switzerland; and 
 
41 
 
 those reckless and thoughtless individuals little 
 know the extent and amount of the mischief 
 they do. If they have no regard for themselves 
 or their proper credit and character, they ought to 
 remember that there are relative duties which 
 they owe, and by which they are bound ; and 
 while they may consider themselves at perfect 
 liberty in the exercise of this nonchalance, they 
 should be reminded that Britain expects that all 
 her sons should do their duty. Every accom- 
 modation requisite may be had on board. The 
 white wine was charged at five batzen per bot- 
 tle, or about sevenpence halfpenny English, 
 and was tolerably good, and the champaigne on 
 board the Winkelried (the other steam-packet), 
 is quite celebrated in Geneva, improved perhaps 
 by the navigation of the Lake. At 1 o'clock 
 we reached Ouchy, the port of Lausanne, after 
 a delightful sail on this beautiful lake, A 
 small pier projecting into the lake forms a se- 
 cure anchorage within its embrace, and a rough 
 wall of stones serves as a breakwater. On the 
 left is a beautiful specimen of the weeping wil- 
 low, extending its main branches longitudinally 
 for nearly thirty feet, being propped from below 
 with stakes. From hence we ascended to Lau- 
 sanne, which is elevated 450 feet above the level 
 of the lake. The town is built on three hills, and 
 their intervening valleys, so that many of the 
 
42 
 
 streets are exceedingly steep, and walking be- 
 comes extremely toilsome. Lausanne, however, 
 is very superior, we presume, to Geneva as a re- 
 sidence for the phthisical patient, Geneva is too 
 damp, and though refreshed and renewed hy the 
 breezes of the lake, its atmosphere is one, as it 
 appears to me, by no means suited for pulmo- 
 nary affections. The alternations'of cold, some- 
 times rapid, when tlie mountain breeze has pre- 
 viously to pervade the glacier, is a change too 
 trying for the morbid frame. 
 
 On the revocation of the Edict of Nantz, 
 many French refugees settled at Lausanne, 
 bringing in their train industry, the means and 
 medium of wealth. The population is about 
 9000. French is universally spoken, and almost 
 all are protestants. The people seem lively and 
 industrious ; and it may be stated generally that 
 the Vaudois are cheerful and intelligent. The 
 newspapers published at Lausanne are the 
 " Feuille d'avis de Lausanne," replete with ad- 
 vertisements, as well as the " Feuilleton de la 
 Gazette de Lausanne ;" and the " Gazette de 
 Lausanne." Around the town are many fine pro- 
 menades, particularly that which overlooks the 
 Archery Ground, and some good limes are found 
 in the avenue at this place — a favourite tree in 
 many parts of Switzerland. This beautiful 
 walk was our frequent resort. We were some 
 
43 
 
 hundred feet elevated above the glassy mirror of 
 Geneva's Lake, and all between was one exten- 
 sive vineyard stretching far and wide. From 
 hence we viewed the Alps beyond^ rising in 
 their magnificent range^ and often witnessed, in 
 a fine calm summer's evening, the setting sun, 
 with all its crimson and vermilion glory, sink 
 among their eternal snows, succeeded by an 
 electric scene, which would be weakened by 
 description, and requires to be beheld from a 
 spot like this to be understood. The succes- 
 sive flashes of sheet lightning, and their bril- 
 liant corruscations illuminating the Alpine chain 
 fretted with pines, or clothed with a mantle of 
 snow, formed a magic picture full of beauty and 
 sublimity. 
 
 Our sojourn at Lausanne exceeded a month, 
 and we made frequent excursions in the country 
 round, visiting the farms, cottages, dairies, vine- 
 yards, and orchards. We found the paragreles 
 very generally employed throughout this canton, 
 and their value seems duly appreciated : the re- 
 sult, after numerous observations and repeated 
 inquiries, justifies the confidence reposed in them. 
 I have elsewhere advocated the question at 
 considerable length, and conviction strengthens 
 at every step. Professor Chavannes had the 
 merit, amidst much futile opposition, of their 
 introduction into the Canton de Vaud, and in a 
 
44 
 
 lengthened conversation we had together, I de- 
 cidedly gave my voice in their favour. There 
 does not exist a solitary instance, I believe, on 
 record, of a vine in their vicinity having become 
 a victim to the hailstorm, while adjoining vine- 
 yards not protected, have fallen prostrate before 
 the blast. The paragrele simply consists of an 
 upright pole, having attached to it a copper wire, 
 little exceeding the diameter of a bell-wire, and 
 confined^^in a groove lengthways by clasps. The 
 wire is about twenty-five to thirty feet long, 
 and the paragreles are distant from each other 
 sixty to 100 feet. The former is the safest dis- 
 tance, on the calculation that the lightning rod 
 is efficient, or supposed so, only to an extent of 
 double its radius. Each paragrele is surround- 
 ed at the bottom with thorns or briars, to pre- 
 vent the contact of cattle, &c. It should be 
 observed that the wire enters the earth as deep 
 as the pole to which it is attached, and extends 
 one foot to fourteen inches above its summit. 
 Such is this simple shield of safety, and the 
 theoretic question connected with it involves 
 that of the lightning rod. Both must stand or 
 fall together. The meteorological phenomena of 
 the atmosphere, are subordinated to, and modi- 
 fied by, its electricity, for this is the mighty and 
 mysterious agent which moulds and controls 
 them. Vapour and rain, snow and hail, are of 
 
45 
 
 this description, and their formation and preci- 
 pitation are effects of which electricity is the 
 cause. The introduction of any agency, which 
 can modify its quantity, must modify its power 
 also, or any medium which can reverse its laws 
 must annihilate its supremacy. When a fine 
 capillary tube is supplied with water, and at- 
 tached to the prime conductor of the electrical ma- 
 chine, the liquid may fall in alternate drops when 
 the machine is at rest, but when put in motion 
 a series of very finely divided streams impelled 
 with force is perceived. When a metallic point 
 is presented, that issue ceases, and resumes its 
 previous appearance. Just so it is with the pa- 
 ragreles, and their relation to the storm cloud. 
 This is by no means the proper place to enter 
 scientifically into the minutiae of the question ; 
 but it seems palpable to me, that hailstones are 
 an instantaneous formation, connected with a 
 much lower elevation in the atmosphere than we 
 are apt to imagine. We have among the higher 
 Alps met with abundance oisnow, but never once 
 met with any hailstones, and on lower planes, as 
 among the Apennines for instance, while we 
 have encountered drizzling rain, we have never 
 once witnessed any thing in the form of a heavy 
 shower. It may be doubted that the low ele- 
 vation of the paragreles can affect at so consi- 
 derable an altitude the storm cloud, but it may 
 
46 
 
 also be reasonably questioned whether th6 region 
 of the storm be considerable. Over the Lakes of 
 Cnmberland the electric fluid may be seen to 
 hover far beneath the plane of the observer, 
 and t6 be attracted by the mountain's side, and 
 discharge its fire ; and Massena and Suwar- 
 How were engaged in battle among the Alps, 
 while the thunder rolled atid the lightning 
 flashed far beneath the battle scene. Nor is this 
 by any means an unfrequent occurrence to the 
 Alpine traveller. The electric gleam is seen to 
 fret the masts of ships at sea, and flicker on the 
 church spire on land. And even in a stormy 
 night accompanied by rain, the metallic tips of 
 the umbrella and the horses' mane are seen to 
 glare with diluted and lambent flame. Canton's 
 bells and the aerial electroscope concur to prove 
 the agency of a pointed wire at no great height. 
 The general appearance of females in Switzer- 
 land is much more prepossessing than in France ; 
 they seem cleanly in person, and civil in man- 
 ners. The ladies we saw in mourning wore 
 crape veils, almost descending to the ground* 
 The employments of poor womfen in Lausanne 
 seem very masculine, such as the transfport of 
 heavy burdens, chopping up wood, leading horses 
 to water, driving carts, &c. The public foun- 
 tains are numerous, and one or two plumed by 
 the graceful branches of the weeping willow. 
 
47 
 
 The quantity of lettuce consumed must be im- 
 mense. We have seen twelve persons engaged 
 at the same time washing it at one fountain. 
 The kinds chiefly used are the cabbage and ten- 
 nis-ball ; nor do I ever remember to have seen 
 one of the cos variety. 
 
 During our stay in the city, new erections 
 were going forward. One, on the left-hand, go- 
 ing through the gate, was in considerable classic 
 taste, and intended for concerts and balls. The 
 Maison de Force, at the other side of the town, 
 was not finished ; it has a fine appearance at a 
 distance, and its situation is remarkably good. 
 There are sixteen dungeons for convicts below 
 ground, besides cellars for fuel and provisions ; 
 and 104 cells, or compartments, above. The 
 higher story is destined for female prisoners. 
 The court-room is central. We noticed, also, a 
 large room for miscellaneous works, and parti- 
 cular ones for shoemakers and tailors. Classi- 
 fication of the prisoners is adopted, and they 
 are required to work at their several trades. 
 There were three fine conductors being erected. 
 One was finished and seemed elegant, and con- 
 structed on proper scientific principles. The rod 
 was of wrought iron, and tipped with gold. The 
 medium thickness was about one-half inch ; and, 
 after passing through iron staples, it entered the 
 earth through a box of well burnt charcoal, and 
 
48 
 
 terminated in a well. These conducting rods 
 came from Fribourg, in Germany. One hun- 
 dred and twenty-eight steps conduct to the emi- 
 nence where the cathedral stands, and from 
 whence there is a fine view of the lake and ad- 
 joining country. The service on Sundays com- 
 mences at 9 o'clock in the cathedral, as well as 
 in the other two churches. At 12 o'clock there 
 is catechism and examinations of the children ; 
 and at 2 o'clock the afternoon service. The or- 
 der of the church service was as follows : First 
 a short prayer ; a psalm was then sung, and du- 
 ring this period the collection made, by a person 
 with a tin case attached to a stick, and the con- 
 tents at last poured into the general treasury, a 
 very antiquated strong box, under the pulpit, 
 which in the cathedral was of stone, the canopy 
 richly carved, and bore the date 1633. A prayer 
 follows the psalm, and all stand, until the text 
 is read; and when the division of the sermon is 
 announced, and the invocation of the Holy Spirit 
 added, the hearers signify it by a bow, &c. In 
 the afternoon the disproportion of males was 
 striking, there not being present one for twenty 
 females. We were informed, that sixteen years 
 of age was the earliest period at which commu- 
 nicants were admitted in the churches. Before 
 this the examinations are strict. For an entire 
 year previous, they are constantly examined 
 
 4 
 
49 
 
 every Sunday : and during the last four months, 
 at such periods as the minister may think pro- 
 per during the week. We attended one of these 
 instructive scenes in the cathedral. Questions 
 in various forms were put by the clergyman 
 indiscriminately to these young persons, and 
 were very distinctly and interestingly answered. 
 There were about eighty boys and thirty girls 
 present. Prayers were said, psalms sung, and a 
 neat and appropriate address given on the occa- 
 sion. In the afternoon of the same day we wit- 
 nessed the formula of baptism. The clergyman, 
 after various questions, and answers returned, 
 poured a little water into the palm of his hand, 
 and having sprinkled the face of the child, re- 
 peating the usual form of words, the infant was 
 presented, covered with a long white veil, which 
 had previously been thrown back. The tower 
 of the cathedral was struck by lightning on the 
 24th of May, a few weeks previous to our ar- 
 rival, and considerable damage had been sus- 
 tained, especially that part of the building imme- 
 diately under the dome ; and the wooden frame- 
 work seemed to have been in one place set on 
 fire. Several monuments, of no great worth, 
 are seen here. That of the founder of the Hos- 
 pice of the Great St Bernard is the most inte- 
 resting. Among others may be mentioned, one 
 of the crusaders, the first bishop of the cathe- 
 
50 
 
 dral, and those of Harriet Canning, and the 
 Princess of Orloif. The foundation of this go- 
 thic building was laid in the year 1000, and it 
 appears to have been consecrated in 1275 by- 
 Pope Gregory X. 
 
 We were once awoke, about midnight, by 
 dulcet strains of music, quite a serenade a VEs- 
 pagnoL On enquiring the cause, we learned it 
 to be a Swiss custom, when a newly married 
 couple first occupied their own house, that their 
 friends should assemble with musical instru- 
 ments ; and it is considered as a kind of wel- 
 come or token of approbation ; for, if a marriage 
 displeases them, the parties are not thus honour- 
 ed. It is not unfrequent to take a journey for 
 a short time, by those who can prudently afford 
 it. The ring is not used in the marriage cere- 
 mony, but is generally given by the husband af- 
 terwards, amongst the higher classes, fi-om a 
 French custom, but is unknown among the poor. 
 The general hours of the marriage ceremony are 
 at 10 A. M. or 3 p. m., the clergyman being then 
 in the church, on account of the morning and 
 evening examinations : the bells ring during the 
 ceremony, but do not continue. 
 
 The cemetry is at a distance of two miles 
 from the city, on the Berne road ; and funerals 
 usually take place in the afternoon or evening. 
 We witnessed, on one occasion, the funeral pro- 
 
51 
 
 cession : the mourning coaches Were painted 
 black, and the horses were covered with black 
 cloth: the hearse was surmounted with three 
 tin ornaments in imitation of plumes, and the 
 top with festoons of black cloth, and black and 
 white fringe. Those who ranged on each side 
 of the funeral-car had their heads uncovered, 
 and the horses were led ; a bouquet des Jleurs 
 was attached to the hearse, with a scroll of pa- 
 per bearing MS. perhaps eulogy. Both the 
 hearse and mourning-coaches were saluted by 
 those that passed, who uncovered. On arriving 
 at the cemetryj the mourners alighted (no fe- 
 males followed in the train) ; the hearse only 
 was drawn into the church-yard; the coffin was 
 extremely plain, covered with black cloth, — 
 and on its being lowered into the grave, the 
 bouquet des Jleurs and scroll were thrown in, 
 and the gi'ave instantly filled up with earth, 
 from a kind of barrow which was upset for the 
 purpose. 
 
 The " cemetrie," though not a " Pere la 
 Chaise," is neat. We observed a monument 
 with the name of John Philip Kemble the 
 tragedian, who died at Lausanne on 26th Fe- 
 bruary 1823, aged QQ years. His grave was 
 very simple ; from it we gathered a stem of la- 
 vender, which grew luxuriantly; there were 
 also some other plants scattered over the grave. 
 
 c 2 
 
52 
 
 There was on the left of the entrance-gate a 
 chaste and elegant monument, erected over the 
 ashes of " Anna Maria Allott, nata Waller," 
 constructed in 1823 ; it cost 1200 Swiss livres, 
 or about L. 750 Sterling, — the work of Gibson 
 of Rome, an English sculptor. The niche, if I 
 mistake not, is a copy of the canopy of the tomb 
 of Abelard and Heloise, now removed to Pere 
 la Chaise. 
 
 At Lausanne, the bread is entirely bought 
 from the public baker. The table d'hote is al- 
 ways at one o'clock, and consists of two courses 
 and a dessert, each composed of five dishes. Ist^ 
 Two kinds of fish ; two dishes of vegetables ; 
 something light, a la sauce. 2d, Roast and boiled 
 meat, two kinds of vegetables, and something 
 stewed or fried for the centre. Dessert various. 
 We, however, generally dined in private. The 
 fowls were always miserably bad, and not lar- 
 ger than pigeons ; but the fish from the Lake of 
 Geneva, with which we were plentifully sup- 
 plied, was most excellent and diversified, as the 
 carp, bream, tench, perch, &c. and especially 
 the varieties of salmon and salmon-trout, called 
 Umble, Fera, and Ombre chevalier. Perch were 
 only three batzen per dozen, or about 4§d. 
 The coffee-rooms are very good: and, beside 
 excellent beer at 2| batzen the bottle, may 
 be had a most delightful and refreshing sum- 
 
53 
 
 mer beverage, called Lemonade gazeuse, the 
 price of which is 4 batzen per bottle. A good 
 quantity of the coffee used is obtained from the 
 chiccory-root, which is roasted in the usual way. 
 The mustard is very dark, of the brown variety, 
 and comes from L'Aigle. Both macaroni and 
 vermicelli are manufactured here, and the latter 
 is coloured with saffron, the price 4 batzen per 
 lb. of 16 ounces. 
 
 The market days at Lausanne are Wednesday 
 and Saturday, and the market is abundantly 
 supplied with fruits and vegetables. Pears and 
 cherries were most abundant, and the price rea- 
 sonable : I received eighteen pears lor one-half 
 batzen, and noticed apricots, raspberries, goose- 
 berries, &c. ; the red currants were extraordina- 
 rily large; but I observed no white currants. 
 Flowers of lime, chamomile, mallow, &c. were 
 sold as teas. Among the most peculiar features 
 in the vegetables displayed, were the stems of 
 seedling lettuce, and central ribs of the white 
 beet. The market was plentifully supplied with 
 gourds: a large one was charged li batzen. On 
 the 16th July I bought a bunch of red grapes, 
 the first that had appeared in the market, culti- 
 vated in the open vineyard. The following 
 were the prices of a few leading articles : 
 
m 
 
 Wine 3 batzen* W bottle. 
 
 Honey 9 ^ ft 
 
 Butter 4 to 6 ^ ft 
 
 Veal, Mutton & Beef.. .2 ^ ft 
 
 Cheese .4^ — ^ft 
 
 Pork 3 to 4 ^ft 
 
 Bread 1 ^ ft 
 
 Eggs 3 V dozen. 
 
 Fowls 5 — each. 
 
 Duck 10 
 
 Goose 15 
 
 Turkey 20 
 
 The chickens are puny and poor to the last 
 degree. On a market day I noticed only one in 
 a basket, and, when I repassed, it was dead. I 
 was informed that the eggs were hatched by 
 artificial heat in the oven. 
 
 At the top of the street where the market 
 was held was a notice prohibiting horses, char- 
 a-bancs, &c. from proceeding in that direction ; 
 and on each side of the street was a line of de- 
 marcation ; the penalty, in case of offence, was 
 five batzen. No grain can be sold in the corn 
 market before the clock of the Hotel de Ville 
 announce the hour, and it must pass through 
 the public stone measures. There are three, 
 of different sizes, in the market hall, to which 
 rollers are attached, and the aperture or outlet 
 without is kept locked. They are fixed in the 
 
 • A batzen is equal to three-half-pence. 
 
55 
 
 wall, the hollow stone-cisterns forming 'an in- 
 tegrant part of it. Ample rules and regula- 
 tions are painted on a board, which is raised, 
 so that all may read it. When potatoes are 
 not ripe, or in any way unfit for the market, 
 or when any articles are found deficient in 
 weight, they are confiscated to the hospital. A^ 
 Lausanne, or its vicinity, may be selected by 
 some English families as a temporary residence, 
 the previously stated market prices may guide 
 their calculations. It may be stated generally, 
 that clothes are much the same as in England, 
 perhaps a shade higher. In private lodgings, a 
 furnished-room, &c. is twenty-four to thirty 
 francs per month. Board and lodging may be 
 computed at four to five louis d'or per month. 
 Butcher-meat, bread, vegetables, and fruit, are 
 reasonable, and good. Fish, from the lake, 
 plentiful and diversified. 
 
 The town of Lausanne is well lighted, the 
 lamps being suspended from the centre of the 
 streets, and the light concentrated by parabolic 
 reflectors. The oil used in the lamps is either 
 that of the olive or rapeseed, purified by means 
 of sulphuric acid and water. During our stay 
 at Lausanne, there were issued two public notices 
 from the Conseil de Sante, &c. of the Canton de 
 Vaud; one respecting a disease then raging 
 among the canine species, which it was feared 
 
56 
 
 might pass into hydrophobia, and all dogs were 
 ordered either to be tied up or muzzled, — an or- 
 der, however, which seemed to be paid no atten- 
 tion to on the part of English, nor was any at- 
 tempt apparently made to enforce it with respect 
 to them. The other was concerning a mcdadie 
 epizootique, prevalent among horses, and conta- 
 gious. Gentle exercise was recommended, green 
 provender, oats, &c. ; and, above all, tliat they 
 should be kept apart from strange horses. Lau- 
 sanne affords, as has been already observed, many 
 fine and diversified walks ; and, from some of 
 these, during moonlight, occasionally eclipsed 
 by the transit of a dense cloud, or partially veil- 
 ed by a thin film of vapour, the lake of Geneva 
 presented many beautiful and varied aspects, and 
 a perpetual change of silvery light and shade, 
 rich in interest alike to the poet and the painter. 
 There is a very romantic and singular walk be- 
 yond the castle gate ; the foot-path winding 
 among woods and under shrubs, or conducting 
 to the bed of the river. Here we met with seve- 
 ral young entomologists, with gauze-nets, col- 
 lecting insects. There are seats, &c., and it 
 seemed as though the Fete Champetre was occa- 
 sionally celebrated there. In the woods we ob- 
 served the calceolaria. The archery grounds 
 are much frequented, and it appears to be a favou- 
 rite amusement, resorted to every afternoon. 
 
57 
 
 The enclosure is very neat ; the grounds and pa- 
 raphernalia belong to a society. On the lower 
 wall is a fine dial, on which are engraved the 
 bearings of the principal mountains, and places 
 seen from it. 
 
 We one day walked to Lutri, about four miles 
 distant, and found ourselves immersed in all the 
 bustle of a fair. There was but little novelty ; 
 German tinder appeared the most plentiful ar- 
 ticle in it. The cattle were chiefly disposed of, 
 at pretty good prices ; best milch cows fetched 
 about L. 4, 10s., mules L. 18 to L. 20, horses 
 L. 20 to L. 30. In the neighbourhood we ob- 
 served some reverend elms, one of which mea- 
 sured twenty-five feet in circumference. On 
 our return we were joined by a farmer, who 
 conducted us to his farm and orchard, and of- 
 fered us as many cherries as we either chose to 
 eat or take with us. It does not appear that 
 arsenic is ever employed in the preparation of 
 the seed-wheat for sowing, to prevent the 
 " blacks" (les noirs)^ as they call it, — quick- 
 lirm being found quite effective, and certainly 
 more rational, arsenic being pregnant with 
 danger, though frequently used in some parts of 
 England, especially in Norfolk. Poisons cannot 
 be obtained there under any pretence whatever, 
 except by express order from the municipal au- 
 thorities, a most prudent and wise regulation. 
 
 c3 
 
5S 
 
 We noticed the Poppy, Jerusalem artichoke, and 
 Indian corn in cultivation ; turnip sowing had 
 just commenced : a mixture of wheat and rye is 
 often sown, the prudence of which we more than 
 doubt. It is a plan occasionally adopted in the 
 south of France, and the ergot of rye, or spur- 
 red rye (seigle ergote), when accidentally mixed 
 with wheaten flower, carries off entire fami- 
 lies : the bread seems sprinkled with violet spots. 
 Even in England this disease attacks rye ; and it 
 appears from specimens in my possession, from 
 Worcestershire, to be a parasitic fungus of singu- 
 lar form. In all probability, quicklime would 
 prove successful as a preventive. Here and 
 there may be observed Indian com and pulse 
 gi-own between the rows of vines in vineyards, 
 but this additional crop operates powerfully to its 
 deterioration, as the slightest reflection would 
 convince ; and, accordingly, we find that M. B. 
 Chappuis of Vevey has, in his Traite sur la Cul- 
 ture de la Vigne (Geneva 1824, p. 29.), given 
 a decided opinion on its hurtful and destructive 
 tendency, though he adopted it for several years 
 from mistaken views, he has now abandon- 
 ed it altogether, from a conviction of its dete- 
 rioration of the produce of the vine. The ra- 
 pidity of growth in Indian corn is remarkable : 
 we have seen on the road to Ouchy a shoot of 
 twelve to fourteen inches in a few days. Cat- 
 
5Q 
 
 tie are fed on the leaves, tendrils, and twigs of 
 the vine, and, when burnt, the ashes afford an 
 alkali valuable for washing and bleaching. 
 
 The Winkelried Steam-Packet leaves Geneva 
 at 8 o'clock A. M., and arrives daily at Ouchy 
 about 1 o'clock, returning to Geneva soon after. 
 On Sunday and Thursday it makes the Tmir 
 du Lac, leaving Geneva at 6 o'clock a. m., and 
 after having circumnavigated the lake, returns 
 at 8 o'clock p. M. When the weather is fine 
 the decks are often crowded, this being a very 
 interesting and favourite excursion, and costs 
 only 9 francs. The " Guillaume Tell " leaves 
 Ouchy at 7 o'clock a. m. daily, and Geneva at 
 2 o'clock p. M. on her return, so that the facili- 
 ties of intercourse are well arranged and nume- 
 rous. We repeatedly saw the packets come in ; 
 for, as may be imagined, our walks on the 
 margin of the lake were frequent. 
 
 On the left of Ouchy, and only about a mile 
 from Lausanne, a wolf was destroyed the win- 
 ter preceding our visit, entitling the author of 
 the achievement to the reward of 50 francs, the 
 premium offered by the Cantonal Government. 
 On the margin of the lake we observed a small 
 species of light and compact sponge adhering 
 to the pebbles, together with polypi, and a 
 few young oaks in the Lake, self planted, the 
 acorns having sprouted and gro^vn in the water. 
 
60 
 
 Pursuing our route in the direction of Geneva, 
 on one occasion, close to the verge of the lake, 
 we were much annoyed by locusts and liz- 
 ards, but more especially by frogs, amidst the me- 
 dows and reedy swamps which fringed the lake. 
 Dr Clarke adverts to the musical serenade of 
 the frogs in Holstein, and Prince Maximilian 
 to the sound of a Brazilian species, as resembling 
 that of the coppersmith hammering a copper 
 vessel ; but here this protean variation of sound, 
 had at times a striking resemblance to the dis- 
 tant barking of a dog. At length we reached 
 a Swiss dairy, and were delighted with its inte- 
 rior arrangements; cleanliness, neatness, and 
 order prevailed throughout : here we perceived 
 a large brass-pan suspended from a crane for 
 heating the milk for making cheese : the churn 
 was a flat drum-cylinder, suspended on an axis, 
 and put in revolution by two handles or winches, 
 one on each side, thus occupying two persons in 
 the process of churning. While we remained, se- 
 veral persons brought in milk ; the quantity was 
 ascertained by a graduated dip-gauge, in a some- 
 what shallow vessel, and duly registered on two 
 tallies with initials : one of these was given 
 to the person who brought the milk, while the 
 other was kept as a check-board. The milk 
 thus received, was strained, by being passed 
 through a vessel of a conical form, witli a bmi- 
 
61 
 
 cfwn or stopper of clean wheaten straw, previously 
 rinsed with water. Altogether the arrangements 
 and management of a Swiss dairy might be safe- 
 ly adopted as an admirable model for a British 
 farm. 
 
 In the gardens around Lausanne, we found 
 the cardoon much more frequently cultivated 
 than in England ; also the scorzonera, in beds, 
 sown in spring, and the roots are edible in win- 
 ter. We observed also the Tetragonia expansa, 
 or New Zealand spinage, as an article of culture, 
 and it was much valued. Passionately attached 
 to flowers, the interesting collection of carna- 
 tions possessed by Barraud ( Jardinier), Rue 
 de I'Halle de St Laurent, did not escape me ; 
 the number of varieties was about 400 : some 
 of those in pots were truly superb. In this gar- 
 den, the Magnolia grandiflora succeeds admi- 
 rably. The pear-trees were well fruited, and 
 were trained to stakes in a pyramidal form. 
 Here the Chinese arbor- vitae is often cultivated 
 as a hedge, a purpose to which I never before 
 saw it applied. The white mulberries were 
 large and luxuriant : this naturally led to in- 
 quiries why the cultivation of the silk- worm was 
 neglected in the Canton, and Barraud assigned 
 the occasional rains as the reason, which some- 
 times continue for four or five days without 
 iMtermission, the mulberry leaves, thus wet, be- 
 
6SI 
 
 ing improper food for them ; but as it would not 
 be difficult to desiccate the leaves completely, 
 the objection vanishes. The cultivation of the 
 Pfwrmium tenojx has nowhere, at least so far as 
 my inquiries have extended, been attempted, 
 nor even that of the Dipsax^us fullonum or teasel. 
 The standard or tree rose is justly esteemed a 
 favourite here, as everywhere else ; some of 
 them were very tall ; we observed the jasmine 
 embracing their stems in some gardens. The 
 pretty policy of M. PerdOnnet, a Parisian 
 banker, in the environs of Lausanne, merits 
 particular notice. This delightful spot is called 
 Mm, Repos, though " This is not your rest," 
 might be inscribed on its gate- way : it is a com- 
 plete thing of the kind; gardens, groves, grottoes, 
 aviaries, temples, fountains, statues, and Chi- 
 nese bridges, are beautifully disposed ; there is 
 of course afroggery, a la Franpis, plentifully te- 
 nanted. The collection of plants was very infe- 
 rior, both in the conservatory and elsewhere : — I 
 observed, however, a date-palm in fruit. The 
 mansion was under extensive repair. 
 
 A coarse sandstone is employed in building, 
 and the blocks are separated in a quarry ad- 
 joining the higher parts of the town, by the 
 pick and wedge, raised by means of a vast wheel 
 and crane : the wheel is broad, and revolves 
 by steps in its interior, worked by two men, 
 
63 
 
 somewhat as in a reversed treadmill, and we 
 were much amused with its operations. 
 
 On Tuesday, the 6th July, we left Lausanne, 
 at 7 o'clock A. M. via Caleche, and arrived in 
 about two hours at Vevey. The entire road, 
 elevated about fifty feet above the level of the 
 lake, lay through vineyards flanking the inclined 
 planes of the hills. It was the market-day, and 
 all was liveliness and bustle : many had arrived 
 with their merchandise in boats from a consider- 
 able distance on the lake. We observed a varie- 
 ty of fruits ; peaches, plums, gooseberries and 
 currants, a small kind of pear not larger than 
 Spanish nuts, and plenty of cherries, and amongst 
 them good specimens of the higarreau. The 
 cheese was three and a-lialf batzen, and Indian 
 corn flour one and a-half batzen per pound. Pa- 
 ragreles were observed in all the vineyards from 
 Lausanne to Vevey, which is a pretty town, at 
 the extremity of the valley traversed by the 
 Vevayse, a small river, having its source at the 
 foot of Molesson, and falling into the lake of 
 Geneva near the town, which is ancient, and 
 mentioned under the name of Vibiscum in the 
 Itinerary of Antoninus. It suff^ered much from 
 fire in 1687. Its staple trade and manufactures 
 are tanning, watchmaking, clocks, vin de pays, 
 Gruyere cheese, &c. The principal church is St 
 
64 
 
 Martin's. There is a grand fountain, decorated 
 in Egyptian taste ; and weeping willows, as at 
 Ouchy and Lausanne, may he seen to overtop 
 several of the others. I observed a liminimetre 
 on the edge of the lake, to register its rise and 
 fall. The promenade on the borders aflfords a fine 
 view. Ludlow, one of the judges of Charles L, 
 fled to Vevey, on the accession of Charles IL, 
 and also Broughton, who read the sentence of 
 death. There is a calcareous spring at Montreux, 
 through which we passed, which might be turn- 
 ed to good account in the obtainment of casts 
 of coins, and medallions, as at the baths of San 
 Filippo, near Acquapendente. 
 
 At Vevey we engaged a char-a-banc, for thirty 
 batzen, to go to the Castle of Chilon, so famous 
 in Swiss story. It is an ancient fortress, built 
 by one of the Dukes of Savoy, in 1238, and 
 founded on an insulated rock, detached long ago 
 from a mountain that frowns over it, and lies 
 deeply imbedded in the lake, which is stated here 
 to be 800 feet. It is situated between Clarens 
 and Villeneuve, and opposite are the Alps above 
 Bouveret and St Gingoulph, and the bold heights 
 of Melliere. Within the castle is a range of 
 dungeons, excavated far below the level of the 
 lake, where the early reformers, and, subse- 
 quently, state prisoners, were confined. 
 
65 
 
 " A double dungeon, wall and wave 
 Have made ; — and like a living grave, 
 Below the surface of the lake, 
 The dark vault lies." 
 
 In the main dungeon are seen seven insolated 
 pillars, and an eighth, in relief, in its rocky wall. 
 Rings still remain in three of these, to which the 
 prisoners were attached ; and, in the pavement, 
 the footsteps of some poor captive, perhaps Bon- 
 NivARD, may be traced. Across one of the vaults 
 near this, is a beam, dyed deep with age, on which 
 our conductress informed us the condemned were 
 formerly executed. 
 
 When the Bernese conquered the Canton de 
 Vaud, the Castle of Chilon and that of Yverdun 
 were the only fortresses that held out ; and an 
 old handmill is still shewn that was used during 
 the siege in 1536, when the Bernese made war 
 on Charles Emanuel, Duke of Savoy. It af- 
 terwards served as the residence of the bailiif of 
 Vevey, till the year 1733, and is now used as a 
 gunpowder magazine. By experiments made in 
 the lake near this spot, Messrs Mallet and 
 PiCTET proved, that, while the surface-water of 
 the lake was 66^ Fahr., at 312 feet deep the 
 thermometer sunk to 51° Fahr., a decrease of 
 temperature amounting to 15° Fahr. 
 
 Near this fortress, Rousseau has fixed the ca- 
 tastrophe of his Heloise. At some distance, 
 
66 
 
 Chilon, with its whited walls, as it were at anchor 
 in the lake, has a very picturesque appearance. 
 Between the embouchure, or mouth of the 
 Rhone, and Villeneuve, at a little distance from 
 the latter, is a very curious islet, crowned with 
 three poplars and a small building. 
 
 ." A little isle- 
 
 A small green isle — it seemed no more. 
 Scarce broader than mj dungeon floor ; 
 And in it there were three tall trees, 
 And o'er it blew the mountain breeze." 
 
 The castle receives its chief interest from the 
 magic poetry of Lord Byron, and the misfor- 
 tunes of BoNNivARD, the captive inmate of its 
 dungeons for six years. We were conducted 
 over a drawbridge to its gate, where a sentinel 
 introduced us within its precincts, and consign- 
 ed us to the guidance of a female, who had 
 charge of the keys of the dungeon : its pillars 
 and its walls presented a very gloomy aspect, 
 saddened by its historic associations. Numerous 
 initials, interspersed with doggrel rhyme, were 
 scratched here and there — memorials of visitors 
 anxious to leave some memento, or to be immor- 
 talized even in the dungeons of the fortress of 
 Chilon. 
 
 Francois was the son of Louis Bonnivard, 
 Lord of Lume, born in 1496. At the age of six- 
 teen years, his uncle bequeathed to him the rich 
 
67 
 
 priory of St Victor, the buildings of which abut- 
 ted on the walls of Geneva. Embracing warmly 
 the cause of this infant republic against the en- 
 croachments of the Duke of Savoy, he incurred 
 his bitter resentment. In 1519, when the Duke 
 entered Geneva, Bonnivard fled, intending to 
 go to Fribourg, then in alliance with Geneva, 
 but was seized on the road by the emissaries of 
 the Duke, and carried off to the Castle of Grolee, 
 where he was imprisoned for two years. On 
 his liberation, he returned to the Priory of St 
 Victor, and, in 1528, sustained a skirmish against 
 those who had possession of his ecclesiastical 
 revenues, the city having supplied him with 
 arms and ammunition. In return for this act of 
 his protectors, he sold them his birthright, and 
 the Genevese applied the revenues of the Priory 
 of St Victor to the support of the city hospital. 
 This transaction was made under a promise from 
 them of the first vacancy in the chapter of the 
 Cathedral of St Peter; and in consequence of 
 this expectancy, Bonnivard seems to have lent 
 himself to the ignoble office of secret services in 
 the cause of the republic. In 1530, when crossing 
 the Jorat, on some such espionage, he was attack- 
 ed by brigands, between Moudon and Lausanne^ 
 and after a stout resistance became their captive. 
 He was then delivered up to his mortal enemy 
 the Duke of Savoy, who had him conveyed to 
 
6S 
 
 his Castle of Chilon, where he remained for six 
 years, the latter four being passed in the dun- 
 geon already mentioned, — sad abode for wretched 
 guilt, but still more dismal for such a man as 
 BoNNivARD, struggling for freedom, and the 
 emancipation of his country from thraldom. 
 Whether Bonnivard was ever chained to one of 
 the pillars of his prison-house does not seem 
 certain, though asserted as a fact ; any such ap- 
 pendage would certainly be superfluous, except 
 so far as being a stib-juga remembrancer of his 
 vassalage to his iron master. In such a safety- 
 den as the heart of a solid rock, chains and fetters 
 might well be spared, and its trap-doors and its 
 strong bolts seemed additional security, enough 
 even for a lion's den. When the Bernese, un- 
 der the command of NiEGELiN, took Chilon, on 
 the 29th March 1536, Bonnivard and three 
 Genevese deputies were restored to liberty. Our 
 hero returned to Geneva, where the rights of a 
 citizen of the republic were conferred upon him^ 
 and the grant of a house, together with an annual 
 pension of 200 crowns. The republic, however, 
 refused to pay his debts, and Bonnivard, after 
 quarrelling with the Genevese, went to Berne, 
 where he reclaimed the priory of St Victor, his 
 patrimony, which they had, however, demolish- 
 ed in 1534, for the safety of the city. After a 
 tedious litigation, the business was arranged in 
 
69 
 
 February 1538, on immediate payment of 800 
 crowns, and the promise of an annual pension 
 of 140 crowns during life. We find Bonni- 
 VARD imprisoned in 1545, in consequence of re- 
 fusing due homage to a magistrate. He mar- 
 ried a relation of Corne, one of the Syndics, 
 but this did not contribute to his domestic peace 
 and happiness. In 1551, he presented all his 
 books to the republic of Geneva : some of them 
 are very rare, and form the basis of the public 
 library of the city. He composed a History of 
 Geneva, and other works, which, however, the 
 republic never seems to have considered itself 
 bound to. print or publish, and the manuscripts 
 remain in statu quo^ in the archives of the li- 
 brary. He died in 1571, at the age of seventy- 
 five years *. On the whole, though the biogra- 
 pher of BoNNiVARD can scarcely deny him the 
 merit of patriotism, still honesty and candour 
 must admit that he was a restless and turbulent 
 man. He might have been happy could he have 
 been contented with his patrimony, ample even 
 to magnificence; but he seemed born for the 
 storm or the whirlwind, and most at his ease 
 amid the tumult and clamour of the populace, 
 of which he aspired to be the oracle and the idol. 
 Many of his misfortunes appear to have been of 
 
 * See Inter alia, " Le Conservateur Suisse de Lausanne, 
 1825," tome xi. p. 436. et sequent. 
 
70 
 
 his own creation, and while the heart bleeds for 
 his sufferings, it must believe him in some mea- 
 sure the victim of Sifelo de se. 
 
 Thfe Canton de Vaud includes the greater part 
 of the lake of Geneva. Off the rocks at Melle- 
 rie opposite Chilon, the depth is 949 feet. In 
 summer, the lake rises five or six feet above its 
 average winter level, occasioned, it is said, from 
 the increase of the waters of the Rhone, from 
 the melting of the glaciers. It is difficult to 
 believe, however, that this extraordinary acces- 
 sion in depth over a surface of 202,020 feet in 
 length, by 45,000 feet in breadth, or, say twenty- 
 six square leagues of surface, is the entire off- 
 spring of such a cause, — periodic electricity wilV 
 be found, in all probability, the chief and effec- 
 tive agent in this extraordinary convulsion, — a 
 conclusion rendered more probable from the 
 consideration, that sometimes the waters of the 
 lake experience a curious oscillation, — rising 
 three or four feet above their usual level, and 
 being as suddenly and as far depressed; and 
 this singular alternation is often continued for 
 hours together. In August 1816, the phenome- 
 non was particularly remarkable. It is well 
 known, that, during the great earthquake at 
 Lisbon, the waters of St Winnifred's Well ceased 
 to flow, and many of the fountains and lakes of 
 Britain were violently troubled and convulsed. 
 
n 
 
 The late Dr Muter, one of the ministers of the 
 Church of Scotland, informed me, that, on that 
 eventful morning, he was walking arm in arm 
 with a friend on the edge of Lochlomond. The 
 lake was tranquil, not a breeze ruffled its calm 
 and settled surface, and all around was still, — 
 suddenly, however, the waters rose fully eight feet 
 above their level, without any previous indica- 
 tion, and as suddenly fell back into their com- 
 mon channel, and had nearly swept them into 
 its vortex. The lake is also subject to occasional 
 storms and tempests — sometimes sudden, and 
 at other times long continued, — and the stormy 
 petrel is occasionally killed on its surface. Far 
 from freezing in winter, it is often seen to srmlw, 
 the waters, from their depth, sustaining a higher 
 temperature than the superincumbent atmo- 
 sphere. It is absurd to suppose, as some have 
 done, that the Rhone traverses the lake without 
 mingling its waters with those it passes through. 
 To support such an assumption would require 
 that the impetus of the waters of the Rhone, at 
 their entrance, should be more than equivalent 
 to the resistance of those of the lake, through an 
 extent of thirty-eight leagues in longitude. 
 
 The lynx sometimes appears among the Al- 
 pine regions of the Canton de Vaud, and makes 
 considerable havoc among the flocks. In the 
 higher Alps, the alpine or white hare is hunt- 
 
72 
 
 ed, and the white mole is found among the 
 vineyards and the fields of Lausanne. The 
 beaver is now unknown, though a pair were 
 killed about twenty years ago, at the lower end 
 of the valley of Etivaz, near the sources of the 
 river, which meanders through it. The mar- 
 mot, living in societies, is found in the green 
 patches at the foot of the Glaciers of Diablerets. 
 The wild boar ranges in the forests at the foot 
 of the Jura, and the Chamois antelope is found 
 in the lofty ranges around Vevey. The bou- 
 quetin (Copra ibex) is now extinct, and the 
 lammergyer is extremely rare. The golden 
 eagle hovers over the mountains of the Jura : a 
 white variety of the cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) 
 has been seen near Morges, and the eider duck 
 has been killed not far from Vevey- Near to 
 Montreux the green lizard is seen to attain the 
 length of one foot, and in the forest of Chilon 
 the common snake has been found ten feet long. 
 At Baume, where immense numbers of vipers are 
 found, there is a vipererie for the accumulation 
 of them, destined for medical service, and also as 
 a restorative for the invalid. The Mantis reli- 
 giosa, or as the French call it Le Prie-Dieu, oc- 
 casionally presents itself in the attitude of suppli- 
 cation. In the Canton de Vaud the white mul- 
 berry has been planted for rearing silk worms, 
 but no attempt of the kind has been supported 
 
73 
 
 with any spirit, save only that at Cassonay by an 
 individual of the name of Gaulis. The success, 
 however, which has for many years crowned 
 his enterprise, is a practical evidence that such 
 would certainly succeed in other hands untler 
 proper management *. 
 
 At Montreux the rosemary fringes the edge of 
 the torrent, and such is the range of the herba- 
 rium of this Canton, that a few hours walk trans- 
 ports you from the vine, the peach tree and 
 the almond, to the Salix herhacea, that miniature 
 of trees, and the Gentiana nivalis : such are 
 the wonderful extremes in Alpine countries. 
 The roots of Gentian being submitted to distil- 
 lation, are much used in medicine, and immense 
 quantities are sent into Germany and other 
 parts, from the Canton de Vaud. Here the fig- 
 tree often sheds her figs twice a-year, and the 
 peach and almond mingle in the vineyards with 
 the vines. Sugar is manufactured from the maple 
 in the valley of Etivaz, with profitable returns. 
 Potatoes, hemp, flax, &c. are a good deaj culti- 
 vated. 
 
 * See my " Observations on the Cultivation of the Silk- 
 Worra." 8vo. 1820. G. B- Whittaker, London. 
 
74 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 SECOND VISIT TO CHAMOUNI — FALL OF CHEDE— 
 PASSAGE BY THE COL DE BALME TO THE VAL- 
 LAIS. 
 
 JntAviNG returned to Geneva, we took the dili- 
 gence for Sallenche the following morning, and 
 paid for the inside places 8 francs each; the 
 fares are regulated by the post-office. On our 
 way to Bonneville, we observed that the hemp 
 had been plucked up, and after having been 
 steeped, was spread out in the fields to dry. The 
 scythe is here used to substitute the sickle in 
 reaping the corn. Hops are cultivated, but not 
 to any extent, and the vines seem miserably 
 managed. There were from twenty to thirty 
 crosses, emblems of Catholicism, planted on an 
 eminence to the left, about twenty-five feet high, 
 and being plated with tinned iron, gleamed in the 
 sun-beam. In this valley many a mountain is 
 defaced ; the debris which has fallen down, has 
 
75 
 
 formed inclined planes usurped by vegetation, 
 and is a kind of geological chronometer or talus, 
 a circumstance which De Luc has not overlook- 
 ed. The houses at Bonneville, and all the challets 
 we passed on the route, were wooden structures, 
 but not so neat or clean in appearance as we 
 had seen them in other districts. 
 
 One of our compagmms de voyage, was M. T. of 
 Coligny ; and the conversation naturally enough 
 turned on the then recent Edict of the Court of 
 Turin, which positively forbids instruction, whe- 
 ther in reading or writing, under a heavy penalty, 
 unless the candidate fortunately possesses pro- 
 perty to the amount of 1500 francs. He farther 
 informed me, as a fact with which he was person- 
 ally acquainted, that a medical gentleman at 
 Chambery had received fifty volumes from Paris 
 connected with his profession, and they were 
 seized by the police and actually consumed in the 
 public market place, by a kind of " auto dafe" 
 No newspapers, periodicals, or books of any 
 kind are suffered to enter this portion of the 
 precincts of the king of Sardinia's dominions, 
 and the poor creatures are forbidden to read 
 any but what are printed at Chambery, which 
 are under the surveillance and censorship of mi- 
 serable monks. The Bible stands pre-eminent 
 in their vehement persecution, and the Walden- 
 ses are eternal monuments of their malignant 
 
 d2 
 
76 
 
 enmity and bitter hate ; such is the unsophisti- 
 cated spirit of popery. 
 
 " Monstrum horrendum ingens, cui lumen ademptu m." 
 
 These are thy glorious triumphs and trophies, 
 Oh superstition ! — and thy fruits in the nine- 
 teenth century, matured in a country whose 
 Prince assumes the title " most christian." 
 Finding that our companion was a protestant 
 minister, the theology and theological contro- 
 versies at Geneva became the topic of discus- 
 sion. While he eulogized the present professor 
 of theology in that city, M. Chenevie're, he 
 admitted that too much warmth and unchristian 
 temper were displayed by him ; and certainly any 
 candid mind, on perusing his " Precis des De- 
 bats Theologiques" (Geneva 1824), must admit 
 that he stands fully committed. In that docu- 
 ment, he endeavours to ridicule what many emi- 
 nent divines consider the cardinal doctrines of 
 Christianity ; and though not openly, yet by im- 
 plication, leaves us to infer, that his sentiments, 
 at least, and those he promulgates from the chair, 
 are of an Arian or Socinian tendency. Indeed, 
 afterwards, he seems afraid of having gone too 
 far, and, in a postscript, endeavours to give a 
 softened gloss to some of his terms, somewhat 
 apologetic. Our companion admitted M. Ma- 
 LAN was uncourteously treated, and when pres^ 
 
77 
 
 sed on the question of that foundation rock of 
 Christianity, the Divinity of our Saviour, he 
 repelled the idea of the infidel notion of Socinus 
 as at all prevalent among the ministers of Geneva, 
 — the bone of contention he termed merely " une 
 question des mots." 
 
 The rocks in this romantic and beautiful val- 
 ley have their sides richly esconced and clothed 
 with the larch and cembra pine, pluming here 
 and there in linear perspective stair-like buttres- 
 ses among the Alps. In several places we ob- 
 served gourds reared in the open fields ; along 
 the valley, and on the left is a tolerably fine cas- 
 cade, — its waters fall from a considerable eleva- 
 tion, and on their way to the river, supply a 
 mill, — a very frequent occurrence in alpine pic- 
 tm*es. Near this spot is the " lieu d'echo," where 
 a person waits to discharge a small cannon. The 
 reverberation is uncommonly fine, and repeated 
 five times. Here maybe observed terrible debris. 
 Rocks being launched from their eagle towers, 
 and dashed into the valley, and being broken in 
 their terrible fall, form torrents of angular stones 
 which the waterfall scatters over the plain. 
 The varied disposition of light and shade, and 
 their incessant change at every angle, would 
 charm the painter, by its living draperies and 
 diversified effects. Here we frequently per- 
 ceived clumps of the gean or wild cherry, the 
 
78 
 
 crab and wild plum, sad emblems of the uncul- 
 tivated waste of mind in the subjects of the King 
 of Sardinia, who, under happier auspices, might 
 rise in the scale of intellect, and quit themselves 
 like men ;■ — ^but what, alas ! can be expected un- 
 der the dominion of monks, those " beggarly 
 elements of men ?" Alluvion deposited from the 
 overflowing Arve, renders the soil in the lower 
 meadow-ground fruitful; but the water rising to 
 a similar level with that in the bed of the river, 
 imparts a swampy character to some localities. 
 The road from Bonneville to the Pont St Martin 
 is particularly picturesque and romantic, and 
 gives no cause for the eye to tire or wander un- 
 satisfied around. Here and there in the rocky 
 walls are observed natural niches that might en- 
 shrine an image, and streamlets of water issuing 
 through rents or orifices in the adjoining rocks, 
 that give a singular character to the scene. 
 
 We rested for the night at the Hotel de Mont 
 Blanc : the evening was cloudless, and the moon 
 rose in all her loveliness over the snows of Mont 
 Blanc — PATRIARCH ROCK OF EUROPE. We walked 
 to the centre of the bridge thrown over the Arve, 
 that we might have a more distinct view of the 
 sublime and beautiful spectacle. At breakfast 
 on the following day, we were not a little amused 
 Avitli a dandy, vrho somehow had got far out 
 of his road, and wandered, not knowing whither 
 
T9 
 
 lie went. The cockney possessed all the inane 
 folly of that listless trihe. Ennui had taken pos- 
 session of his entire man, if indeed the term he 
 not a misnomer. He bewailed his miserable lot 
 — he seemed to have lost the log-book of his 
 reckoning, and to be in a perfect maze. He 
 thought he had certainly lost ten years of his 
 (valuable) life by such an adventure, and, doubt- 
 less, could he have procured Fortunatus's wish- 
 ing cap, he would immediately have transport- 
 ed himself to Bond Street. He saw nothing in 
 '* Mount Blank," and wondered what others could 
 see there to make such a fuss about. " Were 
 Mount Blank," was his sagacious remark, " in 
 the neighbourhood of London, t' would be mac- 
 adamized in less than a fortnight." 
 
 We left the inn to pursue our route to Cha- 
 raouni. On the left, we revisited the fall of 
 Ghede, and while we contemplated the fine cas- 
 cade before us, a beautiful rainbow, " child of 
 vapour and the sun," threw its glowing arch 
 over the chasm into which the waters were pre- 
 cipitated. Opposite to Chede, beyond the Arve, 
 are situated the Baths of St Gervais : in the 
 year 1751, the environs were overwhelmed by 
 the fall of a mountain. While on this spot, we 
 encountered a young Frenchman, a pedestrian, 
 who was occupied in taking a sketch of the scene. 
 The descending spray was considerably refracted 
 
80 
 
 diagonally, by the attraction of the mountain, 
 and formed a very good illustration of the de- 
 flection of the plumb-line, as verified by Dr 
 Maskelyne and the Baron de Zach. Keeping 
 the eye for a short time fixed on the fall toward 
 its centre, and then transferring it to the moun- 
 tain on either side, the rock seemed, by a curious 
 optical illusion, to ascend. We perceived a little 
 flax cultivated somewhat higher than the plane 
 on which we then stood. While several friends 
 with whom we associated retraced their steps to 
 the road, we, by the assistance of a guide, thread- 
 ed our way along the bed of a rivulet through a 
 wood, which, we were told, was infested by 
 snakes, represented to us as occasionally found 
 of an enormous size. We, however, saw noth- 
 ing of the reptile species, except a harmless Jm- 
 hus sabulosus wi'ithing among the sand, and re- 
 ceived no annoyance, unless, indeed, the bark- 
 ing of a shepherd's dog might be so considered : 
 the animal seemed sensible that we were intru- 
 ders on these devious paths and woodland re- 
 tirements. On the left, bubbling from the road 
 side by the rock, we passed the only outlet of 
 the Lac de Breven, stationed on the higher moun- 
 tains above ; and, on the right, the water which 
 issued from a spring I found highly impregnated 
 with calcareous matter, so as to encrust the moss 
 and twigs, &c. over which it trickled. From this 
 
81 
 
 road we glanced off to the precipitous heights 
 which overlooked the valley of the Arve, in or- 
 der to get another view of Mont Blanc and the 
 fall of the river. Far beneath us lay the rude 
 romantic Pont des Chevres, thrown across the 
 river, and over this the French artist passed, 
 with his easel slung across his shoulder, and ac- 
 companied by his guide. Our eye followed them 
 winding among the narrow and deep defiles of 
 insulated mountains, detached from the main 
 group of the Alpine chain, and fretted with their 
 plumage of pines, till they were lost behind the 
 impenetrable screen which rose before us. 
 
 On the main road our delighted ear was 
 charmed with a fine musical echo, produced 
 from the blowing of a horn, composed of pieces 
 of common wood, roughly put togther, with five 
 iron hoops : this musical instrument was from 
 three to four feet long, the mouth-piece about 
 four inches circumference, and the opening at 
 the further extremity eight to ten inches. This 
 rude horn was employed by one of the shepherds 
 of the Alps to collect together his wandering 
 flock, and summon them from the mountains. 
 The sound, at first loud and full, vibrated from 
 rock to rock, until its tones were so softened as 
 to be heard only as a distant murmur, that gi-a- 
 dually died away upon the astonished but de- 
 
'8S 
 
 lighted ear, though, in its last sigh, the tone and 
 note were perfect and distinct. 
 
 Our by-path was miserably cut up, and in 
 sad ruin and disorder, from the incessant 
 bi-eaclies made upon it by the mountain tor- 
 rent. Besides the rush of many waters, there 
 was no sound heard but the chirrup of the gi-ass- 
 hopper. The trees which here skirt the lower 
 flanks of the Alps, are the hazel, alder, common 
 and weeping birch, and the larch, indigenous 
 only to primitive rocks ; but these were overtop- 
 ped by the Pinus cemhra, wedded to these Andes 
 of the Old Continent. We revisited the small 
 collection of objects of Natural History con- 
 nected with various districts of Switzerland, at 
 Servoz, and then withdrew to the inn, where we 
 had a most luxurious alpine repast, consisting of 
 excellent Gruyere and Schabzieger cheese, the 
 former remarkable for its honey-comb or cellu- 
 lar structure, and the latter receiving its mot- 
 tled appearance from the expressed flower, or 
 bruised seeds, of the Melilotus officinalis^ and 
 somewhat resembling sage cheese : the bread, too, 
 was remarkably good ; superadd to these, though 
 last not least, abundance of fine Alpine straw- 
 berries and cream of the richest kind, and as 
 good champaigne as we ever tasted, only charged 
 one and a-half franc the bottle. We rose from 
 table well satisfied and pleased. Our hostess was 
 
good natured, and seemed anxious to do her best, 
 the whole being seasoned with a little attic salt. 
 Thus quite contented, we set off for Chamouni, 
 and encountered, at the hamlet opposite the 
 Glacier de Boissons, our old captain, Charlet, 
 \^ho was returning from the fields with his scythe. 
 I immediately engaged him as our chef-guide, to 
 pass the Col de Balme on Friday morning, hav- 
 ing arranged to remain the following day at 
 the Prieure^ or village of Chamouni, to afford 
 time for our interesting companions who liad 
 joined us at Geneva to visit the Mer de Glace. 
 There are two very excellent hotels at Cha- 
 mouni. The Hotel de TUnion, where we stop- 
 ped, and the Hotel de Londres : at the latter 
 -may be seen a very fine specimen of the Great 
 St Bernard dogs, which are very rare ; and in all 
 my excursions, this, and one I saw at the vil- 
 lage of the Simplon, in 1818, were the only ones I 
 ever saw beyond the Hospice. At half past 5 
 o'clock we sat down at the Table d'Hote ; forty- 
 three were English, to Avhich number our party 
 contributed five. Our host certainly did not seem 
 to be wanting either in the quantity or variety of 
 "the dishes: among the chief peculiarities before us 
 were the flesh of the chamois stewed, and peas of 
 the " crooked sugar" kind in their pods. The 
 variety consisted of five dishes, five times re- 
 peated, along the extent of table in diamond 
 
84 
 
 form, these again were five times renewed, form- 
 ing so many distinct courses, including the des- 
 sert. The nut-crackers, made chiefly of box- 
 wood, were on the principle of the thumh-screw, 
 once an instrument of torture. The vin ordi- 
 naire was of a superior kind, and the champaign 
 excellent. 
 
 The chief crops reared in the valley are oats, 
 flax, and potatoes. On glancing over the album, 
 it would appear that Chamouni was but rarely 
 visited anterior to the year 1815. We were 
 much delighted with the return of the cattle in 
 the evening from their mountain pastures ; each 
 had a bell, and the " tinklings/' sufficiently sono- 
 rous, ministered their part to the magic scenes of 
 Alpine rural life, with which we were surrounded. 
 The sounds were peaceful and even melodious, 
 and possessed all the charms of association. 
 While our friends on the following morning 
 scaled the Montanvert, I wandered about the 
 village, and paid a visit to the church. Here I 
 perceived one kneeling in the attitude of devo- 
 tion, telling his beads, and was quite amused 
 with his graceful salutation as I passed him ; so 
 truly mechanical is this system of bead nume- 
 ration, and arithmetical display of credos and 
 ave marias. In this extraordinary mecha- 
 nism of the religion of Catholic devotees, multi- 
 plying wheels would be a convenient adjunct, 
 
S5 
 
 and these might he moved hy clock-work ; sure- 
 ly the inventor at any rate would he freed from 
 purgatorial punishment. The little collections of 
 natural history in the village were duly examined; 
 but the only purchases I made were a speci- 
 men of fused amphibole, and a fine cut fragment 
 of rock-crystal, set in a gold ring, both said to 
 be from the top of Mont Blanc. 
 
 Early in the day we went to the Source d'Ave- 
 ron, and collected a few plants by the wayside. 
 At the challets of the Village de Bois we discover- 
 ed some indications of goiture. The inhabitants 
 seem to rest secure, notwithstanding the proba- 
 ble advance of the glacier, which, in all likeli- 
 hood, will soon usurp the place where the vil- 
 lage now stands. In one of the challets we had 
 a draught of excellent milk ; order and cleanli- 
 ness seem to reign in the departments of the 
 cuisine and dairy. The bed of the Arve was 
 scantily supplied with water, though in winter 
 the river overflows its banks, so that the water 
 from the mountain torrents in winter much ex- 
 ceeds that of the melting of the snows and 
 ice of the glaciers in summer. We crossed over 
 temporary bridges of planks and flag-stones ; and 
 at length, by clambering over large boulders 
 scattered in the bed of the river, found ourselves 
 on a rock close to the tremendous mountain of 
 ice from which the Arve takes its rise. The 
 
m 
 
 vault, however, had fallen in some time before, 
 and had annihilated the temple of the icy god. 
 Under one of the enormous masses of ice which 
 had separated from the main glacier, the air was 
 at one p. M. 27th July, 54-° Fahr., and the water 
 as it issued was 40°. The aquamarine tints in 
 recent rents x^ere extremely beautiful. Among 
 the plants collected at this spot were the Tama- 
 rix germanica, Epildbium rosmarinifoliumy Em- 
 petrum nigrum, Trifolium saxatik ; and while in 
 eontctct with the ice, I plucked branches of the 
 Rhododendron ferrugineum in full flower, also 
 Erica vulgaris, the white variety in bloom, to- 
 gether with Vaccinium Vitis Idcea, loaded with 
 its ripe cranberries. On a block of ice here, I 
 first tried my experiments in reference to the 
 hint received from the stones which I observed 
 had sunk deep into the Mer de Glace, under the 
 influence of the sun-beam. A piece of granite 
 was placed on the surface of the mass of ice re- 
 ferred to, and over it I poured water and sulphu- 
 ric acid alternately. By the intense heat thus im- 
 mediately produced, the stone sunk with uncom- 
 mon rapidity ; a curious fact which might have 
 been turned to admirable account in the destruc- 
 tion of the Glacier of Getroz, which devastated 
 so very extensively the Valley de Bagnes and 
 the Town of Martigny in 1 8 1 8. A few gallons of 
 sulphuric acid judiciously directed on the glacier, 
 
87 
 
 would soon have opened an avenue and channel 
 for the escape of the waters, long ere the pro^ 
 found lake could have been formed, which final- 
 ly burst its barrier with a power which nothing 
 but the " everlasting mountains" could with- 
 stand. The temperature of the water on the 
 Mer de Glace this day was 34°. Lime-water 
 exposed to the air soon became clouded by a 
 superficial film of carbonate of lime. On our 
 return to the village the air was 65", and the 
 water of the Arve indicated 37°, a decrease of 3° 
 of temperature, compared with that at the Source 
 WAveron, contrary to what we might reason- 
 ably have expected. 
 
 On Friday morning, we and our friends left 
 Chamouni at half-past 5 o'clock, a. m. to cross 
 the Colde Balme with five mules, and a char-a- 
 banc, to Argentiere, about two leagues distant. 
 Our guides were Charlet " dit le Doyen," and 
 Balmat, " dit le Mont Blanc ;" we also had 
 with us a lad to take back the char-a-banc to 
 Chamouni ; it cost eight francs, and each mule 
 six francs, each way ; the period of return being 
 always charged. We winded on our mules up a 
 steep ascent ; on the left the river was struggling 
 and toiling among many boulders in the bed of 
 the torrent, and the waters were dingy from 
 the dissolved ice and snow. At the gate of 
 Agentiere, the passports fm^ our mules were de- 
 
88 
 
 manded with the accustomed form. The Glaciers 
 of Argentiere on our right stood out in sub- 
 lime relief in the Alpine picture, with all their 
 pinnacles and spires. 
 
 The Col de Balme certainly presents a rich 
 feast to the botanist. The Rosier des Alpes 
 (Rhododendron ferrugineum) lay scattered in 
 profusion ; and we were fortunate to obtain a 
 specimen of the white variety. The following 
 may be mentioned as among its flora, and of 
 frequent occurrence. Salix reticulata, Salix her- 
 haxiea^ Rosa alpina, Eriophorum alpinum, Vacci- 
 nium uliginx)sum. Primula farinosa, Gentiana ver- 
 na, Gentiana havarica, Gentiana campestris, Or- 
 nithogalum luteum, Androsace lactea, Androsace 
 carnea, Saxifra^a androsacea, Teucrium mmta- 
 num, Carex atrata, Aster alpinus, &c. On great 
 elevations, two peculiarities characterize the ve- 
 getation. The comparatively prevalent livery of 
 the flower is blue, and the colour is more intense 
 than in the plain. From my own personal obser- 
 vations, in several countries, and under many 
 peculiarities of circumstance and situation, I feel 
 persuaded that the indigenous distribution of 
 colour in the blossoms of vegetation will be 
 found to be bounded by peculiar geographical li- 
 mits, whether in latitude or altitude. Thus, in ar- 
 tic and antartic regions, the prevalent colour will 
 be white ; on the verge of, and in the temperate 
 
89 
 
 zones, in both hemispheres, blue and yellow ; and, 
 in the torrid zone, red. Thus, on the higher 
 range of the mountains which fringe the Mis- 
 souri, blue is the colour which most frequently 
 shews itself; as the Penstemon erianthera, and 
 Aquilegium ccerukum, and matted and procumbent 
 stems, are common features. Dwarf or almost 
 stemless flowers are frequent on mountains ; and, 
 by some recent experiments, these variations of 
 habit are to be ascribed to the diminished at- 
 mospheric pressure in lofty regions. 
 
 The view from the summit of the Col de i 
 Balme is truly magnificent, and comprises the 
 Valley of Chamouni, its challets, its forests, and 
 its mountains, where Mont Blanc, far above the 
 rest, 
 
 " With meteor banner to the winds unfurled, 
 Looks from his throne of clouds o'er half the world ;" 
 
 and the Col des Geans, with myriads of domes 
 of snow, rocky aiguilles, and fields of ice, the 
 Buet, and the Tete Noir^ which is the usual route 
 from the valley of Chamouni to the Vallais; 
 but it is destitute of the superb prospect and 
 magnificent range of vision we enjoyed, which, 
 though purchased with considerable fatigue, was 
 well worthy of all, and we felt ourselves amply 
 repaid. From this point are also visible the 
 great glaciers of Argentiere and Tour : and all 
 
90 
 
 around, the rocks and mountains were sprink- 
 led with challets, flocks and herds. Here are 
 perceived several of the great passages over the 
 Alps ; Mont Cenis and the St Gothard ; and he- 
 fore us lay the Vallais, with the river Rhone and 
 the Great Road, which, like an arrow in repose, 
 points to the Simplon, and to Italy, " where 
 even the very weeds are beautiful" — to the 
 " Eternd City," and the Garden of the World. 
 
 '♦ II bel paese 
 
 Ch' Apennin parte, e I'mar circonda, e I'Alpe." 
 
 On this summit is a decayed cross, and a 
 stone of demarcation between Savoy and the 
 Vallais. Near here were fragments of the bones 
 of some animals, which had fallen victims to the 
 lammergeyer, or the wolf, the lynx, or the bear. 
 
 The personal history of the venerable Bal- 
 MAT " dit le Mont Blanc," one of our guides, 
 as detailed by Charlet, may not be deemed 
 an uninteresting episode. Our hero had been 
 FIFTEEN TIMES ou the summit of Mont Blanc, 
 all but three of which he ascended alone, and is 
 in all human probability the first individual who 
 ever attempted it, many years before Saussure. 
 He is now between seventy and eighty years of 
 age, and has been prepossessed from childhood 
 with the idea, that amongst the mountains he 
 should find a treasure, and even yet he is un- 
 
91 
 
 willing to relinquish the search. Balmat is a 
 man of peculiar hahits, and very reserved dispo- 
 sition. He seldom informed any one, not even 
 his wife, that he was intending to leave the val- 
 ley, but would take a basket of provisions, a 
 lantern, a great cloak, or more properly an old 
 blanket, and his climbing pole, and, thus singu- 
 larly equipped, would set off for several days, and 
 not return until, like the famished and prowling 
 wolf, he was forced down by hunger. He used 
 generally to find bits of rock-crystal, and other 
 mineral fragments, which he would sell for a 
 few francs ; and, as long as this money lasted, it 
 was in vain to urge him to do any thing. He 
 would sit ruminating over the fire, or walk 
 about the door in a thoughtful moOd, till, like 
 the sloth, again compelled by want, he would 
 sally forth in quest of new adventures. His age 
 and infirmities, however, now press upon him ; 
 he is not able to endure much fatigue, and must 
 resign to others these mountain treasures — the 
 el dorado of his mind. Ever unsettled, he re- 
 fused to join the guides ; but they compassion- 
 ately now allow him to take his turn in any 
 short excursion not involving much fatigue, and 
 permit him also to receive benefit from their 
 club fund. 
 
 On our descent from the summit of the Col 
 de Balme, we stopped for a short time at a shep- 
 
92 
 
 hei'd's challet. I observed here, among the mot- 
 ley mountain furniture, an almanack, in refer- 
 ence to saints' days, and the Conquests of Char- 
 lemagne, which formed the library; also a 
 tally-stick, with notches, for ascertaining the 
 quantity of milk. We had some cream at this 
 resting place, and a peculiar soft cheese, some- 
 what of the consistency of cream-cheese, made 
 for their own use. The bread was very indiffe- 
 rent. Our subsequent descent was at times ex- 
 tremely rapid, almost headlong, and, by a devious 
 path, through a forest of pines, and over a rude 
 log-bridge thrown across the mountain torrent. 
 We at length gained a challet, with a room re- 
 cently constructed for strangers. From the sum- 
 mit of the Col de Balme to this place we were 
 pedestrians, as Balmat, who had been a little 
 in advance of us, drove the mules hurriedly down 
 the precipitous ascent, and had arrived here long 
 before us. The wine was scarcely entitled to 
 the name of tolerable vinegar, being the most 
 wretched specimen of the vin dii, pays we had 
 ever tasted. 
 
 We made the rest of the journey to Martigny 
 on mules, ascending and descending by turns, and 
 winding round many a mountain, and over many 
 a chasm. I observed walnut and chesnut-trees ; 
 in the green plains were numerous withered and 
 blighted trunks, that had been shattered by the 
 
93 
 
 hail-storm or the tempest, or blasted by the 
 lightning, or perhaps debarked by the debacle 
 rushing from the mountain. Here and there 
 were numerous and enormous rocks hurled from 
 their alpine repose to sleep in the plain ; while 
 others were shivered into fractions in their fall. 
 At half-past five o'clock p. m. we arrived, tired 
 enough, at the Hotel de la Tour, at Martigny. 
 
94 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MARTIGNY THE CATASTROPHE OF 1818 — THE 
 
 GREAT ST BERNARD, AND HOSPICE. 
 
 JMartigny is a town of no importance, except 
 so far as it may be said to be the connecting 
 link between four of the principal roads in Swit- 
 zerland ; for here meet the roads from the Val- 
 lais, the Great St Bernard, the Canton de Vaud, 
 and Geneva. It likewise makes a convenient 
 halting place for travellers, and for the com- 
 merce and traffic of two of the main passes of 
 the Alps into Italy ; the Great St Bernard and 
 the Simplon. The town is more memorable for 
 its misfortunes than any thing else it can boast 
 of. On the left, coming from the Col de Balme, 
 is seen a rock, crowned with the ruins of the old 
 Castle of Batia, formerly the key, or the outlet 
 of the Rhone from the valley, which is flanked 
 here by the Dent de Morcle and Dent du Midi. 
 In 1595, Martigny, with 140 persons, was 
 destroyed by a debacle of the Dranse ; and, in 
 
95 
 
 the archives of the St Bernard, is a manuscript, 
 on vellum, which records that this unfortunate 
 town was desolated on Tth August 1469, and 
 all the bridges carried away, from the source of 
 the river to the bridge of St Maurice, by a de- 
 luge of waters from Mont Joux and the lofty 
 summits of Mont Durand : and that similar 
 catastrophes have occurred, at various epochs, 
 long before, is evident ; for, on opening ditches 
 in the plain, five or six distinct beds may be 
 counted, quite apart from each other, formed 
 by successive alluvia ; and at a depth of fifteen 
 feet, rubbish has been found buried under round- 
 ed sand. 
 
 Near to Mont Pleureur, toward the bottom of 
 the valley, is Mont Getroz. A narrow and deep 
 channel separates these two mountains, and in 
 this defile rests the Glacier of Getroz, forming 
 part of the chain of glaciers extending from the 
 Great St Bernard to the Simplon, and separating 
 Switzerland from Italy. The superior branch 
 of the river Dranse springs from the Glaciers of 
 Val Soret, St Bernard, and Val Ferret; and 
 the lower branch takes its rise from the Lake of 
 Champriond, near the Glacier of Chermontanne. 
 This river flows through the rugged Valley de 
 Bagnes, anastomosing with the Rhone at some 
 short distance from Martigny. In May 1818^ 
 sm avalanche from the glacier of Getroz fell 
 
96 
 
 from its station into the bed of the Dranse, and 
 intercepted the cuiTent of the river. At length, 
 from the accumulation of the water beyond, a 
 lake was formed 10,000 feet long, 400 feet broad, 
 and 200 feet in depth; the entire contents of 
 the lake being 800 millions of cubic feet. From 
 10th May to 13th June, fifty persons were em- 
 ployed, under the engineer Venetz, in excava- 
 ting a tunnel under the avalanche, which had 
 the eifect of reducing the mass of water from 
 800 millions to 530 millions cubic feet in three 
 days. However, on Tuesday 16th June, at half- 
 past four o'clock p. M. the pressure of the water 
 forced the tremendous barrier of ice ; the torrent 
 arrived at Bagnes, a distance of six leagues, at 
 ten minutes past five — at Martigny, four leagues, 
 at six — at St Maurice, three leagues, at six mi- 
 nutes . past seven — and at the estuary of the 
 Rhone, lake of Geneva, five leagues, at eleven 
 o'clock ; having travelled fifty-four miles in six 
 hours and a-half. Thus was one of the finest 
 valleys of the Alps (Valley de Bagnes) sudden- 
 ly converted into a waste for an extent of six 
 leagues. At Martigny, four-fifths of the harvest 
 were utterly lost. Here the torrent parted into 
 three columns ; the central one rolled its ruinous 
 tide through the town ; the one to the left passed 
 by the foot of the Batia ; and the one to the right 
 swept the foot of the mountains opposite the side 
 
97 
 
 of the valley. The dikes of masonry, for an 
 extent of 10,000 toises, were overturned ; half of 
 the orchards destroyed, some large trees were torn 
 up by the roots, while others were decorticated. 
 The number of bodies found and buried was 
 thirty-four. About eighty houses in the town 
 and suburbs of Martigny were carried away : 
 the stables and out-houses of the inn called the 
 " Cygne" were obliterated : altogether the num- 
 ber of houses destroyed were 359. The loss was 
 irreparable, but the estimate exceeded one million 
 and a-half francs. 
 
 I arrived at Martigny, on my way to Italy, 
 on the morning of the 21st, only five days after 
 this terrible catastrophe, and should have been 
 there on that disastrous night, but for my pro- 
 vidential detention at Geneva, on account of my 
 passport, which M. Hentch, to whom I had an 
 introduction, had forwarded for me to Berne, 
 for the signature of the Austrian Ambassador, 
 it being necessary for my entrance into the 
 Lombardo- Venetian kingdom. I walked from 
 Geneva to Martigny, having forwarded my lug- 
 gage to Milan : all the roads were destroyed, and 
 I had to wade for half-a-mUey where the Rhone 
 had inundated the road, from having overflow- 
 ed its banks. At Martigny, I found all the 
 fountains destroyed, and the approach to the 
 fragment of the town that remained was marked 
 
 E 
 
98 
 
 by the most pitiable scene of desolation ; what had 
 once been fields were sand-banks, sparkling with 
 particles of mica, and clothed with myriads of 
 grasshoppers ; I observed some trees decorticated 
 to the height of ten feet, so that the water must 
 have rushed through Martigny at that depth. 
 At the corner of a ruin, I encountered a miser- 
 able cretin, who, the image of mental wreck, 
 shook his head, the only ensign of life. One 
 side of the inn where I rested had been carried 
 away, and I took my breakfast exposed, and as 
 it were sub die. The following descriptive and 
 emphatic appeals, I observed posted up at the 
 
 " Ames sensibles, images de la Divinite bien- 
 faisante, jettez un regard prospice sur cette 
 plaine devastee par les eaux du Lac de Getroz, 
 SB precipitant, comme un colosse, depuis le 
 sommet de la Vallee de Bagnes, jusqu' aux rives 
 du Rhone, et roulant avec ses flots la mort et 
 la destruction la plus effroyable, le 16. Juin a 
 6 heures du soir. 
 " Contemplare malum et misere succurrere viator." 
 16. Junii, anno mdcccxviii. 
 
 " Ex Glacie Getroz noviter lacus erupit ingens 
 Saxa, domes, pontesque rotans in plana Teragri, 
 Efsurit pauper, viduaque parentibus orbe 
 Flent ; Irus luget, qui modo Croesus erat." 
 
99 
 
 A Sdvid recollection of the scene of destruc- 
 tion still fills my mind, and often occupies my 
 thoughts. How apposite here is the emphatic 
 language of Scripture, and, oh ! how literally 
 true : 
 
 " Behold ! he withholdeth the waters and they 
 dry up ; also he sendeth them out, and they over- 
 turn the earth *." 
 
 On Saturday morning we left Martigny, about 
 seven a. m., for our ascent of the great St Ber- 
 nard. We had a char-a-banc as far as Liddes, 
 though certainly it might have gone, as we af- 
 terwards found, to Bourg St Pierre, without 
 much difficulty : the rest of the day's journey 
 was performed on mules ; one was despatched 
 before us to the Hospice with provender for the 
 rest, which were four in number. There were a 
 good many fine chesnut and walnut trees in the 
 plains. On the opposite side in the valley the 
 crops were cut down, and the hay collected : 
 on the lower parts of the mountain the harvest 
 scarcely appeared ripe, and still higher the corn 
 was quite green ; all was sown at the same 
 time, so that it affoi'ded a striking example of 
 the diversity of clime with regard to elevation. 
 Numerous challets appeared, amid verdant and 
 smiling pastures, skreened by woods from the 
 
 • Job xii. 15. 
 
 £2 
 
100 
 
 mountain breeze : and in'the meadows we perceiv- 
 ed autumnal crocus scattered in rich profusion. 
 We dined at Liddes, where our party was join- 
 ed by several others of our countrymen, and ar- 
 rived at Bourg St Pierre at half-past three p. m. ; 
 and, after traversing a devious path, destroyed 
 by the waters of the torrent, we came to a kind 
 of charnel-house on the right — a Golgotha, or re- 
 ceptacle for the dead. Farther on is a place of 
 occasional rest for the marroniers, and the dogs 
 of the mountain, when in search of wanderers. 
 Provisions, we were told, are occasionally left 
 here, where haply they may be found. We 
 passed on our route about 100 milch-cows, be- 
 longing to the convent, and had but a short way 
 to traverse an inclined plane of frozen snow, or 
 ice, before we arrived at an angular rock, the 
 spot chosen by the celebrated painter David for 
 his picture of Napoleon Bonaparte crossing 
 the Great St Bernard. A short distance more 
 brought us to the Hospice, where we arrived at 
 half-past six o'clock, when the thermometer 
 stood at 62° Fahr. 
 
 The Great St Bernard is situated on the con- 
 fines of the Vallais and Piedmont, in that part 
 of the mountain-chain called the Pennine Alps. 
 The scene for several miles before we scaled the 
 Hospice was forlorn and ruinous : here Zoolo- 
 gy seems to have withdrawn herself for ever ; 
 
101 
 
 and even the hardy and rigid cryptogamia of 
 Botany scarcely dare to stalk abroad. The shat- 
 tered fragments of rock, or their mineralogical 
 elements of quartz, felspar and mica, seem to 
 lord it over all, and the only featm'e in them is 
 the mechanical attraction of the debacle, which 
 wages incessant war with geometrical angles 
 and straight lines, by its propensity to mould 
 them into curvilinear forms. We leave the val- 
 ley, where " the fig tree blossoms and the fruit 
 is in the vine," to visit a Siberian region, over- 
 shadowed by the glacier and ravaged by tor- 
 rents and snow-storms ; and an almost tropical 
 sun, to brave the rigour of the climate of Green- 
 land or Spitzbergen. 
 
 Terrible, in many places, are the profound 
 chasms and caverns which the Dranse has made, 
 where its impetuosity and power have received 
 an accelerated momentum from the fall of an ava- 
 lanche into its bed ; the stream being temporarily 
 suspended, only to burst forth with centuple fury. 
 Here rocks are scooped out from their deep foun- 
 dation dormitories, and forced to rise into day by 
 the resistless power of the waters, and thus re- 
 veal their form and dimensions. Subsequent 
 torrents chisel out the bed of the river, and 
 the vis a tergo launches them into the valley, 
 where their Leviathan bulks repose, the won- 
 der of the philosopher: the endeavour to ac- 
 
102 
 
 count for which has raked up so many geologi- 
 cal speculations. The high and lofty monu- 
 ment of Truth is not to he reared hy the specula^ 
 tions of cabinet or closet philosophers, but hy 
 facts which are gleaned from the phenomena 
 displayed in the universe. This, I think, will 
 be found to be the true source of many of the 
 boulders, though the opinion is the very re- 
 verse of that usually adopted. While they bring 
 them from higher elevations, / dig them up. 
 Truth compels me to regard the opinions of Von 
 BucH, De Luc, and others, as egregious trifling, 
 rather than to abandon convictions which have 
 been forced upon me by the palpable evidence 
 of my senses : nor can I ever forget the exa- 
 mination of the bed of the Dranse after the me- 
 morable inundation of June 1818, and the vast 
 boulders that then appeared to be rooted up, 
 and pushed along the channel of the river, and 
 finally landed in the plain. The repose of 
 boulders on the Saleve, &c. is, in all probability, 
 an antediluvian phenomenon, and many a val- 
 ley that had no prior existence must have been 
 grooved out by the circumfusion of the diluvial 
 waters and their submarine currents ; and to be 
 convinced that such possess a mighty power, 
 we need only remind our readers of those vast 
 rocks called " travellers," which the sea rakes 
 
103 
 
 up in storms, and transports to the verge of the 
 Bell Rock. Douhtless many valleys have, since 
 that time, been formed by the incessant action 
 of rivers and torrents having their momentum 
 resistless, from the fall of an avalanche. I well 
 know I disturb the blissful reveries of the geolo- 
 gist, and he will cry out " there is treason in 
 the camp ;" but the force of truth requires this 
 statement. 
 
 Mont Velan, the residence of snows, is the 
 most elevated of the group of mountains form- 
 ing the Great St Bernard, and is 10,391 feet 
 above the level of the sea. The two glaciers, 
 which hang as it were on the neck of this moun- 
 tain, are those of Glerets and Vassore ; part of 
 the supply of the Dranse comes from the for- 
 mer, while the torrent of Vassore springs from 
 the glacier which bears its title. In this won- 
 derful solitude, surrounded by continual snows 
 and never melting glaciers, stands the Hospice, 
 the abode of the Angel of Providence, having as 
 it were the keys of life, and stationed at the base 
 of the " mountain of death" {Mont-Mort, at the 
 foot of the Barasson, behind the Hospice), with 
 a commission of safety, shelter and rescue; where 
 even the inferior creation lend their willing ser- 
 vices in the cause of philanthropy. It is here that 
 we forget for a time the difference between Pro- 
 testant and Catholic — merging into one tide and 
 
104 
 
 confluence of active benevolence. It is here that 
 the hated name of heretic is unknown, for it finds 
 no place in the Missale romanum of the Great 
 St Bernard ; and the Protestant for a time re- 
 joices even in the midst of Catholicism, because 
 \hQ power of godliness has subordinated ih^form, 
 and cast it happily into shade. " To do good and 
 to communicate," is the motto which blazons 
 the escutcheon that crests the mountain of St 
 Bernard ; and these worthy Augustines seem to 
 have kindled the fire of their benevolence at 
 that heavenly light, which once shone over the 
 plains of Bethlehem, and proclaimed " good 
 
 WILL TO MEN." 
 
 ' The Hospice or Monastery known under the 
 name of Mont-Joux, is commonly called Great 
 St Bernard. Bernard, uncle of Charlemagne, 
 in May 755, marched upwards of 30,000 men 
 into Italy by this route, — hence Mont-Joux ac- 
 quired the name. In 1792, some Swiss and 
 Sardinian battalions retreated by this passage 
 from Savoy to Aosta, and the famous march of 
 Napoleon Bonaparte, from 15th to 29th May 
 1800, has given the mountain a new celebrity. 
 Whether the Carthaginian General Hannibal 
 passed by this route or the Little St Bernard, is 
 a disputed point, the solution of which seems a 
 question of very inconsiderable moment. 
 
 The Hospice, constructed of stone, is a very 
 
105 
 
 solid structure, situated 7,542 feet above the sea's 
 level, the loftiest inhabited spot in the old world, 
 and is surrounded by a circumvallation of naked 
 rocks, glaciers, and mountains of snow. Its 
 grand and chief object is to receive, lodge, and 
 relieve, gratuitously, all who pass the mountain, 
 and who require such succour, without any dis- 
 tinction whatever of nation, sex, condition, or 
 religion. It is served by a chapter of canons 
 regular, of the order of St Augustine, having 
 at their head a mitred and crosiered prior, who 
 is chosen by themselves, as they possess freedom 
 of election, and though confirmed by the Pope, 
 and , recognised by the Canton, the whole is in- 
 dependent of the Bishop of the Vallais. The 
 chapter is composed of thirty members, eight of 
 whom remain at the Hospice on the St Bernard, 
 two at that of the Simplon, two are engaged in 
 making annual collections through Switzerland, 
 and the others are employed in supplying the 
 eight benefices of the Vallais, which belong to 
 the convent, after having worn out the vigour 
 of manhood and prime of life in the active ser- 
 vices of the Hospice. This convent was once 
 rich, and possessed, in various countries, above 
 eighty benefices; it was plundered, however, 
 of all the possessions it reckoned in the do- 
 minions of the King of Sardinia in 1752, and 
 is now reduced to some scattered domains in th« 
 
106 
 
 Vallais and the Canton de Vaud, — means too 
 limited for the extensive demands on its benevo- 
 lence. 
 
 On tempestuous and stormy days the marro- 
 fliers, or assistant domestics, and the interesting 
 dogs, traverse the mountains in search of the 
 benighted or tempest lost wanderer, and to dis- 
 cover those who have missed their way among 
 the snows, or are buried beneath them : and are 
 often accompanied by two of the Augustine 
 monks. 8000 to 9000 annually pass this moun- 
 tain, all of whom stop for refreshment at tile 
 Hospice, and generally remain for the night; 
 they make up sixty beds, independent of those 
 for the poor. On a stormy night in 1762, 560 
 individuals collected, requiring the immediate 
 supply of four oxen, twenty sheep, and eight 
 quintals of bread. In 1818, it was computed 
 that the number of meals given amounted to 
 31,078, and the annual expenditure of the Hos- 
 pice may be reckoned, on an average, at 50,000 
 francs, or L. 2083 : 6 : 8. A hundred milch cows 
 belong to the Hospice, and feed in the mountains 
 below. The produce of the dairy is converted 
 into cheese and butter, and what is not required 
 for their own consumption is sold. All their pro- 
 visions and fuel must be brought by mules, from 
 a distance of from four to six leagues, and they 
 are obliged to keep up a store sufficient for three 
 
107 
 
 years, as they have several times been for this 
 period cut off from all connection with the plain, 
 from the severity of the weather in these ele- 
 vated regions ; even in August the thermometer 
 is often below freezing, and ten clear days may 
 be presumed the greatest number any year ever 
 presents. 
 
 Not far from the lake, near the Hospice, which 
 is little more than a mile in circuit, once stood 
 a temple dedicated to Pennine Jove, now called 
 the Plan de Jupiter. The adjunct Pennine, 
 which also applies to this portion of the Alpine 
 chain, is derived from the Celtic word Penn, 
 a point or summit. Medalions, &c. are found 
 near the spot. 
 
 The evening being fine, I employed myself 
 in clambering among the rocks, examining the 
 lake, and walking in the direction of Italy. 
 Among the rocks, near the Hospice, I found 
 the Centaurea mcmtana, blue-bell, and the scar- 
 let variety of the Le<mtod(M taraxacum^ the 
 Myosotis^ and fine specimens of Sedum, The 
 temperature of water descending from the moun- 
 tain was 48°, and that of the lake was 53°. On its 
 surface I perceived a small brown beetle float- 
 ing, and in the water toward the edge a gordius^ 
 and some caddis worms moving about in their 
 cylindrical sheath (Libellula varia?). On a 
 mass of ice on the mountains, I repeated my 
 
108 
 
 experiments with sulphuric acid and water, 
 and the ice was perforated with great rapidi- 
 ty. In the receptacle for the dead bodies 
 found in the snow, several were dried up like 
 mummies, — the last deposited seemed to be 
 in a state of horrible decomposition, and lay ex- 
 tended on bones and other bodies in this sad 
 charnel-house. On going to the Maison des 
 Morts, we perceived a skull lying on the ground 
 much blanched, and a body that had been com- 
 mitted to the earth (one on whom some ensign 
 of Catholicism had been found) was considerably 
 exposed, there being no depth of soil, — it had 
 been well secured from the bear and the wolf, 
 by wooden pegs. On the top of the Barasson, 
 which overlooks the Hospice, we perceived a 
 cross. The Pierre poll is now very difficult 
 to obtain, but the superior of the convent had 
 the kindness to present me with a very fine 
 specimen : its reflection and smooth polish are 
 very gi*eat, entirely of a different character 
 from that called in Derbyshire Slackenstein, and 
 seems to have been produced by a shift and con- 
 siderable glissement, in an already indurated state. 
 I detached a fine fragment of gneiss immediate- 
 ly behind the Hospice, and on which it is found- 
 ed, in it the mica predominated. During our 
 visit, workmen ' were engaged in raising the 
 
109 
 
 main building an additional story, and the great- 
 er part was unroofed. 
 
 The person who had the charge of the Me- 
 teorological Journal, shewed me the instru- 
 ments : the observations are taken and regis- 
 tered daily at daybreak, and at two d clock p. m., 
 but they intended that this arrangement should 
 be altered to daybreak and mid-day, to cor- 
 respond with the periods of observation in 
 the " Ohservatoire Roy ale" at Paris. By the 
 Journal, it appeared, that at two o'clock p. m.,, 
 on the day we visited the Hospice (30th July 
 1825), the barometer indicated a pressure of 
 21.08 inches. The thermometer within the walls 
 was 11° R., (or 57° F.), and Saussure's hair 
 hygrometer stood at 85°. On the 5th and 18th 
 of this month, the registered temperature was 
 12.5 R. (or 58° F.) I found that the lowest fall 
 of the barometer ever observed was 20 inches, 
 and the minimum of the thermometer 20° F. 
 below zero. The preceding winter had been ex- 
 cessively severe, and the thermometer had fallen 
 18° F. below zero, or 50° helow the freezing- 
 point. At eight o'clock p. m., by my observa- 
 tions, the barometer stood at 21*08 inches. 
 Saussure's hygrometer was 86°; interior ther- 
 mometer was 13° 5 R. (57° F.), and that on the 
 wall without 9° R., (or 53° F.), being the warmest, 
 day they had experienced during the season. 
 
110 
 
 The lake, it has been mentioned, was com- 
 pletely thawed, — a phenomenon that had not 
 been remembered for many years. 
 
 At half past 8 o'clock p. m., we sat down to 
 dinner, in all twenty five, eighteen of whom were 
 English : Mrs M. was the only female, the remain- 
 der were three Frenchmen, two Bernese, and two 
 monks, one of whom was our excellent and intel- 
 ligent superior, who did the honours of the table. 
 Our dinner, though a " day of grace," was co- 
 pious and good ; notwithstanding the absence of 
 animal food — a term, however, which must ex- 
 cept fish, with which we were duly supplied. 
 Soup-meagre, fried potatoes, stewed apples, pastry, 
 &c. were followed by excellent cheese and prunes, 
 and fine peaches, the first ripe ones we had seen. 
 The red wine was good, and the whole repast closed 
 with a round of famous muscadell. 
 
 In the room was a pianoforte, and in one of the 
 bed-rooms I observed a violin. No. 9. was that 
 allotted to us, and was the best in the Hospice, se- 
 cured through the courtesy of one of the party, 
 we joined at Liddes, and who had arrived on the 
 mountain before us. Some of the party could not 
 speak so highly of their night's repose; one having 
 been almost drowned in bed by the rain, which 
 had fallen through the ceiling from the roofless 
 state of the building, and all his clothes were 
 soaked so completely, that in the morning he 
 
Hi 
 
 could not put tliem on. The only ornaments on 
 the walls of our room were two prints of Heracli- 
 Tus and Democritus ; we felt it intensely cold, 
 though it had douhle windows, for the tempera- 
 ture at Martigny was 72°, and the thermometer 
 during the night fell to 49°, being a difference 
 of 23°. We had indeed. a fire, and were plenti- 
 fully supplied with billets of wood, but the ex- 
 treme rarity of the air occasioned a sad defec- 
 tion of caloric^ and our candles burnt so dim- 
 ly from the same cause, as to afford us a light 
 little exceeding that of a taper. At half-past 
 9 p. M., when we retired, my thermometer with- 
 out was 51°, and I found that boiling water ex- 
 hibited a temperature of only 186°, though 
 Saussure states that water boiled on Mont 
 Blanc at 187° Fahr. This accounts for the im- 
 practicability of boiling food at the Hospice un- 
 der common circumstances. The only remedy 
 would be the substitution of Papin's digester, 
 in which an increased pressure is obtained. 
 During the night turmeric paper exposed to the 
 wet was tinged red : Lime water and nitrate 
 of silver produced no immediate effect on the rain 
 water ; we were annoyed with slight fever, and 
 excessive thirst. 
 
 The following morning at day-break, we were 
 aroused by the swell of the organ : — it was the 
 anniversary of the dedication of the temple, — and 
 
 2 
 
112 
 
 we soon adjourned to the chapel, which we en- 
 tered by the organ gallery. It was indeed a so- 
 lemnity, and a thousand thoughts rushed upon 
 the mind. The Sabbath morning, the loftiness of 
 the scene, the highest habitable spot in Europe, 
 and here too was the celebration of christian 
 worship, though disfigured by Catholic rites and 
 ceremonies, where once stood a heathen temple, 
 and all the interesting circumstances connected 
 Avith the achievements of good that had been 
 accomplished on this mountain, called by the 
 mountaineers Mont Devi, (Mons Dei), the 
 Mountain of God. The organ warbled such 
 strains as I had never heard before ; they seemed 
 the very notes of Heaven : the monks chaunt- 
 ed the service most delightfully : these, and the 
 prostration of the pilgrims beneath us, I do con- 
 fess, carried me away by overpowering feeling ; 
 and here I think is the quicksand on which the 
 young noviciate is shipwrecked. The venerable 
 prior had arrived the day before from Martigny, 
 though labouring under considerable indisposi- 
 tion, and remained quite retired during his stay : 
 he was, however, present there, and is a good 
 looking and venerable old man. In this pretty 
 chapel is a fine marble monument, erected to 
 the memory of General Dessaix, who fell at the 
 battle of Marengo : we went to look at it, and 
 to deposit our contributions, which though never 
 
113 
 
 requested, are certainly due by those who visit the 
 Hospice from motives of curiosity, or for plea- 
 sure. During the preceding evening and night, 
 about 100 pilgrims had arrived at the convent 
 from Italy and the Vallais ; and a lady from the 
 Vallais had come that jnorning, having travelled 
 all night, to tell her beads : her stay did not ex- 
 ceed an hour. 
 
 At the conclusion of the solemnity, I wrapped 
 myself up in my cloak, and sallied out in a very 
 contemplative mood, to walk on the road toward 
 the Italian side. The mountain was shrouded 
 in a dense cloud, which shifted and flitted before 
 me, now enveloping the Hospice, and then, 
 wound up like a scroll, again discovering the 
 interesting scene. On my return I was met by 
 one of the dogs who wagged his tail, and fawned 
 upon me, and, with a welcome bark, was my 
 avant courier to the convent. Doubtless the bark 
 was to announce the arrival of another pilgrim. 
 These interesting creatures are quite peculiar, 
 of a large size, and fawn colour, with white 
 spots; one, however, was entirely white : they 
 seldom bark, and never bite strangers. There 
 now remain two old dogs and one female ; 
 the latter is a very fine and healthy animal : 
 one of the former was ill : there were, besides, 
 three puppies of about eighteen months old, very 
 lively and good natured : the young "were eager 
 
lU 
 
 to fondle with us, but the others were more re- 
 served. Our superior informed us, that they had 
 the misfortune to lose three of these invaluable 
 animals in 1816, by the fall of an avalanche. 
 At night they sally forth among the snows of the 
 mountains, and the dog, which may be called 
 chef-guide, carries a blanket buckled round his 
 body, with a small supply of provisions, and a 
 phial of brandy attached to the neck : thus 
 equipped he presents himself to the perishing 
 wanderer, and suffers himself to be unloaded for 
 his benefit, and then, as his pioneer, conducts 
 him to the Hospice, where all his wants are 
 speedily relieved. Should an individual be found 
 to have sunk from exhaustion, the dogs return 
 to the convent, and apprize the inmates of the 
 circumstance by their bark, who then join the 
 dogs with a litter, &c. and are immediately led 
 by them to the spot where the unfortunate 
 wanderer lies. 
 
 It was computed that the dog Barry had been 
 thus the means of saving forty persons from de- 
 struction. The most remarkable part of his 
 eventful story, was that of bringing an infant 
 to the convent on his back, whom he had found 
 among the snow, and who was subsequently an 
 inmate in the Orphan Asylum at Geneva. It 
 is conjectured that the parent had either fallen 
 over some precipice, or been buried in the snow. 
 
115 
 
 and in all probability, the infai;it, from the in- 
 tense cold, must have been fouSpid in a state of 
 suspended animation, the dog having restored 
 him, by licking the face with his warm tongue. 
 This can be but conjecture, but in all probability 
 it must have been the case. Barry has been 
 dead some years, and is stuffed and preser- 
 ved in the Museum of Berne, with the identical 
 phial attached to his neck in which he carried 
 the brandy. 
 
 Over the door of entrance in our Salle a 
 manger^ I noticed a portrait of a former Prime 
 Minister of the King of Sardinia, who had in the 
 olden time been a benefactor to the Hospice; and 
 a history of the Gospels in Latin, very curiously 
 and closely written in the form of a cross, and 
 neatly framed. Our courteous and kind supe- 
 rior shewed us his little cabinet of antiques and 
 minerals ; the latter contained rock-crystal, as- 
 bestus, pierre poli, &c. and a specimen of cer- 
 aunian sinter, said to be from the summit of 
 Mont Blanc ; this, however, I consider a mistake. 
 These extraordinary sand tubes have doubt- 
 less been the produce of lightning, and I pos- 
 sess several fine specimens, presented by the 
 late Mr Irton of Irton Hall, on whose estate in 
 Cumberland they were found ; mine bear a com- 
 plete resemblance to this specimen. In the for- 
 mer, we observed coins and medallions of silver 
 
116 
 
 and bronze, found on St Bernard ; ornamental 
 slips of gold ; the head of a spear ; a Hercules, 
 and a foot, very fine. We likewise admired 
 some fine drapery all in bronze, but the most 
 singular article was a hand of bronze, covered 
 with a serpent, lizard, frog, &c., in all probability 
 the types and emblems of disease, a votive of- 
 fering, after recovery, to the Pennine Jupiter, 
 the counter part of which is found in almost 
 every Catholic chapel, especially in Italy. The 
 words EX voTO bear us out in this opinion. 
 
 At 10 o*clock, high mass was to be celebrated, 
 but before this hour we took our leave, of per- 
 haps the most interesting spot on the surface of 
 the Globe, the inconvenience we experienced 
 from the effects of intense cold prevented our 
 prudently remaining longer : the weather had 
 changed, and shortly after we left the Hospice 
 we were completely wet through ; but this 
 change was only in the mountains, for when we 
 arrived in the plain, we were melted with heat, 
 almost suffocated with dust, and stung with mos- 
 quitoes. At Liddes we quitted our mules for 
 the char-a-banc, and had not proceeded far when 
 the vehicle broke down at the edge of a preci- 
 pice, and we had a very narrow escape from being 
 precipitated to the bottom. It was, however, 
 bound together with strong ropes, and we pro- 
 ceeded on our way to Martigny. 
 
117 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 BRIEG — THE VALLAIS — PASSAGE OF THE SIMPLON 
 
 INTO ITALY THE LAGO MAGGIORE AND ITS 
 
 ISLES — ARONA. 
 
 On the following day we left Martigny about 
 1 1 o'clock, having made arrangements with a 
 Vetturino to conduct us into Italy. Near the 
 town there is some marshy ground which has 
 been the cause of frequent intermittents. On the 
 surface of the water, on each side of the road, 
 the white water lily displayed its lotus flower. 
 We arrived at Sion at 3 o'clock : the ruin of 
 the Chateau de Tourbillon overtops an adjoin- 
 ing hill, built in 1492, and once the residence of 
 the diocesan of the Vallais, but it fell a victim to 
 fire on 24th May 1788, which also consumed in 
 a few hours 126 houses. Around are cultivated 
 vineyards, figs, mulberries, and almonds ; saf- 
 fron is also raised. This town is the capital of 
 the Vallais, and residence of the bishop. Here 
 we dined and stayed the remainder of the day ; 
 
the grapes and peaches were very fine, and the 
 wines hoth red and white were good. We saw 
 several goitures and cretins. The cranium of the 
 cretin is still I believe a desideratum with the 
 phrenologist, and is, I fear, likely to remain so, 
 at least from this quarter, as we were informed, 
 no pecuniary inducement whatever could prevail 
 with the sexton, or any other individual to give 
 it up : for these unfortunate beings are beheld 
 by the people with a superstitious veneration, 
 and even their bones are almost considered 
 sacred; in their utterly helpless condition, it 
 seems a very providential circumstance that 
 they are regarded in such a light, as it secures 
 their being taken every possible care of. Sion 
 experienced many smart shocks of an earth- 
 quake on 28th January 1803. 
 
 Early on the following morning, we left Sion 
 for Brieg, which is situated 2184 feet above the 
 Mediterranean, and arrived there at 6 o'clock 
 in the evening : the climate is very hot. Both 
 the vine and saffron crocus are cultivated. The 
 roofs of the houses are slated with a silvery 
 schistus, and much ornamented with globes of tin, 
 Avhich impart a very singular aspect to the town. 
 In this district, from the year 1465 to 1469, 
 a contagious disease, of which the memorials are 
 still preserved, carried off 2400 persons. It has 
 been frequently agitated by earthquakes, parti- 
 
119 
 
 cularlyinthe years 829, 858, 1024, 1117, 1356, 
 1394, 1531, 1577, 1621, 1633, 1682, 1754; and 
 in the year of the great earthquake at Lisbon, 
 Brieg was agitated by shocks almost daily, from 
 1st November 1755 to 27th February following. 
 The intervals are 29, 66, 93, 68, 186, 38, 137, 
 46, 44, 12, 49, 72, &c., which yields us no 
 data in reference to the theory of the pheno- 
 mena of earthquakes, as far as the periods of re- 
 turn are concerned. 
 
 There is here a convent of Jesuits founded 
 in 1662. The chief altar of this church is 
 formed of Lapis Ollaris, brouglit from a neigh- 
 bouring quarry. This stone is often used for 
 cooking vessels and stoves, and seems admir- 
 ably adapted to this purpose, as it withstands 
 very intense heat. We visited the convent, and 
 were conducted over the premises by one of the 
 fathers. In the superior's room we perceived a 
 New Testament, Douay edition, and a few tri- 
 fling books not worthy of notice, such as a Ger- 
 man dictionary, &c. We also observed a quan- 
 tity of tobacco, which is apportioned out to the 
 friars : one of the departments is devoted to 
 smoking, and here I suppose they concoct their 
 Jesuitical and mischievous designs: the bed- 
 rooms we saw were tolerably decent. Attached 
 to the wall were a barometer and thermometer : 
 there was a room devoted to compounding sim- 
 
120 
 
 pies, and there were boluses, pills, and plasters, 
 ready prepared. We were subsequently taken 
 over the college annexed to the building, and 
 were told that the branches taught were Latin, 
 Greek, German, Logic, Rhetoric, Philosophy, 
 Arithmetic, Geography, and Astronomy. There 
 were then eighty-five eleves, sixteen of whom 
 were attending the rhetoric class. Having seen 
 the Salle a manger, where dinner is introduced 
 at 11 o'clock, we visited the garden, which, 
 though supplied with roots and fruits, was ut- 
 terly devoid of shrubs or flowers. In the even- 
 ing we went, during vespers, to the chapel of a 
 convent of Ursuline nuns, founded in 1663; 
 the number of nuns was from twenty to thirty, 
 seemingly wrapped up in all the extasies and ab- 
 stractions of devotion. Many were extremely 
 young, and some of them beautiful, and in tears ! 
 The vespers were chaunted with exquisite so- 
 lemnity and tone : it was not difficult to see that 
 the grand endeavour was to give the thing effect, 
 and I must own that the entrance and exit of the 
 monks by the side doors, clothed in vestments of 
 white, and bearing torches, with their crucifix, 
 and Agnus Dei at their girdle, followed by train- 
 bearers with bells, and censers smoking with 
 incense, and all the pomp and ceremonial of the 
 corps dramatiqtie, their signs of the cross and 
 genuflections, were altogether more the creation 
 
121 
 
 of romance, and the picture of some centuries 
 ago, than any thing we should have expected to 
 witness in the present age. Here, however, 
 was palpable evidence, that the very form as 
 well as the spirit is, as has been asserted of it, 
 " unchanged and unchangeable." This is the 
 witchery that fascinates the young female heart, 
 an advantage which the Lady Abbess knows full 
 well to manage; and the sacrifice is perhaps 
 made with less reluctance, as wxmks can grant 
 absolution of sins, past, present, and to come. 
 
 In the Vallais there is a mixtm'e of cultivation 
 and neglect. It is the seat of earthquakes ; and 
 subject to tempests and storms, to the fall of 
 the mountain, and the avalanche, and to the 
 destructive effects of the debacle and glacier; 
 — here is a melange of the beautiful and of the 
 frightful, the savage and the sublime. The 
 rocky walls which flank the Vallais separate it 
 from Italy on the one side, and from the Canton 
 of Berne on the other ; and the surrounding 
 mountains are crowned with terrible glaciers, 
 which form impassable barriers to the traveller. 
 The river Rhone takes its rise from the glacier 
 of Fourche, 5418 feet above the level of the sea, 
 a source unknown to the ancients, who consi- 
 dered that it issued from the gates of eternal 
 night. After winding through the Vallais, the 
 Rhone loses itself in the Leman Lake. 
 
1^2 
 
 Where the picture of the simple and patri- 
 archal lives of the inhabitants of the Vallais, as 
 given us by Rousseau, is to be found, we cannot 
 tell. There may be more than meets the eye, 
 but we doubt whether research would ever con- 
 duct to so notable a discovery. To all appearance 
 tlie people are listless and lazy, much attached to 
 rags and wretchedness, their wedded love; agri- 
 culture is almost neglected, and industry is 
 among them without either a local habitation or 
 a name. The Canton is rigidly Catholic, which 
 is the only public worship permitted. The Bishop 
 of Sion is hereditary member of the diet, and 
 his suffrage is equal to four votes. 
 
 The bear and wolf are killed almost every 
 year at the Baths of Loeche, which they fre- 
 quently visit ; and also in the Valley de Bagnes : 
 the bouquetin is very rare; the alpine, or white 
 hare, marmot, chamois, musk rat, and white 
 mouse, are all occasionally found. The Me- 
 rops apiaster is seen watching the bees in the 
 vicinity of Sion, and other places where bees 
 are reared. The ortolan is shot near Sierre. 
 The river Rhone abounds in perch, carp, tench, 
 and salmon trout. Near to the embouchure 
 of the Rhone, the fresh water tortoise is found, 
 and in some of the rivulets flowing into this 
 liver Cray fish are numerous. The green lizard 
 is met with among the dry rubbish of old ruins 
 
123 
 
 two feet long, and the black salamander in-- 
 habits damp rocks. Leeches and the gordius 
 in swamps and meadows become dangerous to 
 cattle. Many bees are reared in the Vallais ; the 
 honey is used as a substitute for sugar, and the 
 wax is in great demand for the numerous tapers 
 that burn before the altars of their saints and 
 madonnas. The " Great Apolh^^ king of Alpine 
 butterflies, soars from the plain to the glaciers. 
 
 The following is the geographical distribution 
 of vegetation in reference to Alpine altitude, and 
 is here pai'ticularly observable. The Finns cembra 
 grows 6300 feet above the level of the sea. The 
 Rhododendron ferrugiiwum and hirsutum 7000 
 feet. Azalea procumbens 7500 feet, &alix her- 
 hajcea 8500 feet, and the Aira suhspicata 9400 
 feet. While the stag shumach (Rhus cotinus) 
 is found near the bed of the Rhone, a little 
 higher will be discovered the Arbutus XJva- Ursi : 
 and the summit of this amphitheatre is crowned 
 with the Pinus Lojrix and Pinus cembra. In the 
 meadows near Sion asparagus grows wild, and, 
 on the authority of Halle r, the pomegranate 
 (Punica granatam) may be found in the Val- 
 lais. Not far from Sierre among the calcareous 
 rocks, the Cactus opuntia or Indian fig grows 
 spontaneously. Among the plants which form 
 the herbarium of the Vallais may be mentioned 
 ^pirea salici/olia, Spartium radiatum^ Coronilla 
 
 F 2 
 
124 
 
 coronata, Stipa pennata, Adonis vernalis, Artemisia 
 vallesiaca, 8fc, 
 
 Our party left Brieg to cross the Simplon the 
 following morning, at five o'clock a. m. We 
 halted for a short time at the station ahout half 
 way up to the summit ; and perceived in several 
 of the rooms beautiful coverlets, which we were 
 told cost at Milan eighty francs each. They 
 were stuffed with eider down, and covered with 
 rich silk. An English carriage passed us near 
 this place, drawn by eight horses, either per- 
 suaded to take this number by the natives not 
 having sufficient employment for their cattle, or 
 to enjoy the triumph or pitiable boast of ha- 
 ving crossed the Simplon hurled over it by eight 
 quadrupeds. We found a part of the road un- 
 der repair : it had been terribly injured by the 
 fall of rocks and torrents from the mountains. 
 At the village of the Simplon, we had the plea- 
 sure of seeing a very fine bouquetin, an animal 
 now extremely rare, and one I had never met 
 with before. 
 
 To describe the Simplon, this magnificent mo- 
 nument of human genius and enterprise, would 
 be waste of time and praise, for it has been de- 
 scribed and lauded oftentimes before : nor can it 
 be too much extolled ; it casts even the labours 
 of ancient Rome into the back ground. This 
 mighty work was begun, under the auspices of 
 
125 
 
 Napoleon Bonaparte, in 1802, was finished in 
 October 1806, and cost twelve millions of francs. 
 The breadth of the road is twenty-five feet, its 
 length forty-five miles: in no place is the in- 
 clined plane steeper than five inches in twelve 
 feet ; the mountain may be passed in about twelve 
 hours. I have walked over it in fifteen hours. 
 From Gliss to Domo d'Ossola are nine houses 
 of refuge, twenty-two bridges, and ten galleries 
 driven through the solid mountain. The grand 
 gallery is of gneiss. To keep this road in repair 
 requires 25,000 francs annually from the go- 
 vernment of the Vallais alone. The height of 
 the Simplon village is 4556 feet ; of the Hospice 
 6150 ; and the height of the passage, or summit, 
 6174 above the sea's level. The Alpine regions 
 of the passage over the Simplon contain six 
 glaciers ; and some idea may be formed of the 
 labour which this road cost, when it is stated, 
 that, on the Great Gallery alone, twelve work- 
 men, relieved every eight hours, were employed 
 dap and night, on each end, for the period of 
 eighteen months, with picks, and blasting the 
 mountain with gunpowder, — torch-light being 
 employed at night. The following inscription 
 is found on the rock : 
 
 " ^RE ITALO MDCCCV." 
 
 While the road is truly magnificent, the sur- 
 
a«6 
 
 rounding scenery is of a most romantic deseri^ 
 tion, presenting new and varied aspects at every 
 turn; and amid the views unfolded, nature and 
 art appeair to contend for the mastery. Over 
 the stupendous atrehitecture of man, " the ever- 
 lasting hills" seem to frown, and to wage with 
 it an eternal war. We ohserved on the Simplon 
 the Artemisia glacialis, and Cheiranthm tristis. 
 
 The night closed in upon us hefore we reach- 
 ed DomO d'Ossola ; but a beautiful Lampyris 
 splendidula had lighted up her fairy torch on the 
 road-side, near to the quarry from whence came 
 the white marble of which the Cathedral of Mi- 
 lan is builtw I carried it into the carriage with 
 me, and it gave sufficient light to discover the 
 hour of the night by my watch. Early on the 
 following morning we left Domo d'Ossola. The 
 road is in a straight line ; the scenery, on either 
 hand) skirted with trees and shrubs, and the 
 eminences crowned with insulated houses, or 
 snow-white villages, with hanging gardens. The 
 vines were trained in festoons, or on frames of 
 trellis- work : the mulberries were mostly young. 
 Walnuts and Spanish chesnuts were frequently 
 met with ; and the fields were filled with hemp 
 and Indian corn. Early in the day we arrived 
 at the inn at Baveno, on the Lago Maggiore and 
 the Maitre d'Hotel is a very good specimen of 
 Italian imposition and roguery. He aspires to 
 
127 
 
 a knowledge of English, an accomplishment for 
 which we must pay dearly, and only charges 
 twelve francs for his boat to visit the islands in 
 the lake ; while a boatman we met with, who 
 was a very civil fellow, cheerfully took us for 
 four. The Maitre d'Hotel is one of seven bro- 
 thers, a complete nest of hornets : part of whom 
 act in the menial capacities of waiters, grooms, 
 boots, &c. so as to monopolize all the expendi- 
 ture of visitors. The fellow knows very well 
 the price of brandy in England^ and regulates 
 his prices accordingly, 
 
 I was informed by the landlord of the inn, 
 that he had raised this season about 400 lb. of co- 
 coons of silk, and that the year was a good one. 
 They feed the silk-worm here on the leaves 
 of the white mulberry, which cost from one to 
 two soldi per lb. grosso. Females, at this place, 
 are in the habit of wearing the ova, for two 
 or three days, wi-apped up in cloth, next the 
 skin. The ova were estimated at ten francs per 
 ounce, and each ounce calculated to produce 
 about 100 lb. (libra grosso di Milano). Almost 
 every poor family rears the silk- worm : and on 
 how magnificent a scale could they be reared in 
 the IsoLA Bella, where artificial temperature 
 is introduced to so vast an extent, and where 
 the luxuriance of exotic vegetation vies with that 
 of tropical regions ! 
 
r 
 
 We visited the Isola Madre and Isola Bella. 
 The Isola dei piscatori is a sad contrast to its 
 magnificent neighbours, and is the abode of poor 
 fishermen, whose huts are miserable enough. 
 In the Isola Madre we wandered among cedars, 
 and through groves and thickets of jesmines, 
 rosemary, citrons, &c. almost realizing the fabled 
 gardens of Alcinous. In the Isola Bella we 
 went through the Palace : the collection of 
 pictures which decorate some of the apartments 
 is of no great value either to the connoisseur or 
 virtuoso, neither are the mosaics. The peristyle, 
 grottos, and gardens, form, however, a singular 
 scene. In the grottos, which are well worth 
 seeing, are some good copies of statuary. In 
 the creation of all these wonders, the expendi- 
 ture has been truly imperial ; yet the palace re- 
 mains unfinished, and is likely to do so. In se- 
 vere weather, the oranges, lemons, and citrons, 
 require protection; the Caper shrub, however, 
 the American aloe, the Indian fig, the Cochineal 
 fig, &c. are seen to grow in every crevice of the 
 rocks that fringe the islands. The temperature 
 of the air in the shade was 75°. I observed that 
 the ^Chinese method of propagating fruit trees 
 had been successfully applied to many valuable 
 shrubs, as the Magnolia purpurea^ &c. For 
 about four months, say from November to April, 
 the wall fruit-trees are protected by planks, and 
 
129 
 
 during three of these months, artificial heat is 
 partially applied ; — the entire expence for the 
 year is computed at about 2000 Napoleons. 
 The evergreen and flowery covert of the ter- 
 races of the Isola Bella, and their decorations of 
 vases and statues, rising from the level of the 
 water, and seen from the verge of the lake, pre- 
 sent a spectacle altogether unique — almost a 
 magic scene. 
 
 It was in August 1818 when I first visited these 
 interesting islands, and on the Isola Madre, the 
 Cactus cochiniliformis, Caparis and Agave were in 
 flower, and skirted the rocks. Here may be seen 
 the Quercus Ilex, 100 feet high, and the cedar 
 of Lebanon, and Cupresstis jEgyptia^a in equal 
 magnificence. The Arundo saccharifera, or sugar- 
 cane, grows unsheltered ; and, in the summer of 
 that year, I witnessed the Agave Americana in 
 flower, — the flower-stem was twenty-seven feet 
 in altitude, and its circumference, where it emer- 
 ged from its foliage, was twenty-two inches : 
 its flowering-canopy above was equally grand : 
 the shrivelled stem is still preserved in a shed, 
 and pointed out. 
 
 In the Isola Bella we much admired the follow- 
 ing : Magnolia grandifl^ra, M. cor data (in fine 
 flower), M. glauca, M. tripetala, M. purpu- 
 rea, — Mimosa nilotica, from which a quantity 
 of gum-arabic was last year obtained : the Date 
 
 f3 
 
130 
 
 palm (in fruit), Anona triloba (in fruit), Canna 
 glaiica, Verbena mentha odora, Solanum niveum, 
 Nerium oleander : these were luxuriant and beau- 
 tiful, and of uncommon, not to say gigantic, 
 altitude. We were struck with a fine plant 
 of the Agave Jilamentosa in flower: the flower 
 was THIRTY FEET IN HEIGHT, and had then 
 been in bloom twenty-six days : the plant was 
 stated to be about fifty-six years old. In this 
 island is a fine cypress, eighty feet high, and 
 the Laurus nobilis ninety-three feet high : it is 
 indeed a noble tree, and in the bark may be still 
 traced the word " Battaglia," which Napoleon 
 Bonaparte cut with a knife, two days before 
 the battle of Marengo. 
 
 Every plant here bears a corresponding fea- 
 ture, and not the least remarkable in the train 
 of vegetation is the hydrangea. From its beau- 
 tiful assemblages and tasteful arrangement, in 
 groups or clumps, encircling the larger trees, it 
 becomes exceedingly picturesque, and has alto- 
 gether a most striking and extraordinary eff'ect. 
 The earth in which the hydrangeas grew, was 
 a black sandy soil, and two phenomena were here 
 remarkable, — their extraordinary size, and their 
 beautifully blue colour. Two conditions, I was 
 told, were essential for sustaining this luxuriance 
 and colour : — to plant them where they might 
 be constantly in shade, and in a soil formed of 
 
131 
 
 heath-earth (terra di erica). The hydrangea 
 is to be seen ten feet high^ and five months in 
 flower ; I noticed one plant fifty feet in circum- 
 ference, which the year before, had carried 616 
 bunches of flowers, each larger than the human 
 head. 
 
 From Baveno we went to Arona, where we 
 remained for the night, and left the Auberge 
 Royale the following morning, to see the colossal 
 statue of San Carlo Borromeo : many of the 
 chapels at the several stations on the ascent of 
 the Sagro Monte (Sacred Mount), seemed to be 
 in ruin and deserted, or nearly so. Among other 
 exhibitions we were shewn the room in which 
 the saint died, and a masque of the face in stucco, 
 taken after death. In addition to these interest- 
 ing matters, a little of the sainfs blood, though 
 Carlo Borromeo was not a martyr, was shewn 
 us, and also pictures, extremely silly, and the 
 veriest daubs, representing the saint's miracles, 
 which exceeded one hundred. Among the relics of 
 the Sacred Mount will be found " Un anconetta 
 d'argento elegante, e ricca nella sua semplicita, 
 ove se ne contano sessanta due, le prime delle 
 qualli, in numero di otta, sono consacrate dal con- 
 tatto di nostro Signore *." Credat Jud^us Ap- 
 PELLA, HAUD Nos. A copy of the interesting evi- 
 dence by which this authority is substantiated, 
 
 • Memorie intorno il Sagro Monte, &c. Novara 182$. 
 
132 
 
 would certainly be a precious gem from the 
 antique. 
 
 On the summit of the Mount, erected on a 
 pedestal of white and red granite, stands this 
 colossal statue, the design of Francesco Ri- 
 CHiNO senior^ and was erected by order of Car- 
 dinal Frederick Borromeo on the Mount 
 of San Carlo, in 1624. According to the origi- 
 nal intention, this statue, which is of copper, 
 was to have been gilt, and it was only in the 
 year 1818 that it was bronzed, to protect it 
 from the injury of the weather. It is said that 
 Signore Count John Borromeo laid the first 
 stone of the pedestal, and that a gold medallion 
 was deposited therein, having the following dis- 
 tich : 
 
 Joannes Adolosce tui virtute parentis : 
 Alter virtutum mole colossus eris. 
 
 The saint is represented in the act of giving the 
 benediction, with the right hand in the same 
 manner I had witnessed employed by the late 
 Pope Pius VII. at Rome. The left hand holds 
 the breviary. The staircase within the pedestal 
 is composed of forty-eight steps, and another 
 from the pedestal to the right knee, contains 
 seventeen steps. The statue is, however, now 
 entered by scaling-ladders, through the folds of 
 the robe, on the right ; and from thence, by a 
 
133 
 
 stair-case within, we may ascend even into the 
 cranium. The cost of the statue and erection 
 amounted to L. "^Q^QQQ^ 13s. 4d. Sterling, or 
 1,100,000 lire Milanese. Joseph II, called it 
 one of the wonders of the world, and its dimen- 
 sions are certainly of the most gigantic descrip- 
 tion. There is a comfortable seat for any catholic 
 in the nasal promontory, but we think a heretic 
 would scarcely risk an adventure within the nose 
 of this Brobdinag saint : nearly a dozen persons 
 could be packed together in the breviary. 
 
 The foUowiug are the dimensions of this co- 
 lossus in Paris feet : Pedestal 36 feet high; statue 
 72 feet ; circumference of the head 20 feet ; 
 length of the face 7 feet 6 inches, breadth 7 feet 
 2 inches ; width of the eye 1 foot 6 inches ; 
 width of the mouth 2 feet 4 inches ; length of 
 the arm 28 feet; height of the breviary 13 feet, 
 breadth 6 feet 6 inches; breadth of the hand 
 4 feet 6 inches, length of the finger 4 feet 3 
 inches, length of the forefinger 6 feet ; circum- 
 ference of the robe 54 feet, breadth of foot 4 
 feet. We did not ascend into the statue, as 
 the scaling-ladders from without seemed very 
 insufficient and precarious, and with every al- 
 lowance made for the cohesion of the vegetable 
 fibre, they bent so much under the weight of 
 our attendant, and presented so formidable a 
 curve, that we consulted our personal safety in 
 
134 
 
 waving the hazardous experiment. Altoge- 
 ther the saint is placed on a most commanding 
 station, and the vision of this extraordinary 
 statue is quite startling, by its colossal form and 
 dimensions. We thought of the Sphinx near 
 Cairo, on the seat of the ancient Memphis, and 
 compared them. In this last, which is sculptured 
 in the solid rock, the paws project from the 
 body fifty feet, and between their guardianship 
 a small temple is erected: the distance from 
 the chin to the ear is fifteen feet. When Pope 
 Gregory XII. heard of the death of Cardinal 
 Archbishop Carlo Borromeo, which happened 
 on 3d November 1584, he is stated to have ex- 
 claimed, " Extincta est lucerna in Israel," The 
 lamp is put out in Israel. 
 
 On descending the Sagro Monte, or Monte San 
 Carlo, our olfactory nerves were regaled by the 
 wild thyme and other odoriferous plants, and 
 I gathered a bouquet of the flowers of the Cycla- 
 men europeum, both white and purple. On our 
 retui'n to Arona, we took a peep into a Pwga- 
 torio ; a very singular exhibition to a protestant. 
 Numerous skulls were methodically ranged on 
 shelves in amphitheatrical form, like flower-ipots 
 on the stage of a green-house ; each skull was 
 supplied with a paper-cap, with the owner's 
 name on a scroll, — thus, " Luigi Piollo morto 
 11° Aprilo 1814," — and so on with others. 
 
135 
 
 In many parts of Italy we have noticed the ad- 
 junct " Pregate Dio per animo." In the mar- 
 ket at Novara, the grapes were 7 soldi (Sjd.) 
 per lihhra grosso (100 libbra grosso being equal 
 to 168 lb. avoirdupois), and fine large peaches 
 were sold at the same rate, by weight ; the lib- 
 hro grosso, or heavy pound, contained about ten. 
 The young mulberries were all protected by 
 hay-bands, twisted round their stems, the win- 
 ters being occasionally severe ; a practice of 
 thatching that has been found eminently service- 
 able by some of the horticulturists of France. 
 We quitted Arona, and arrived at length at 
 Sesto Calende, but the police on this frontier 
 of the Lombardo- Venetian kingdom, having 
 narrowly inspected all the passports, discovered 
 that one of our party was without the signature 
 of the Austrian Ambassador, a condition made 
 imperative and essential to all who enter the 
 territories of the Emperor of Austria. I had 
 before mentioned my fears, that, in all probabi- 
 lity, this circumstance would present an insu- 
 perable barrier to our advance together. Having 
 been instructed in this on a former occasion, 
 I knew the importance of getting the signature 
 of the Austrian Ambassador at Berne, which is 
 easily obtained. All that / found necessary 
 to do, was to enclose the passport hy post, re- 
 spectfully soliciting the honour of his authority 
 
136 
 
 to proceed to Milan, and it was returned to 
 me at Lausanne, in due course, under en- 
 velope. We were extremely sorry for this an- 
 noyance, and did not wish to quit our interest- 
 ing and amusing compagrum de voyage quite so 
 easily, or without a struggle; we were there- 
 fore determined to try the other pass, Buffa- 
 lora. On crossing the.Ticino river, we ohserved 
 a tronc for the collection of alms for the dead. 
 I thought we did much better at home, for con- 
 sidering the dead disposed of, our contributions 
 were for the support of the living. It rained, 
 and one of the boatmen was literally thatched 
 with straw, and much resembled a bee-hive in 
 its winter dress, surmounted by a human head 
 with a conical cap. One of the other dramatis 
 perscnuB was a poor fiddler, who scraped the crazy 
 string, and doled out a characteristic pitiable 
 ditty. In the fields bordering the road side, we 
 observed lupins among the cultivated legumes. 
 The common acacia (Gobbet's honey locust) 
 and mulberries, in the form of pollards, for the 
 supply of the silk-worm, fringed the road ; rice 
 and Indian "corn prevailed generally. 
 
 We arrived late in the evening at Novarra, 
 and by inquiries understood that the white mul- 
 berry was always preferred for rearing the silk- 
 worm. Count Dandolo gives, however, a de- 
 cided preference to the wild or uncultivated mul- 
 
 2 
 
137 
 
 berry for this purpose : the leaves here were sokl 
 at 1 soldo (about Jdv) per lb., and one ounce of 
 ova was calculated to yield 100 lb. of silk; the 
 season was esteemed a good one for rearing the 
 silk-worm. On the following morning we per- 
 ambulated the market. Two small fowls were 
 rated at about a frank. Among the peculiar 
 features of the vegetable market may be men- 
 tioned mushrooms, chicoree^ the fruit of the purple 
 egg-plant (that of the white variety I have never 
 seen exposed for sale any where), gourds and 
 pompions in variety, the water-melon, &c. The 
 price of a fine melon was 6 soldi, and that of 
 Indian corn-flour 9 soldi per libro grosso. At 
 BuiFalora, where we arrived at nine o'clock, the 
 subject of the passport was again canvassed, 
 and we found it quite impossible for our friend 
 to proceed with us. It was therefore agreed on 
 that he should remain there, while I took charge 
 of his passport to Milan, as the signature could 
 there be obtained. 
 
 Before we left BuiFalora, we visited an exten- 
 sive establishment for unwinding the silk from 
 the cocoons; in two rooms, women were arranged 
 opposite each other, and conducted the process : 
 the cocoons, contained in baskets on one side, 
 were thrown by handfuls into caldrons of heated 
 water. Each by a whisk (of peeled birch) col- 
 lected the threads en masse : the first confused 
 
138 
 
 portions were rejected, till the threads unwound 
 regularly, freely passing over glass-rods to pre- 
 vent the injury of friction. When the threads 
 came off uniformly, the cocoons were raised sus- 
 pended to the hand by their respective threads, 
 and thus handed over to those on the opposite 
 side, who, in their turn, threw them into caldrons 
 of water, the temperature of which was nearly 
 that of blood heat — thus sustained by a steam- 
 pipe. The water was kept clear, and the silk 
 preserved pure and unsoiled. From these the 
 threads were finally wound on reels. The pro- 
 prietor informed me that this establishment cost 
 60,000 francs. 
 
 Gensoul of Italy has invented an apparatus by 
 means of which the water is heated through the 
 medium of steam, and the nymphae that fall are 
 collected on a grating of iron- wire at the bottom 
 of the boilers, which is frequently raised for the 
 purpose of removing the husks. By this inge- 
 nious method much fuel is saved, one furnace 
 with its boiler serving to heat twenty vessels, 
 and from the decreased temperature the cocoons 
 do not suifer any decomposition or change, as is 
 the case in the ordinary way, wherein they are 
 immediately exposed to the direct agency of the 
 fire. Another saving might still be eifected by 
 this method, in the substitution of vessels of 
 wood for boilers of copper. 
 
189 
 
 Before we left Buffalora they gave us a re- 
 ceipt for our luggage, expressing Avith due par- 
 ticularity the hour at which the search was made, 
 namely Twve ore (nine o'clock) ; — the packages 
 were then sealed, which prevented a second 
 scrutiny on entering the gates of Milan. 
 
140 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 MILAN RETOUR VIA COMO TOURTEMAGNE AND 
 
 CASCADE — SIERRE SION GOITURES. 
 
 J.T was about three o'clock in the afternoon of 
 the 6th of August when we arrived at milan, 
 the capital of the Lombardo- Venetian kingdom, 
 and alighted at the Albergo dell 'Gran Brettagna, 
 having received at the entrance of the city a 
 carta di sicurezza, in exchange for our passports. 
 The passport of our friend, with which I was 
 entrusted, was immediately left, with the requi- 
 site explanation, at the office of the Intendente di 
 Polizia, who, however, was absent in the coun- 
 try : but, after a good deal of trouble, and a de- 
 lay of two entire days, it was returned, with 
 authority for him to proceed to Milan, and I duly 
 transmitted it by a special messenger to Buffalora. 
 I was informed at Milan that the silk was dearer 
 this year than last, owing to the chilling winds 
 from the Alps, and rain in the early part of the 
 
141 
 
 season. Last year, the raw silk cost forty-five 
 frarws, the present year it was valued at from 
 fifty to sixty-five lira-milanese * per pound of 
 twenty -eight ounces. The white is always most 
 esteemed. At Vicenza much silk is reared ; and 
 almost all the silk cultivated in the Lombardo- 
 Venetian kingdom is sent to be manufactured in 
 France. In the vicinity of Milan, the crop in 
 chief cultivation consisted of Indian corn and 
 rice. 
 
 On Sunday morning, the album of the inn 
 was brought us for the due registration of our 
 names, where we came from, whither we were 
 going, objects of our journey, &c. ; and we were 
 exceedingly surprised and delighted to find that 
 the names which had immediate precedence of 
 ours were those of relatives, who were returning 
 from Madeira, and were so far on their journey 
 home. They had landed at Naples, and had tra- 
 versed southern and central Italy. This happy 
 rencontre was as gratifying as it was unexpect- 
 ed. We had not heard of them since we left 
 the British shore, and supposed that, long before 
 that time, they would have returned direct to 
 England. They had made arrangements for 
 leaving Milan on Monday morning, and but for 
 the album, might have gone without our having 
 
 * A lira-milanese is nearly equal to sevenpence half-pennj. 
 
14^ 
 
 'enjoyed their society, though at the same inn, 
 for, being Sunday, we had both adopted seclu- 
 sion. Here is a most material advantage in 
 these albums, which are duly communicated to 
 the Commissaire de police ; and, it is likely, com- 
 pared with the several passports in their posses- 
 sion. We cannot, therefore, impress too strong- 
 ly on the reader, who may be desirous to tra- 
 vel on the Continent, the risk that he may 
 incur by any false entry of name, occupation, 
 object, &c. We have seen many ridiculous in- 
 sertions of this kind ; and though it may pass 
 unnoticed in some parts less rigid, the vigilance 
 and strictness of the Austrian police are not to be 
 
 hoodwinked : for instance, Mr S e, we found, 
 
 had always entered his own name along with 
 that of his white poodle dog " Beppo," whom 
 he had instructed to refuse every thing offered 
 in the name of " Imperatore d'Austriaca," but 
 to accept what was presented in the name of 
 ^' Napoleone Imperatore." By means of these 
 albums, you can easily trace the route of your 
 friend, and the date when he passed in that di- 
 rection ; or, in the event of your preceding him, 
 he receives a clew enabling him to follow you. 
 We observed a striking example of their utility 
 at Chamouni: an apology was inserted by a 
 gentleman for having cut out a slip from one of 
 
 the leaves in that at the Hotel de 1' Union, as it 
 4 
 
143 
 
 contained the autograph, name, and register, of 
 a gentleman who had not heen heard of for se- 
 veral years by his family, and was believed to be 
 dead : the document was transmitted by letter 
 to his relatives in England. 
 
 In company with this new and much valued 
 accession to our party, we visited the duomo or 
 cathedral, a splendid edifice, and the largest in 
 Italy, that of St Peter's, at Rome, alone except- 
 ed. This superb fabric was commenced in 
 1386, but remained unfinished till the reign of 
 Napoleon Bonaparte, who ordered its com- 
 pletion from the designs of Amati ; and it was 
 finished under the auspices of the Emperor of 
 Austria. It is constructed of white marble, 
 in gothic style, and adorned with fretwork, 
 tracery, niches, statues, &c. in rich relievo. It 
 is 445 feet long, 289 broad at the transept, and 
 356 high, calculating from the pavement to the 
 top of the spire. We ascended to the noble roof, 
 and the loftiest turret of the duomo^ and among 
 its pinnacles and spires, had a fine promenade, 
 while we enjoyed a magnificent range of vision 
 from every point and resting place. The plains 
 of Lombardy, and the Alps — barrier of Italy — 
 lay before and around us ; and the nine roads 
 surrounding the capital as so many radii from a 
 centre. One of these we had already traversed ; 
 another conducted, via Verona, to ** the Rome 
 
144 
 
 of the ocean," Venice ; another to Turin, or, de- 
 flecting to the right, terminated at Genoa; 
 another to Parma and Florence, " the Eternal 
 City," and Naples ; and one pointed to Lodi, and 
 Mantua, the natal soil of Publius Virgilius 
 Maro, a deathless name in classic song. These 
 lands were possessed by whatever was noble, 
 sublime, or beautiful, in the name of Roman. 
 It is not, however, by any means my intention 
 here to luxuriate among the loveliness and fas- 
 cinations of this beautiful and classic land ; as I 
 may possibly, at some future period, enter into 
 detail concerning Italian scenes, and all their en- 
 chanting interest. This magnificent monument 
 of genius and of art was as white as the snow 
 that covered the highest summit of Mount Rosa, 
 the effect of a recent application of dilute sul- 
 phuric acid, with which its walls were washed, 
 and which had dissolved the dark superficial 
 film, and discovered a new surface of dazzling 
 whiteness. We afterwards descended by a stair- 
 case into the subterranean chapel, where repose 
 the remains of St Carlo Borromeo, in a crystal 
 coffin, with silver ornaments giU. Within this 
 crystal dormitory, suspended over the remains, 
 is a golden crown, the votive offering of the 
 Empress Maria Theresa. The rich cover over 
 the sacred deposit of gold and jewellery, silk and 
 satin, &c. was raised with all due pomp ; and a 
 
145 
 
 lady of our party having presumed to touch one 
 of the rings, was duly admonished, and reproved 
 for the impious adventure; but a few words 
 muttered over it charmed it into holiness again. 
 The walls of this chapel are wainscoted with 
 rich and costly basso-relievos, all of pure silver, 
 representing the principal miracles and events 
 of the saint's life, the designs by Cerano, exe- 
 cuted by RuBiNO. The entire cost of this im- 
 perial waste was L. 166,666 : 13 : 4. Above the 
 grating, which overspread part of the dome of 
 this chapel, we observed a few lamps, with 
 wicks, certainly inflamed, but winking in their 
 sockets, and a few centessimi that had been cast 
 upon the wire-grating, the votive offering of 
 some poor devotees, who had perhaps given 
 their all — -their widow's mite : a centessimo is 
 the one-hundredth part of a franc; two and a-half 
 would make a farthing. 
 
 The ices in the coffee-room adjoining our 
 hotel were excellent, and we enjoyed them ex- 
 ceedingly, as the weather was very sultry. In 
 the markets were ripe almonds, and figs in abun- 
 dance, fine melons, the fruit of the purple egg- 
 plant; and the water melon, which we found most 
 refreshing when parched with thirst. Among the 
 curiosities a la gourmand at the table (^hote, was 
 a dish of cockscombs stewed. The reader must not 
 make any mistake here ; I do not mean the pretty 
 
 G 
 
146 
 
 plant so called, the celosia^ but the veritable 
 crests of the king of domestic birds. The fruit 
 of the purple egg-plant we found excellent ; it 
 very much resembled in flavour the vegetable 
 marrow, and squash. Among our perambulations 
 through this certainly fine city, we visited the 
 portico of the church of San Lorenzo, with its 
 fragment of the ruins of the Temple of Hercules ; 
 the church of San Alessandro, with its rich altar 
 of agates, jaspers, lapis lazuli, &c. &c. As an 
 imperative duty and privilege, we paid our tri- 
 bute of wonder and delight before the celebrated 
 al fresco painting of " The Last Supper," by 
 Leonardo da Vinci, in the Refectory of the 
 convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie : it is 
 gi-ievously defaced, but its magic remains are yet 
 sufficient to concentrate the entire admiration 
 of the soul, and we pity the stoic who can con- 
 template this chefd^oeuvre of excellence unmoved. 
 I do not profess to be a connoisseur in the paint- 
 ings of the celebrated masters, and could per- 
 haps scarcely determine a Carlo Dolce from a 
 GuiDO Reni ; but I must confess this is a paint- 
 ing I have left with emotions of unfeigned re- 
 gret, and the longer I have gazed on its charms 
 the more I have been fascinated. Some new 
 excellence has started from the wall at each 
 successive glance ; but I have wondered at the 
 incongruities of the celebrated Transfiguration of 
 
147 
 
 Raphael, and sickened at the absurd, not to say 
 blasphemous, representation of " The Spirit of 
 God" in the First Creation, as pourtrayed op the 
 ceiling of the Vatican ; and I have gazed with 
 pitiful contempt on the also celebrated, yet to me 
 confused and incoherent, rapsody of the Last 
 Judgment — the alfresco of Michael Angelo. 
 But here is true keeping and true feeling, with all 
 the mystic virtues of chiaroscuro, gracing their 
 originals. We, among other etceteras, had a peep 
 at the Bibliotheca Ambrosiana, founded by 
 Charles Frederick Borromeo. It is rich in 
 curious, antique, and valuable manuscripts ; for 
 instance, that of Da Vinci, with about 40,000 
 tomes. I am not, however, fond of an in transitu 
 glance at a collection of books, when I cannot 
 enjoy their converse ; they should be something 
 more than raree-show. 
 
 We had a fine morning walk to the circus, or 
 amphitheatre, the erection, under Napoleon 
 Bonaparte, of Canonica. It was originally 
 meant to be appropriated to games and horse- 
 manship, and is capable of containing 36,000 
 individuals. On our return from thence, we 
 went to the unfinished triumphal arch — the 
 gate of Marengo, intended to commemorate the 
 completion of the road of the Simplon. The 
 magnificent relievos, destined for the decoration 
 of its frieze, lie now neglected, but surely not 
 
 g3 
 
148 
 
 forgotten. We cannot see what could be done 
 with them, or how the name or deeds of Fran"- 
 cis Emperor of Austria could with either justice 
 or propriety usurp their place. They represent 
 various triumphs and trophies of Napoleon; 
 and such a triumph of art over the formidable 
 barriers of nature, deserves some memorial to 
 perpetuate the achievement to a distant age, and 
 surely the basso-relievos are too costly and too 
 beautiful to be obliterated or consigned to obli- 
 vion. Shuddering though I do at the warlike 
 deeds which darkened the tumultuous soul of 
 Napoleon Bonaparte, I would nevertheless 
 chisel out on his tomb ultimus romanorum ; 
 nor could I deny the tribute, after contempla- 
 ting his roads, bridges, triumphal arches, noble 
 edifices, superb relievos, and majestic columns. 
 I do not like war, and turn from the warrior 
 affrighted. But these national monuments tell 
 upon a distant age, and are among the most 
 splendid legacies, next to the securities of reli- 
 gion, that can be bequeathed by any nation to 
 its posterity. 
 
 The bread served out to the soldiers seemed 
 almost black ; we saw several waggons loaded 
 with it as we recrossed the Place d^Artms, on 
 our return to the inn. 
 
 During our stay at Milan, which did not 
 much exceed three days, we filled up our time 
 
149 
 
 as well as we could with the various sights with 
 which the metropolis of the Lombardo- Vene- 
 tian kingdom abounds. The Piazza del Duomo 
 is a fine open square. Near to the walls of the 
 cathedral many bird-catchers take their stand, 
 and a number of tame birds may be seen hop- 
 ping about in a little enclosure, with a fountain 
 playing in the midst, or engaged in some ma- 
 noeuvres, in which they are carefully instructed 
 by their cruel owners, such as adjusting their 
 plumage before a looking-glass, drawing up 
 little buckets of water, or opening the lid of a 
 box to procure food. These horrid wretches 
 have the brutality to put out the eyes of many 
 of their poor prisoners, to ensure a sweeter 
 song ; but persons who could listen to these plain- 
 tive dirges, bought at so painful and barbarous 
 a rate, deserve no place in the society of man ; 
 the desert should be their dwelling place. This 
 seems a proper training for the murderous stil- 
 leto^ which Italian catholics know so well how to 
 manage, many proofs of which are disclosed 
 daily, and we have seen the victims in the Casa 
 di consolazione per iferiti at Rome. The weather 
 at Milan was very warm, 75° Fahr. on the ave- 
 rage ; and we were beset by innumerable hosts of 
 that annoying little insect the Pulex irritans, 
 Anglice flea, and the stinging fly (Musca cal- 
 citrans.) 
 
 We left Milan by our vetturino on Wednesday 
 
150 
 
 the 10th August, and arrived at Como at two 
 o'clock, where we remained for the night. Olives, 
 mulberries, vines, and all the favourites of the 
 orchadist, occupy their place around the town. 
 Our time would only permit a hurried survey 
 of the city-^a visit to Plinifs Elm, and other 
 elms still " reverend," though of less classic 
 note — a peep at a " purgatorio," with its well 
 arranged crania and plaster exhibitions of flames, 
 personifications of the " Prince of Darkness" 
 and his torturing imps, and scrolls and inscrip- 
 tions, all designed to frighten the " faithful" to 
 almsgiving towards the rescue of these, " alas ! 
 poor ghosts ;" to receive which a tronc is placed 
 in due form and position. Our chief object, 
 however, was Como's Lake, and the Villa Plini- 
 ana, with its celebrated intermitting spring. 
 We accordingly embarked on our aquatic ex- 
 cursion, but were unfortunate in the weather, 
 and found it impossible to reach our ultimate 
 destinatioti ^ a thunder storm suddenly arose, ac- 
 companied with heavy rain, and we were neces- 
 sitated to land for shelter at a cottage on the 
 right bank. From this spot we had a favoured 
 view of the opposite verge of the lake, and were 
 content to contemplate the Villa Pliniana in the 
 distant perspective, as we found it useless to 
 eotitend with the wind, which \^as sore against 
 us. We were obliged to return to Como, the wa- 
 
151 
 
 ters of the lake had put on the aspect of a stormy 
 sea : 
 
 Fluctibus et fremitu assurgens, marino. 
 
 The wind, however, being in our favour for 
 returning, we arrived before night cast his sable 
 mantle over the sky. On our right was the 
 Villa d'Este, once the residence of the late Queen 
 Caroline. A theatre and a church form its 
 wings. From the garden walls, overshadowed 
 by their graceful leafage, a row of weeping wil- 
 lows Imthed their branches in the waters of the 
 lake, and, agitated by the breeze, looked love- 
 ly. The situation of Mont Rosa was pointed 
 out to us, but dense clouds veiled its summit. 
 
 In pursuing our route the following day, we 
 passed through Sesto Calende, and had some cu- 
 rious disputation with his Majesty of Sardinia's 
 faithful subjects and servants : the chief of the 
 posse duly announced himself as the " represen- 
 tative of his Majesty," and made lawful prize of 
 some Leghorn ware. After mutual recrimina- 
 tion, and high words, pour et contre, it was sur- 
 rendered, and though an unpleasant rencontre 
 and delay, it served as a kind of decoy to abstract 
 the talons of these omnivorous falcons — genuine 
 birds of prey — from searching too closely into 
 our luggage, where they might have found many 
 valuable gems of natural history, which would 
 Cat least have been destroyed by their rude touch, 
 
152 
 
 and would soon have crumbled into debris — a 
 memento talus of the barbarism of almost savage 
 ignorance. Knowing what we had to expect, 
 the few books we ventured to take were con- 
 cealed on our person, as, for aught we knew, 
 the discovery of a Bible might have brought us 
 in contact with the Inquisitors and Inquisi- 
 tion. I hate the society of bats and owls, which 
 court the night ; every such remembrance fans 
 anew the amor patricB, where, " though our 
 deeds be reproved," we do m)t " shun the light." 
 This is the punctum saliens of Britain's glory. 
 Here we were treated at the inn with soupe a la 
 plume, siWsis feather ^broth. One of our. party, 
 more curious than the rest, from some forebod- 
 ing, judging unfavourably perhaps from our re- 
 ception into the confines of Sardinia's king, 
 having gone into the kitchen, beheld with his 
 proper eyes " the whole art and mystery" of an 
 Italian cusine. A poor fowl was killed and 
 scalded in a vessel of boiling water to bring off 
 the feathers, and this water, with its solution, 
 was in due time converted into soup ; and the 
 said soup, when brought to table, actually dis- 
 covered part of the plumage it had served to 
 detach. It, as well as the fowl, was soon dis' 
 missed, of course, from our table, as the account 
 we had heard was quite satisfying, so far as they 
 were concerned. # 
 
153 
 
 As from Sesto Calende we were merely retra- 
 cing the steps we had passed over the preceding 
 week, I shall not detain the reader by recapitu- 
 lating the scenes we witnessed ; suffice it to say, 
 we passed through Varese, where we made in- 
 quiry about the culture of the silk-worm, and 
 ova. 
 
 We next arrived at Arona, and revisited with 
 our friends the statue of San Carlo Borromeo. 
 At Baveno we enjoyed an excursion on the 
 lake to the Borromean Islands, reached Domo- 
 dossola on Friday, and crossed the Simplon on 
 Saturday. About mid-day, the air was 62° Fahr., 
 water 53° Fahr. We arrived at Brieg in the Val- 
 lais, late in the evening, where we remained till 
 Monday morning, and on that day rested at 
 Tourtemagne, and revisited its beautiful cas- 
 cade. This fine waterfall may be compared to 
 a descending sheet of snow, terminating in a 
 fountain of snow beneath, of a somewhat bluish 
 tint toward its centre, and blanched still more 
 toward its verge. We were detained here at 
 a very wretched inn, where the wines were 
 intolerable, and the charge shameful. The 
 dress of the landlady was of the most gro- 
 tesque and fantastic kind, and sets at defiance 
 any description of mine ; she was, however, in 
 her " Sunday's best," it being a grand saint 
 day. We were sadly afraid of being kept here 
 
 G 3 
 
154 
 
 for the hi^t, as a terrible debacle hacl already 
 destroyed the road three miles onward toward 
 Sierre. The scene of destruction was truly for- 
 midable and frightful, and the devastation very 
 extensive. The bridge was torn aWay, and 
 buried beneath the ruins ; rocks were scattered 
 here and there over an immense surface, and 
 the Rhone was filled up by the torrent of rocks, 
 which the alpine cataract had hurled into its 
 bed, and contracted to nearly one-fourth of its 
 original width. Though numbers of people had 
 been employed the entire day previous in tem- 
 porarily repairing the road with brushwood, &c. 
 we found crossing a matter of some difficulty ; 
 however, with the aid of two good horses, and the 
 persons on the road, the vehicle was transport- 
 ed across, though in great danger of being over- 
 turned, w'hile we waded in the best manner we 
 could. Horses and waggons had, previous to 
 this labour, been almost swamped in passing. 
 The temperature of the Rhone here was 52° 
 Fahr. Near this is a bridge across the Rhone, 
 conducting to the baths of Loeehe, which 
 arc thermal. At the chief source of these 
 springs, the temperature is 128° Fahr, and sup- 
 plies five to six cubic inches in a continued 
 stream. Some of the streams deposit peroxide 
 of if on, 1b>Xit that called the Hielbad is the most 
 remarkable for the animal and vegetable being 
 
155 
 
 which it nourishes. The temperature is 120" 
 Fahr. ; and yet the bed of its stream is carpeted 
 with a kind of conferva, and its edge fringed 
 with the same plant ; add to this, larvm of the 
 Musca Cameleon float sportive in its tepid 
 waters, in which an Gg^g may be tolerably cook- 
 ed. We remained for the night at Sierre, at 
 a comfortable inn, rendered more cheerful by 
 the pleasantry of its inmates. Our supper (for 
 really the Roman cenoR is even now, especially 
 in Italy, kept in remembrance, and serves as 
 the principal meal) was good : among the nume- 
 rous dishes was the wild pigeon, which is often 
 shot in the woods. The church of Sierre sport- 
 ed its best vestments, and the people wore holi- 
 day suits, as it was a fete, A good many bees 
 are reared about Sierre : and the wine is remark- 
 ably fine, chiefly white, and possesses somewhat 
 of the raisin flavour; wine has been made in this 
 vicinity, which has brought five francs the bot- 
 tle. 
 
 On the road next morning, toward Sion, we 
 noticed several mountain slips, and near to the 
 capital of the Vallais, the divided Rhone em- 
 braced several small islands, crowned with trees 
 and pasturage for cattle. I perceived the Dipsa- 
 eusfullonum among the way-side plants. Early in 
 the day we arrived at the town : the cisterns were 
 <}i lapis ollaris or potstone. One of the foun- 
 
156 
 
 tains had the date of 1819. The temperature of 
 the water of three different fountains, which are 
 springs, were 54°, 55°, and 56° Fahr. : the mean 
 temperature of this part of the Vallais for the 
 year, may therefore be stated at 55° Fahr. We 
 took a walk to a convent of Capuchins; they were 
 engaged, perhaps at dinner, and we sauntered into 
 the garden in the mean time, but saw nothing but 
 one of the miserable dirty wretches who belonged 
 to the convent, an armless friar, filthy like 
 all his brethren of the Capuchin tribe, for they 
 are most neglectful of personal cleanliness. The 
 garden was tolerably supplied with leeks, cab- 
 bages, and water melons, but the only shrub or 
 flower was a marvel of Peru, and I marvelled 
 how it got there. Over the entrance gate was 
 this elegant compliment to the fair sex, written 
 in chalk : 
 
 " Pessima res mulier est, 
 Beatus cui hac caret." 
 
 On our ascent to this beggar's den, we noticed 
 a shrine erected to the Madonna, with a promise 
 on the part of the bishop of Sion of an indulgence 
 of forty days for singing or saying a specific 
 quantum of Ave Marias ; as the day was a fete, the 
 natives were as listless and as lazy as could be. 
 There repose here the bones of a saint called 
 Will: many are his miracles, and truly numerous 
 were the pilgrims. In our inn I noticed a cu- 
 
157 
 
 rious zoological barometer formed of the Rana 
 arbor ea . A glass jar with two or three inches 
 depth of water, contained a few of these little 
 frogs, with a minute ladder inclined to the side. 
 When the weather was good, and likely to con- 
 tinue so, they mounted the steps, and when the 
 weather was bad, they descended and slept at 
 its foot : a few flies given them occasionally is 
 all the food they require. In a state of freedom, 
 they climb trees in search of insects, hence the 
 specific name ; and make a peculiar noise before 
 rain. 
 
 I called on a medical gentleman, and had a 
 good deal of conversation with him on the sub- 
 ject of ^rowc^oce/e or goiture, and he informed 
 me that the hydriodate ofpotassa applied with 
 lard externally by friction as an ungent, had 
 proved in almost every instance eminently effi- 
 cacious in obliterating the tumour, which had 
 been in many cases extremely large. Water 
 boiled at Sion at 206° 5', oscillating to 208° Fahr. 
 while the air was 69° Fahr. Whether or not this 
 singularity was attributable to an electrical cause, 
 I do not presume to determine, but I feel persuad- 
 ed that this method cannot be satisfactorily ap- 
 plied to the measurement of altitudes. In 1818 
 I was with Captain Basil Hall, when this expe- 
 riment was repeated on the Simplon, with an 
 instrument constructed under the immediate 
 3 
 
158 
 
 sanction of Reverend Francis Wollaston, and 
 it was found that the results did not at all as- 
 similate with those indicated by the barometer. 
 An analysis of the waters of the fountains which 
 supply the town, gave me evidence of sulphates 
 of lime and magnesia^ muriate of soda^ ^c. We 
 went to examine an hospital not far from the 
 inn, served by the " Soeurs de la charit^," here 
 called Soeurs blanches. A laughing sylph, about 
 twenty-two years old, led us through the build- 
 ing, which seemed good in its arrangements, 
 and certainly the devoted services of these use- 
 ful and meritorious women command our re- 
 spect and admiration. On the road toward 
 Martigny We were amused with a person who 
 exhibited his musical powers, on to us a new 
 kind of instrument, and one of the most simple 
 form ; it consisted merely of a /ea/'roUed up like a 
 fillet, kept almost entirely within the mouth. The 
 tone much resembled that of the clarionet. 
 
 We arrived at Martigny on Tuesday evening 
 about 7 o'clock. I called at the Priory of the 
 Augustins, and was introduced to the venerable 
 prior, whom we had previously seen at the Great 
 St Bernard. I had some pleasant conversation 
 with him, and was glad to find he had much re- 
 covered from his indisposition. He informed 
 me that the weather had been constantly bad 
 since he had visited the Hospice. Four monks 
 
159 
 
 always reside at the Priory ; and when any are ill 
 at the St Bernard, a conclave is held as to the suh- 
 stitution. I went over the building ; the beds 
 were very common, and some of the rooms 
 seemed under repair ; that in which Napoleon 
 slept, was particularly pointed out. The upper 
 floors seemed chiefly used as gi'anaries. The 
 Refectory was being painted. They had just 
 dined, and silver salvers with macaroons, fruits, 
 &c., and various wines, still remained on the 
 table. At Martigny, water boiled at 1 10°. The 
 temperature of the fountain was 52° Fahr. The 
 water was tested by the usual chemical reagents 
 employed in analysis, but they produced no ef- 
 fect whatever. I inferred from thence that the 
 water was remarkably pure and wholesome. 
 The mean temperature for the year at Martigny 
 may be stated at 52° Fahr. 
 
 We left Martigny at six a. m. The clouds were 
 low, and possessed a very aerial character : they 
 seemed to sleep tranquilly on the bosom of the 
 mountain. The temperature of theDranBewas43°, 
 and that of the Rhone 50°. The small patches of 
 pasturage on the left were enamelled with the au- 
 tumnal crocus: on this side w€ visited the cascade 
 of Salanche, and, as we circumscribed our sta- 
 tion, had full in front the various segments of the 
 semicircular arch, glowing with all the colours 
 of the iris. On the right the rainbow became 
 
160 
 
 extinct. Though wet with the spray, we were 
 tempted to approach it laterally, as near as we 
 could, to see the magnificent crystalline arc 
 formed by the descent of the waters. By thus 
 viewing the considerably projecting curve of 
 sheeted water, we could form a tolerable estimate 
 of its thickness thus apparent at the edge. We 
 came at length to St Maurice, which may be cal- 
 led the portal of the Vallais. Not far from hence, 
 legend tells us, that the Christian soldiers of the 
 Theban Legion were destroyed by the Emperor 
 Maximinian, in the year 320. The bridge dis- 
 plays a lofty arch, and the gate at its extremity is 
 shut every night. About three quarters of a mile 
 from St Maurice, is a hermitage, and on a dan- 
 gerous precipice, and at a vast altitude, a chapel 
 of Notre Dame du Sex — what an ubiquity {omni- 
 presence we had confined to Deity) is possessed 
 by our Lady, and how protean and diversified 
 are her names ! This hermitage, I believe, is 
 still tenanted by a poor man, who has been blind 
 many years, and the truly dangerous pilgrimage 
 is made by him twice a day, by a tortuous and 
 precipitous path, to the aerial Madonna. We 
 observed in St Maurice the mistletoe here and 
 there suspended over the doors of the houses, 
 and it was interesting to witness the singular 
 contrast of Catholicism and Protestantism. On 
 one side of the bridge we found all the happiness 
 
161 
 
 of home, the smiles of plenty, and the cheerful- 
 ness of industry ; and, on the other, want and 
 wretchedness, and filth, the invariable features 
 of a catholic country : — we never saw an excep- 
 tion to this rule. 
 
 That hideous disease called goiture, and that 
 obliteration of mind called cretinism, seem both 
 endemic in the Vallais. The former often attains 
 a magnitude, of which we can in this country 
 form no conception, though in Derbyshire these 
 glandular excrescences are sometimes formi- 
 dable. After crossing Mont Cenis, from Turin 
 into Savoy, we have, between the foot of the 
 mountain and Aiguebelle, met with goitures so 
 monstrous, that they were literally encased in a 
 sack, and cast over the shoulder, to avoid being 
 trampled on ; and in one small town, we were 
 informed that more than one-half the inhabi- 
 tants were the victims of this extraordinary ex- 
 pansion and elongation of the thyroid gland. 
 According to our repeated observations, this 
 dreadful disease is found only in such valleys as 
 contain a humid and stagnant atmosphere, where 
 a free circulation of air is excluded, by the val- 
 ley being, as it were, shut up at one or both ends. 
 Of this description the Vallais is an example, and 
 some valleys in Savoy illustrate the same posi- 
 tion. This, too, will be found the features of the 
 locality in Derbyshire, and near Wrexham in 
 
16^ 
 
 Denbighshire. That persons under the influence 
 of goiture may emigrate, is evident ; and it is 
 therefore clear that we cannot calculate from an 
 insulated fact, presented here and there in the 
 plain. We must have palpable evidence of the in- 
 digenous or native seat of the disease, where it 
 grows spontaneously. The conditions stipulated 
 will be found the invariable accompaniment ; at 
 least I am acquainted with no well defined or 
 characterized exception. Diversified, indeed, 
 have been the opinions entertained on the cause 
 of this disease, and these contrarieties have 
 been numerous, — nor has any satisfactory opi- 
 nion been adopted. Some have ascribed it to 
 the air, some to water, some to one thing, some 
 to another. We think, however, that when 
 the evidence is properly weighed, there can be 
 only one safe and decided conclusion, that which 
 ascribes it to the stagnant vapours in the lower 
 atmosphere, unchanged or unrenewed by the 
 breeze ; but, in conjunction with other circum- 
 stances, — when the cuticular surface, after be- 
 ing exposed to a high temperature, and thus ha- 
 ving the orifices of perspiration opened, is sud- 
 denly checked by cold proceeding from radiation, 
 &c. while the system still remains in the dense 
 and humid atmospheric medium. As we ascend 
 toward the Alpine height, the goiture, which 
 was perceived so common in the valley, gra- 
 
163 
 
 dually disappears, and finally entirely vanishes, 
 leaving not a trace behind; for instance, be- 
 tween Chambery and the lofty range of Mount 
 Cenis. There are two villages in the Vallais, 
 a little elevated above the valley, almost oppo- 
 site to each other: one has a sowth^ and the 
 other a north aspect ; the former is overrun with 
 goiture, while the latter is without a single ex- 
 ample. To those who have ascribed it to drink- 
 ing ice-cold water merely, it may be sufficient to 
 reply, that, in lofty regions, where the only 
 beverage is the water of the glacier, the disease 
 is entirely unknown ; and, with respect to the 
 opinion that attributes it to extraneous matters 
 dissolved in the water, we might ask, Why 
 is the disease not endemic in those districts of 
 Norfolk, where we have analytically found the 
 water so very " hard," and so exceedingly char- 
 ged with sulphate of lime ? And at Martigny, 
 as has been stated, the water used is exceedingly 
 soft, being free from foreign impregnation. As 
 to the mean temperature of the year at Martigny 
 or Sion, as deduced from that of the springs, 
 there appears no clew or data whatever. The 
 mere beverage of ice-cold water alone^ without 
 any other adjunct, is, in like manner, insuffi- 
 cient to account for the phenomenon, because, 
 among the higher Alps, water at 33°, as we have 
 found when in a state of fevered excitement, 
 
164 
 
 is perfectly safe and innocuous; whereas, we 
 should not have dared to repeat such an experi- 
 ment under similar circumstances in the plain. 
 But goiture, it is evident, may be produced by 
 drinking water at a very low temperature, when 
 the medium in which the system is plunged is 
 uniformly high, and where, as in a stagnant 
 valley, there are few fresh currents of air to re- 
 new the atmosphere, which hence necessarily 
 remains humid. The system is thus unequally 
 balanced : it is acted on from the interior by the 
 ice-cold water, and from without by an atmos- 
 phere raised from 70° to 80°, and loaded with 
 vapour. There seems to me no doubt whatever, 
 but attention to the temperature of the water 
 would entirely deface the prevalence of goiture, 
 and means the most simple would accomplish 
 this desirable end. A dark stone heated in the 
 sunbeam, or otherwise, would raise the tempera- 
 ture of the water, and this maintained about the 
 mean temperature of the year in the Vallais 
 would be quite eifective. 
 
 Halle R attributed the goiture to the perni- 
 cious influence of noxious currents of air sweep- 
 ing through the valley. M. Reynier and others 
 have noticed, that goitures, accompanied with 
 cretinism, are more frequent in sheltered places, 
 where the air cannot be purified by being reno- 
 vated. Dr Zinc seems to think that the goi- 
 
165 
 
 ture may be produced artificially, by drinking 
 cold water, when heated, and be again dissi- 
 pated by drinking much warm water. He suc- 
 ceeds in extirpating the goiture, by employing 
 iodine as an unguent, and, if rightly prepared, it 
 does not stain the skin. He has even succeeded 
 by applying it to a totally different part of the 
 animal surface. I have rested long on this to- 
 pic, but I feel its vast importance, and am anxious 
 to contribute my personal observations and rea- 
 sonings, induced by the facts presented to view 
 in the course of my inquiries. In the poor 
 cretin, the Scripture language is literally veri 
 fied : " Eyes have they, but see not ; tbey have 
 ears, but hear not, neither do they speak from 
 their throat :" — they are the automata of human 
 nature, — locomotive indeed, but the mere mimic 
 of their exterior, — the floating wreck of matter ; 
 for the edifice of mind is in ruin, and the exter- 
 nal senses seem obedient to no volition. 
 
166 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 BEX AND ITS SALINES — GENEVA REVISITED — 
 SUNDAY — FETE d'e AU — YVERDUN — NEUF- 
 CHATEL. 
 
 We arrived at Bex about eleven a. m. on the 
 17th August, and paid an early visit to the salt 
 mine, or rather Brine Springs. We had an in- 
 teresting walk along a fine declivity, commanding 
 an extensive view of the rich alluvial pasturages 
 beneath — ^the spolia opima of the rapid Rhone, 
 embracing a verdant isle in the arms of its em- 
 bouchure. We entered the galleries of the Sa- 
 line by the principal entrance to the Grand Re- 
 servoir, 750 feet from the opening, passing that 
 of the mineral water impregnated with sulphu- 
 retted hydrogen on the right. The works ex- 
 tend under ground 4000 feet ; immense, indeed, 
 and extensive are the excavations. Beyond the 
 Great Reservoir is a wheel, thirty-six feet in 
 diameter, which raises the saline water from the 
 wells; and, still further,^re a variety of transverse 
 and intersecting galleries. There is also an air 
 
167 
 
 gallery, to ventilate the mine. The various 
 wells were sunk, one in 1741, two in 1747, and 
 one in 1781, in an argillaceous rock, having 
 much the appearance of decomposed schistus. 
 The strata decline at an angle of 40° to 45°, and 
 then* general direction runs from N. E. to S. W. 
 From the horizontal gallery we ascend to the 
 great wheel hy 800 steps. One of the wells is 
 600 feet deep; and fifty ladders form the descent 
 to the well called Bouillet. These Salines fur- 
 nish 15,000 quintals of salt annually, and the 
 salt supplies about one-tenth of the entire con- 
 sumption of the Canton of Berne, the rest being 
 obtained from Savoy and France. By the ac- 
 count of M. Struve *, it seems that the Salines 
 decrease in their supply. The sources of the 
 Bon Succes furnished in 1795, 18,045 quintals 
 of salt ; and in 1802, 13,800 quintals. The Sa- 
 lines are 886 feet higher than Bex, and 2214 
 feet above the level of the sea. In 1684, they 
 passed from the ancient family of Thormann 
 into the hands of the republic of Berne. Char- 
 PENTiER has found iodine in the mother waters 
 of the Brine, and Baup has detected the pre- 
 sence oi potassa. 
 
 The water, originally weak, is raised by a 
 great wheel from the Reservoir, supplied by 
 
 * Description abregee des Salines a Lausanne, 1804, p. 5T. 
 
168 
 
 subterranean pipes from the mine, and falling 
 through scaffolding supporting a platform of 
 brushwood, part of the water, by the process of 
 evaporation, meanwhile diffuses into the atmos- 
 phere, and leaves the remainder less capable of 
 dissolving the most insoluble salt. The sul- 
 phate of lime is, therefore, in the filtration of 
 the water through the brushwood, deposited as a 
 crust on the twigs ; and thus the water which 
 falls into the tank beneath is less impregnated 
 with sulphate of lime, and more with muriate of 
 soda, or common salt, which is eminently soluble : 
 this process, frequently repeated, highly increases 
 the density of the Eau Salee. The entire phe- 
 nomena afford a beautiful illustration of what 
 may be called a chemico-mechanical process. 
 From this tank the water is conveyed to the 
 boiler by subterranean pipes. The temperature 
 of the water at this spot issuing from the up- 
 right pump was 58° 5, and the air 45°, though, 
 near the great wheel, it sunk to 42°. The weak- 
 est Eau Salee here contained sulphate of lime, 
 sulphate of soda, and muriates of soda and mag- 
 nesia. The sulphate of lime considerably exceed- 
 ed the muriates in quantity. Air at the en- 
 trance of the Grand Gallery of the mine 63° 5' ; 
 farther in it rose to 69°. In other places the 
 temperatures were 59°, 61°, and 66°; that of the 
 saline spring in the mine was 51° 5. By chemical 
 
169 
 
 tests, I found that the strongest Eau Salee here 
 contained more of the muriates and less of the sul- 
 phates. We were told that the air within varied 
 at different times, and that from 10° to 15° R. 
 (from 55° to 66° F.) were the usual limits of 
 range. An immense space had been recently 
 excavated to be converted into a salt magazine. 
 I detached from the wall a large specimen of 
 muriacite. We were afterwards conducted 
 through a long gallery, between walls of gyp- 
 sum, by rather a steep staircase, to the main 
 reservoir containing the water. It is 320 feet 
 in circumference. We walked round it, and 
 finally inspected the metre of discharge, where 
 a float attached to a lever moves an index, which 
 registers the amount of flow. The workmen 
 receive ten batzen per diem (Is. 3d.) The tem- 
 perature of the fountains in this district gave 
 me 52°. A very beautiful weeping and graceful 
 willow overhangs one of the fountains. 
 
 On our return from the Salines, we came up 
 with an old woman, who might be termed the 
 ancient sybil of the place, and whose appearance 
 and manners in the olden time would certainly 
 have procured for her the epithet of " witch." 
 She had been gathering herbs, and while she 
 carried a staff in one hand, the other held a 
 stramonium plucked up by the root. She was 
 shrewd and " knowing" in her remarks, but all 
 
 H 
 
170 
 
 our questions gained nothing but evasive an- 
 swers. We returned by the side of a hill : be- 
 neath us the plain seemed very rich, was laid 
 out in parallel patches, and winded througli a 
 fine meadow and park. At Bex many workmen 
 were employed in raising the pavement, whicli 
 seemed once to have been a cemetery adjoining- 
 the church; they turned up human bones in 
 great quantities, and raised them up in ridges. 
 Goiture begins here to be common, on the side 
 of the Canton de Vaud. A druggist informed 
 me, that the only remedy adopted at Bex for its 
 extirpation was the hydriodate of potassa and 
 lard, applied externally by friction to the tu- 
 mour, and that it had been entirely effectuaL 
 The temperature of two fountains at Bex was 
 53^ ; over one of these was a fine weeping wil- 
 low. 
 
 Soon after leaving Bex, at six o'clock a. m., 
 we observed on the left a fine garden, with a 
 fountain playing in the centre : and two beauti- 
 ful herons, one on each side of the marble basin, 
 formed a scene at once graceful and pictu- 
 resque. On our way to Lausanne we passed 
 through Villeneuve, but as there did not seem 
 any thing of peculiar interest in the town, we 
 immediately went forward to Chillon; the charm 
 of the mystic mistletoe, however, does not seem 
 to be forgotten here any more than at St Mau- 
 
171 
 
 rice. We re^dsited the walls and dungeons of 
 Chillon, entering the fortress over the draw- 
 bridge ; the air without in the shade was 72^5 ; 
 that of the surface water of the lake 64°.5, and 
 the atmosphere of the dungeon 62°. 5, being 10° 
 lower than the air without; and I therefore in- 
 fer, that the temperature for the year must be here 
 sustained at a more uniform rate, and be less 
 subject to vicissitudes, than the external cli- 
 mate, and that, though this be less than the air 
 without in summer, it must, cceteris paribusy be 
 higher in winter, being so sustained by the more 
 uniform temperature of the waters of the lake, 
 in which the dungeon rock is so deeply imbed- 
 ded. 
 
 Advancing towards Vevey, we observed peo- 
 ple in the fields busily employed in topping the 
 shoots of the Indian corn. In this part of the 
 country, the houses have projecting roofs, which 
 serve not only as shade and shelter, but become 
 subservient to the protection of the crops; and 
 we noticed flax, Indian corn, &c. thus preserved 
 from wet. During a few hours stay at Vevey, 
 I consulted the liminintetre. There is a distinct 
 line pointing out its level in 1817, thus regis- 
 tered, " 62 pouces de cette ligne ;" the rise 
 therefore was considerable. The liminimetre 
 indicated 100. 1|. The level of the lake was 
 
 now sinking ; it had been two feet higher in the 
 
 \ ■ m9 
 
172 
 
 preceding year than its maximum altitude in 
 this. 
 
 On our return to Lausanne, we visited Gib- 
 bon's Library, and among the books found seve- 
 ral editions of the Bible, Latin and English. 
 This was a volume we least expected to meet 
 with ; and could it have told the secret history 
 of its once inquisitorial possessor, what a tale 
 would have been unfolded ! I accidentally met 
 with my old friend here, Senor Carlo Di Gim- 
 BERNAT, with whom, when charge d'affaires for 
 the King of Bavaria at the Court of Naples, in 
 1818, 1 had made many an interesting geological 
 excursion. I know no one more devoted to the 
 cause and interest of science ; he has made nu- 
 merous interesting experiments in the Crater of 
 Vesuvius, and visited it not far short of fifty 
 times. He remained forty days, during the pe- 
 riod of the equinoxes, watching the phenomena 
 of the intermitting or reciprocating spring at the 
 Villa PliniarwL, on the Lake of Como, and an en- 
 tire winter among the snows and glaciers of 
 Chamouni. He had recently been making ex- 
 periments on a peculiar substance he found in 
 the thermal and sulphureted waters of Yverdun, 
 which he had previously discovered on the sur- 
 face of the Monte Epopeo, in the island of Ischia, 
 in the Gulf of Naples, which has been described 
 in a communication transmitted to the Linnean 
 
173 
 
 Society through me. While our friends went 
 forward to Geneva by the packet, we remained 
 to enjoy the interesting conversation and com- 
 pany of my old friend, and on the Saturday 
 morning rejoined them, but only to take our 
 leave, as they were going through France, and 
 we purposed to visit the north of Switzerland. 
 
 At Geneva we found every thing in complete 
 confusion and uproar ; and it was with the ut- 
 most difficulty we could procure accommodation 
 at the Hotel de la Balance, All this bustle was 
 owing to a sham fight, or fete d^eau, which was 
 to take place on the following day, Sunday, on 
 the lake. In conformity with this, it was or- 
 dered that the public worship at the several 
 churches should commence at seven and nine 
 o'clock a. m., and finish at a quarter past 
 ten, so that no interruption should be given to 
 this trumpery raree show, for it was literally 
 nothing better. So much for the religion of the 
 church of Geneva. Let those who vindicate her 
 creed tell us whether the statutes and ordinances 
 of Heaven are to be subordinated to any secula- 
 rity whatever. This appeal is not made to the 
 infidel, " who cares for none of these things," 
 but to the individual who professes a belief in 
 Christianity, and considers the command of Je- 
 hovah paramount. Such an individual must find 
 himself in a dilemma, so long as it is written in 
 
174 
 
 the statute book of Heaven, " Remember the Sab- 
 bath day to keep it holy," — a command, we think, 
 just as sacred, inviolable, and imperative, as 
 " Thou shalt do no murder:" both were engraved 
 on the same tables of stone by the finger of God. 
 
 We were told that the chm'ches had been near- 
 ly deserted on this memorable morning ; such are 
 the practical effects of the morale of the ethics 
 taught at Geneva. In this fete d!eau^ the boats 
 were dressed out in all their frippery and finery. 
 We saw them late on the Saturday evening, and 
 the entire exhibition, we believe, would scarcely 
 amount to a tolerably decent puppet-show ; but 
 we did not witness it, as M. Malan's church 
 was opened at the usual hour. Dinner was pre- 
 pared for 500 at an inn on the verge of the lake. 
 The party included the syndics and the conseil 
 d'etat. In the evening there was to be an exhi- 
 bition of fire- works, and at night we were dis- 
 turbed and annoyed by a cavalcade and proces- 
 sion of the fellows who had figured in the boats 
 during the day at the sham fights, in the dress of 
 Turks and Algerines, with cutlasses and cara- 
 bines, some dirty and drunk, marching through 
 the city with torches and kettledi'ums. These 
 celebrated amusements have regular periodic re- 
 turns. Thus much for the solemnities of a Sun- 
 day at Geneva. 
 
 In the Place du Molard, labourers present 
 
175 
 
 themselves for hire every Sunday morning. Some 
 of them come from a great distance, even, we 
 understood, occasionally eight to ten leagues. 
 They bring with them then* sickles and scythes, 
 spades, pickaxes, and sh9vels. Here are cer- 
 tainly the " labourers standing idle in the mar- 
 ket place," but where is " the lord of the 
 VINEYARD?" " Thou shoJtt do no maimer of work^^ 
 &c. seems, in Geneva, to belong to a dead lan- 
 guage, or to be void of meaning altogether; 
 for, generally, with exception perhaps of the 
 short period of public worship, and sometimes 
 even this is forgotten, " all manner of work" in 
 watchmaking, jewellery, &c. ^oes on as usual. 
 The wages of a day labourer during the harvest 
 were about Is. 2d. per day, besides a bottle of 
 wine, and soup morning and evening. 
 
 From the Cathedral of St Pierre we enjoyed 
 an extensive view. In the tower we saw the 
 fine silver bell, the tone of which is indeed sweet 
 and silvery. It is said to weigh 500 lb. The 
 tongue is of iron, and is moved by a leathern 
 strap. It sounds the alarm in cases of fire, but 
 otherwise is not u^ed. The suspension bridge 
 is very fine, and worthy of a visit : it was erected 
 in 1823. We observed in our perambulations 
 the house from the projecting window of which 
 Calvin addressed the populace, and altogether it 
 recalled to our minds the house of John Knox, 
 
176 
 
 in the Canongate of Edinburgh. In Geneva, 
 however, we regi'et to say the name of Calvin is 
 almost unknown among the majority of its inhabi- 
 tants. I asked a respectable looking person to tell 
 me where I could find out the house where the 
 celebrated Calvin once lived: he was sorry, 
 however, he said, to confess that he did not know 
 whom I meant, for he had not heard the name of 
 the gentleman before. 
 
 The ecclesiastical court of Geneva is managed 
 somewhat like that of the Church of Scotland ; 
 and candidates for the ministry go through an 
 almost similar course of study and examination. 
 The title proposan applies to the individual when 
 he enters the priesthood ; but when he is set 
 apart to the charge of a parish, he then assumes 
 the epithet pasteur. The oldest pastor of the 
 city takes the title doyen^ and the president over 
 the weekly convocation, or assembly of pasteurs, 
 which meet, as in the presbyteries of the Church 
 of Scotland, to regulate ecclesiastical affairs, is 
 called, as in Scotland, moderator^ though, in the 
 latter, the presbytery is monthly. 
 
 Calvin, the celebrated reformer, has rendered 
 the name of Geneva dear to religion ; and his 
 " Institutes," though certainly not free from er- 
 ror, are hailed by the majority of protestants as 
 the most happy compendium of the Doctrines of 
 Christianity that was ever conceived by the 
 
177 
 
 mind of man. The only standard of appeal, in 
 this question, is the revealed record, and by this 
 test they must stand or fall. Sophistry may 
 disguise or pervert, but the mind, unbiassed by 
 prejudice or preconceived opinion, is the only 
 legitimate judge. It must be honest to itself, 
 and docile in the things which belong to God, 
 else it can have neither part nor lot in this mat- 
 ter. John Calvin was elected Professor of 
 Theology in 1536, and founded the College in 
 1359, together with the Academy and Public 
 Library, and died on 27th May 1564. His 
 death, observes Pi cot. Professor of History in 
 the Academy of Geneva, occasioned a general 
 mourning in the city. Every one believed that, 
 in his loss, he had indeed lost a prop, protector, 
 and father, and that even the future hope of the 
 republic was eclipsed. All ranks and conditions 
 accompanied his remains to their last repose, 
 and by their tears testified that their grief was 
 indeed sincere. He has been accused by the 
 enemies of Christianity as consenting to the 
 death of Servetus, and some other acts of seve- 
 rity : nor do we by any means hold him guilt- 
 less in these respects ; but, as Pi cot justly ob- 
 serves, " these acts were attributable rather to 
 excessive zeal in the cause of truth, than to a 
 bad principle of action." In an age literally 
 distinguished by " fiery trials," and one wherein 
 
 h3 
 
178 
 
 Protestants were frequently victims of Catholic 
 persecution, Galvin, 'by an unfortunate lex tali^ 
 mis, retaliated on Servetus, who, hardened in 
 infidelity, denied the Divinity of Christ. This 
 was a hold stroke, aimed at the foundation rock 
 of Christianity; and Calvin was roused in the 
 cause of truth, and the Master whom he served. 
 But he tvho could, in an unguarded moment, 
 and in the agitation of mistaken zeal, proceed 
 to such an extremity, would, we believe, had he 
 been the victim sacrificed to truth, not only have 
 been passive at the stake, but prayed for his ene- 
 mies. Noble and praiseworthy institutions, and 
 numerous monuments^ of good, attest in loud 
 acclaim the excellence of his heart and the vigour 
 of his understanding, and forbid us to plant an 
 anomalous feature in his character. These form 
 a bold bastion, firmer than Geneva's walls, 
 against the attacks and assaults of his enemies, 
 and form 
 
 .■ " A tower of strength, 
 
 Which they upon the adverse faction want." 
 
 Aye ! and when his enemies are reduced to the 
 dust of death, and the waves of oblivion have 
 rolled over their names, that of John Calvin 
 will be found to enjoy the imperishable laurels 
 with which the genius of Christianity has already 
 crowned his bust. In him we behold an honest 
 
179 
 
 man, nobly contending for what he believed to 
 be the " Faith once delivered to the Saints." 
 
 We returned to Lausanne by the steam-packet 
 on Monday, and left for Neufchatel on Tuesday 
 morning. On our route, we passed througli 
 Yverdun, celebrated for its warm-baths, which 
 are tolerably well frequented during summer. 
 They contain sulphur eted hydrogen andthcMMnafe 
 and sulphate of soda. The temperature at the bot- 
 tom of the lake at Yverdun, which is in some parts 
 450 feet deep, Saussure found to be 41° Fahr. 
 when that of the surface was 74° Fahr. Both the 
 cormorant and the pelican sometimes take their 
 station by the edge of the Lake. The wines at 
 Yverdun are both white and red, but com is more 
 cultivated in this district than vines, as the sea- 
 srons are not always sufficiently warm for their 
 maturation ; and the culture of corn seems gradu- 
 ally usurping the lands pre-occupied by the vine- 
 yards. The potato is extensively cultivated for the 
 purpose of the distillation of brandy, and recent 
 experiments, notwithstanding Cobbett's tirade, 
 and his Indian corn manoeuvre, seem more and 
 more to enhance the worth of this truly valu- 
 able esculent. It is one of the most wholesome 
 cultivated roots, and we consider it the very 
 mainspring which contributes to the health of 
 the British Empire : this root, too, yields excel- 
 lent starch, is the basis of British gum, and 
 
180 
 
 constitutes the greater part of what is sold 
 as Indian arrow root. The stalks, when burnt, 
 yield an excellent alkali for bleaching and wash- 
 ing, and not only is a spirit extracted from its 
 blossom, but it contributes to the arts, by sup- 
 plying a fine yellow dye. We understood dis- 
 tillation from the potato was generally extending. 
 The lower part of St Cierges, not far from 
 Yverdun, produces much corn, and extensive 
 crops of tobacco. The neighbourhood is marshy, 
 and intermittents used to be frequent, but lately 
 many of these swamps have been drained and 
 cultivated. Febrile affections have almost en- 
 tirely disappeared. Yverdun enjoyed much 
 reputation and celebrity, as being the residence 
 of the teacher Pestalozzi. We learned from a 
 well informed individual, who seemed to be in- 
 timately acquainted with all the circumstances, 
 that though he still maintains his chateau there, 
 he lives * with his grandson at Argovie. He 
 had been most illiberally treated, and bitterly 
 persecuted by the inhabitants of the town of 
 Yverdun. For a trifling debt of about L. 25, 
 his entire furniture was seized, arid it does not ap- 
 pear that Yverdun possessed one individual suffi- 
 ciently generous to come forward on his behalf. 
 His Memoirs were then in a state of forward- 
 
 • This distinguished individual is since dead. 
 2 
 
181 
 
 ness for publication, by a Mr Smith, whom 
 Pestalozzi used to call his " bras droit." Mr 
 S. has clearly proved, that, by the institute of 
 Pestalozzi, Yverdun gained an additional re- 
 venue of not less than 150,000 francs annually, 
 arising from the influx of strangers. This in- 
 stitute certainly enjoyed considerable reputation, 
 which is attested by the fact, that, in 1818, the 
 establishment contained 150 scholars from many 
 nations, prosecuting their several studies under 
 various masters and ushers. A great many of 
 these were Germans. By the insane aiid unre- 
 lenting persecution he received from the inha- 
 bitants at Yverdun, this celebrated man was 
 forced to leave his home : the institution was 
 broken up, and the people now, for their own 
 sakes, bitterly repent their cruelty and oppres- 
 sion of an individual, who had so extensively bene- 
 fited their town, and was its glory and its boast ; 
 so true it is that man is blind to his best inte- 
 rests, and talent and worth are often sacrificed 
 to wanton malignity. Pestalozzi has been ac- 
 cused by his enemies of favouring infidel senti- 
 ments; a charge which has been warmly re- 
 pelled by his adherents. 
 
 We now took leave of the Canton de Vaud, 
 where every Swiss is a soldier from his birth, and 
 entered that of Neufchatel, arriving at its capital 
 at 7 o'clock p. M., at the Hotel de la Balance* 
 
182 
 
 During our stay we visited the Hospital of Pour- 
 tales, where four Sceurs de la Charite, and a supe- 
 rior, take charge of the building and its inmates, 
 under the superintendance of a medical gentle- 
 ma;n. There is a neat laboratory where medicines 
 are prepared, chiefly simples; the arrangement 
 was good. Among the few books, I noticed 
 " Le Botaniste Cultivateur," &c. There was 
 a variety of beautiful mortars of porphyry, 
 serpentine, and the variety called potstone. In 
 this laboratory, I noticed also two large snail 
 shells, with a wicket of gauze over the opening, 
 as a kind of operculum, and in each was im- 
 prisoned a minute figure, extremely neat, and 
 habited like a nun. They were on a side shelf, 
 and accidentally placed there, but I was amused 
 with the fancy so very characteristic of the fate 
 of these self imolated victims of superstition. 
 There were thirty-three patients in the hospital. 
 In the consultation room was a fine portrait of 
 Count PouRTALES, a citizen of Neufchatel, and 
 the benevolent founder of the edifice. On 
 the 14th January 1808, Pourtales assigned 
 600,000 francs toward the construction and 
 maintenance of this Hospice, and it was opened 
 in 1811, for the reception of all poor patients, 
 without distinction of country or religion : the 
 number of beds amounted to near forty. Pour- 
 tales, we were informed by an individual, 
 
183 
 
 whose relation was employed in his office, was 
 a man of eccentric habits and industry. His 
 clerks were unceremoniously and promptly dis- 
 missed, if they neglected to use their pens to 
 the last stump, or lost carelessly a slip of paper, 
 or bit of pack-thread. From the hospital we 
 went to the garden of the late Count, but found 
 nothing attractive in it. The moss house was fine, 
 and the only thing which we admired. There was 
 an adjoining study : a convex mirror was imbed- 
 ded in the moss, and an alabaster lamp suspended 
 from above : the view from hence is very exten- 
 sive. 
 
 The Hotel de Ville is a fine massive build- 
 ing, and its rooms appeared handsome. The 
 only paintings we noticed, were those of the 
 present King of Prussia, and of his father, the 
 Elector, &c. Near the Hotel de Ville is the or- 
 phan Hospital. To Pury and Pourtales, both 
 citizens, Neufchatel is chiefly indebted for her 
 various benevolent institutions. We visited the 
 Cathedral, which, however, disclosed little that 
 was interesting or worthy of particular note. 
 The fountains are of ancient architecture. We 
 found considerable improvements going on in 
 buildings : new pavements were being laid, and 
 stone pipes for the supply of water. Neuf- 
 chatel is built on two hills, separated by the 
 Seyon, and contains about 4500 inhabitants. 
 
184 
 
 A fine promenade, planted with trees, has heen 
 recovered from the lake; and from the cret ahove 
 this promenade, the town is seen to much advan- 
 tage. The lake was transparent as crystal, and we 
 saw a fine shoal of large salmon trout, of which 
 we distinctly counted nineteen. We were in- 
 formed that a salmon had been caught the pre- 
 ceding day, of the extraordinary weight of 
 eighty-five pounds, and that the morcena, a kind 
 of spotted eel, was occasionally got five feet 
 long. During our stay, however, we had only a 
 large pike served up at the table d'hote. The 
 price of butcher meat in the market here, as 
 well as butter, was similar to that at Lausanne, 
 or a shade higher in the former ; but the bat- 
 zen in this Canton are a fraction less in value 
 than in other Cantons, twenty-one batzen here 
 being equal to twenty elsewhere. Both red 
 and white wines are made in this Canton, 
 and the vine is cultivated at from 400 to 500 
 feet above the level of the Lake. The vine- 
 yards are enclosed here as at Lausanne, being 
 flanked with high walls by the road side, which 
 becomes excessively annoying in the summer from 
 heat and dust, the former doubled by reflection, 
 and unrelieved by the breeze around, and the 
 latter accumulating, from not being swept away 
 by the circulation of air. We were informed 
 that a vineyard had that season been destroyed 
 
185 
 
 by hailstones, at about six miles distant, being 
 without hail protectors, whereas the neighbour- 
 ing vineyard, supplied with paragreles, escaped 
 untouched. In the neighbourhood of Neufchatel, 
 open sheds may be seen filled with rounded 
 cakes, somewhat resembling turf placed to dry. 
 These are formed of the refuse of the grape 
 after expression, which are thrown up into a 
 heap. An iron hoop or ring, about a foot in dia- 
 meter, and two inches deep, is filled with this 
 semidecomposed refuse of grapes and vine stalks, 
 and hard compressed, being trampled by bare- 
 footed boys, having hold of a transverse bar. 
 After this simple operation, when cast out of the 
 mould, they are transferred to shelves to be dried: 
 and may then be used as a material for fire, or form 
 good manure ; and the burnt ashes yield an ex- 
 cellent alkali. During our stay, we walked to 
 the beautiful bridge cast over the river Doubs, and 
 visited, at no great distance up the river, a large 
 paper manufactory. In the crevices of the wall 
 we passed on leaving Neufchatel, we noticed the 
 wallflower and greater snapdragon. 
 
 Neufchatel formed a principality, to which, af- 
 ter having been vacant in 1707, by the death of 
 the Duchess of Nemours, Frederick I. King of 
 Prussia, in quality of hereditary Prince of 
 Orange, tendered his claims, and was accepted. 
 Since that period it has remained in his posses- 
 
186 
 
 sion, but though nominally Sovereign or Prince 
 of Neufchatel, the inhabitants seem to enjoy ex- 
 traordinary immunities and privileges. From 
 the produce of the vineyards, the sovereign re- 
 ceives a tenth as a tax. While the cultiA ation 
 of the potato seems to increase, that of grain ap- 
 pears to diminish. Corn pays one-tenth of a ty the, 
 but potatoes are exempt from every tax. The 
 thread of the flax grown among the mountain- 
 ous districts is so fine that cambric is made 
 from it ; but if we are not mistaken, the fibre of 
 flax grown on dry mountain patches, though 
 finer, is not so cohesive as that grown in damp 
 ground, and lower levels : nor do I doubt but 
 the seed likewise varies ; that grown in some 
 parts of Italy called Lino monochino, always 
 fetches a high price, and I was told it came ori- 
 ginally from Bavaria. The cheeses of the moun- 
 tains and villages in this Canton are often, from 
 their form and weight (forty to fifty pounds), 
 confounded with those of Gruyere, in the ad- 
 joining Canton of Fribourg. In the principality 
 of Neufchatel, the number of bee-hives is rec- 
 koned at 3838. 
 
 The trout of the Doubs tastes of cray-fish, on 
 which they seem to feed, and two varieties of the 
 latter are found in the waters of the Doubs and 
 Seyon. The fishing of the Lake of Neufchatel 
 is open to all without any restriction. The 
 
187 
 
 Cyclamen europeum is found in great abundance; 
 and among the rocks in the Canton, between 
 St Blaise and Woens is seen the true Lavender, 
 and above its level the Bulb-hearing Lily, Rho- 
 dodendronferrutgineum, &c. On the borders of the 
 Doubs the Daphne alpina flourishes, and above 
 the Brenets, the Fritillaria. 
 
 The introduction of clock and watch making 
 into this Canton, is an epoch of sufficient inte- 
 rest, and altogether curious. In 1679, one of 
 the inhabitants brought a watch from London, 
 the first that ever had been seen in these parts : 
 from a slight accident it required repair, and 
 was entrusted to a person of the name of Daniel 
 Jean Richard, who having minutely studied 
 its mechanism, endeavoured to imitate it, and 
 though in want of every material and instru- 
 ment, his inventive genius supplied the deside- 
 rata. An entire year, it appears, was employed 
 in making the necessary tools, &c. and in six 
 months afterwards he produced a watch com- 
 plete in all its parts. For a long period he mo- 
 nopolized the manufacture, but the demand con- 
 siderably increasing, he initiated some of his 
 friends into the " craft and mystery" of watch- 
 making, and was thus enabled to supply the de- 
 mand. He retired to Locle, where he died in 
 1741, leaving behind him five sons, watchmak- 
 
188 
 
 ers, and this is now the staple trade of the Can- 
 ton. 
 
 From among the mountains in the Canton of 
 Neufchatel have emanated many ingenious men. 
 Berthoud, author of a treatise on watches, and 
 his nephew, well known for his marine pendu- 
 lums. Breguet of Locle, late of Paris *, the 
 celebrated inventor of that very curious, delicate 
 and sensible instrument, the Thermometre metal- 
 lique^ (one of which I possess), and several inge- 
 nious improvements on the pendulum; also 
 Droz of Paris : and here, too, is to be found Perr- 
 LET, inventor of the self-winding watch, with 
 others celebrated in chronometry. Living in 
 insulated houses, the leisure hours left from 
 agriculture, and the winter months, are devoted 
 to clock-making. From the mountainous dis- 
 tricts of the Canton and Val de Traves, 130,000 
 watches are annually exported ; one-nineteenth 
 are in gold, and the rest in silver or semilor, &c. ; 
 and about 1000 pendulums. The price of these 
 watches varies from 7 francs to 600 francs. 
 Among the pinesof the Jui*a, in the houses of these 
 mountain traffickers in pendulums and watches, 
 may be heard dissertations on the peculiarities of 
 national taste, and watches found for all nations, 
 and suited to every fancy. Watches for America, 
 
 * Died some time ago. 
 
189 
 
 France, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Russia, &c. 
 watches enamelled and enriched with pearls for 
 Italy and Spain, and large copper gilt watches, 
 or of silver, with false shagreen cases, and dials 
 with Turkish cyphers for Turkey. A child 
 gains four or five sous per day (2d. or 2^d.),and 
 good workmen ten to twelve francs, or even 
 more. At Chaux de Fonds, are manufactured 
 optical and other philosophical instruments. 
 From this Canton a specimen of beautiful glass, 
 well adapted for achromatic lenses, was lately 
 sent to this country, by an individual, we be- 
 lieve, now no more. The report of the Com- 
 mittee appointed by the Board of Longitude, to 
 investigate its claims to superiority, gave a high 
 character of excellence to it. We have no means 
 of knowing what has become of it, but Messrs 
 Herschell and Farraday have not long ago 
 announced the production of a kind of glass, 
 well fitted for telescopic purposes. The inha- 
 bitants of this Canton are extremely active, in- 
 dustrious, and intelligent. Their religion is 
 Protestant. Instruction seems very general, and 
 every facility is afforded to all classes by the 
 public authorities. We left Neufchatel at 10 
 o'clock p. M., on the 24th, by the mail, and ar- 
 rived at Berne on the morning of the 25th. It 
 was a fine star-light night, and the planet Venus 
 looked beautiful in her shroud of silvery light. 
 
190 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 BERNE — FELLENBERG AND HOFWYL — HINDLE- 
 
 BANK THUN AND ITS LAKE UNTERSEEN 
 
 LAUTERBRUNNEN, AND THE CASCADE OF STAU- 
 BACH — GRINDELWALD — THE GLACIERS. 
 
 We much regretted that our time did not 
 allow us to visit, on our route to Berne, the Isle 
 of St Pierre, in the JL(w de Bienne, once the fa- 
 vourite retreat of J. J. Rousseau. Berne is an 
 extraordinary city, and withal lively and inte- 
 resting: its situation is elevated more than 100 
 feet above the bed of the river Aare, which en- 
 circles one half the town. On the whole, I am 
 inclined to call Berne a fine city, the streets cal- 
 led Grande Hue and Rue de la Justice, are very 
 beautiful. The houses, built of sandstone, are 
 over arcades, which, of necessity, form a secure 
 shelter for pedestrians, though it gives a dull 
 and sombre aspect, and we exceedingly prefer 
 seeing a promenade bona fide in the open air ; the 
 effect is much better, and more lively, and exhi- 
 
191 
 
 larating. The only drawback we felt was the 
 language, German being universally spoken, 
 and we but imperfectly understood it. French 
 is seldom heard : even the Cicerone mutters a 
 sorry jargon, which is any thing but French ; 
 and when we hired a char-a-banc, the driver was 
 mute to every note but German. The fountains 
 are numerous, and in their architecture exceed- 
 ingly grotesque ; of course, their favourite, the 
 Bear^ has its place on them, as on every thing 
 besides. They are found in almost every street, 
 and discharge their waters with considerable 
 force : they were established in 1394 ; the ex- 
 cessive heats of that year having dried up many 
 of the fountains that were then in the city. [The 
 water which supplies them is brought from a 
 considerable distance. Berne has four gates ; 
 the handsomest, composed of iron, is the Porte 
 de Morat, by which we entered from Lausanne. 
 In the centre is a basin of water, and on the left 
 The " Grand Hopital" one of the chief build- 
 ings in Berne. The population has been rated 
 at 13,927. The streets are excellent, and regu- 
 larly watered during summer, or in dry weather : 
 criminals are employed as scavengers. 
 
 The walks in and about Berne are beautiful 
 and varied, and from each one some pretty scene 
 is presented. Among those in the city we much 
 
192 
 
 admired one near the Casino, and another called 
 Le Petit Rampart, which affords a fine view of 
 the rich, fertile, and smiling meadows through 
 which the Aare serpentines : that called La 
 Plateforme, 108 feet above the river, with a fine 
 avenue of shady trees, is the most fashionable 
 resort, and is generally crowded; from it is a good 
 Adew of the glaciers. From the higher parts of 
 the town, we descended, by a flight of 187 
 steps, to the bed of the Aare ; and, not far from 
 the embankment, which intercepts its waters, 
 and forms a fine fall, a stream is directed to 
 supply corn and saw mills, and other machinery. 
 The promenade along its banks is refreshing 
 and cheering. There are also beyond the city- 
 walls a walk, embowered by an avenue of limes, 
 the Philosophers^ Walk, that of Altenberg, and 
 others. The Eichplatz and the Enge are noble 
 stations for the survey of the rich and pictu- 
 resque beauties of alpine landscape. The latter 
 was also an especial favourite. It is a lovely 
 walk, and the view is truly picturesque and 
 beautiful ; — that part especially of the Alpine 
 Chain which includes the Jungfrau, is brought 
 out in sublime alto relievo. On the side of a 
 walk, constructed by the taste and patriotism of 
 an individual, is a Ijuge boulder of granite, bear- 
 ing the following inscription : 
 
193 
 
 Civibus et Peregrinis 
 
 Gratium opus, 
 
 Relictu veteri via 
 
 Per loca praerupta 
 
 Qua natura negare 
 
 Videbatur 
 
 Iter, 
 
 Factum atque munitum. 
 
 Inceptum mdccl. 
 Absolutum MDCCL VIII. 
 
 There are many public buildings, well worthy 
 of notice, but as our intention is by no means 
 to enter into minute detail, we may simply men- 
 tion the Great Hospital, the Public Library, the 
 Museum of Natural History, the Orphan Hospital, 
 the Arsenal, and the Hotel de Ville, as most wor- 
 thy of note. We visited, among others, the Mun- 
 ster or Cathedral, a fine monument of Gothic ar- 
 chitecture. The foundations were laid in 1421. 
 Above the principal entrance the Last Judg- 
 ment is carved in wood en relief. Painted win- 
 dows ornament the choir. A sand-glass is still 
 attached to th€ pulpit, and in the sacristry are 
 shewn fine tapestries, and rich priests' garments, 
 which are of the period of Charles the Rash. 
 The tower contains the largest bell in Switzer- 
 land : it weighs 2030 lb. exclusive of the clap- 
 per. Bears and stags have commodious apart- 
 ments in the fosses of the city : two sump- 
 tuous dens have lately been erected for the for- 
 
194 
 
 mer, near the Gate of Arberg, and they certainly 
 amuse strangers by their grotesque movements, 
 in the ascent and descent of the trees, in the centre 
 of their enclosures. Captured on the day that 
 the foundation of the capital was laid, the bear 
 has accordingly been embossed in the escutcheon 
 of the city arms, — enters into all their chambers 
 of imagery, — is struck on their coins, — sculp- 
 tured on every bridge, — dangles over every inn, 
 — and is carved on all the barns and granaries in 
 the Canton. 
 
 We observed that lists of the names of stran- 
 gers were regularly transmitted from Canton to 
 Canton. The hotels called " Faucon" and " Cou- 
 ronne," are the most frequented by English, 
 there being on the 21st August, twenty-two at 
 the former, and fifteen others ; and twenty-six 
 at the latter, and seventeen others. That cal- 
 led the " Gentils-hommes," on this day had 
 only two English, while there were twenty-five 
 gentlemen from different countries. In Berne, 
 French Protestant and Catholic worship are 
 celebrated under the same roof, at different 
 periods of the same days, — certainly liberal 
 enough, though we doubt its propriety and de- 
 corum : a curtain conceals the insignia of the 
 latter. Considerable external decorum obtains 
 during the celebration of public worship, and 
 chains are drawn across every street where the 
 
I 
 
 195 
 
 service is being performed. It need scarcely be 
 added, that, since the language spoken is Ger- 
 man, smoking tobacco exists to a vast extent, — 
 an almost invariable adjunct of that language. 
 
 The climate of the Canton of Berne is too 
 cold for the vine, but rich pasturage and waving 
 corn fields amply compensate for this want. The 
 cottages and farm-houses, with the overhanging 
 roofs and carved frame-work, all constructed of 
 wood, are picturesque and pretty. The cos- 
 tume is extremely curious, peculiar, and cha- 
 racteristic, and must strike every stranger, as it 
 assuredly did us, with no ordinary surprise. 
 
 During our stay at Berne, we engaged a char- 
 a-banc, and set off to visit the magnificent and 
 extensive establishment of M. Fellenberg at 
 Hofwyl, which combines varied and numerous 
 branches of instruction, viz. an institution or 
 seminary for the education of young gentlemen, 
 of the superior classes of society ; a school for 
 the poor ; a well arranged agricultural establish- 
 ment, both theoretic, and to reduce to economi- 
 cal practice the discoveries of different countries, 
 and to ascertain experimentally the value of the 
 various iniprovements in agricultural machinery; 
 also a manufactory for constructing the imple- 
 ments required. 
 
 On our arrival, we found that the greater 
 
 i2 
 
196 
 
 part of the pupils had set out on their annual 
 pedestrian excursion, via Neufchatel, under the 
 care of one of the classical tutors. We were 
 informed that there were then ninety-nine 
 eleves : of these fifteen were English, ten Scotch, 
 including two sons of the eccentric Mr Owen, 
 who had twice visited Hofwyl, two Russians, fif- 
 teen Italians, one Greek, several Danes, Swedes, 
 and Germans ; the rest French and Swiss ; there 
 were of course no Spaniards. Twenty-one mas- 
 ters teach the languages, belles lettres, arith- 
 metic, natural philosophy, chemistry, botany, 
 agriculture, &c. There are five professors for 
 the various accomplishments, as music, draw- 
 ing, &c. In the saloon for music, there were 
 two kettle-drums, a violincello, a grand piano- 
 forte, and various other instruments ; and on a 
 large black board, were chalked lines and notes 
 for the use of beginners : a concert is held every 
 month. The various Apartments for instruction 
 are arranged with judgment and method ; in fact, 
 nothing can well be imagined more complete 
 than the toiite ensemble of this very extraordinary 
 establishment. There is a chapel that serves 
 at once for the Protestant and Catholic wor- 
 ship : for the former, the altar and imagery of 
 Catholicism are most judiciously concealed from 
 view, being closed in by folding-doors. 
 
 The beds where the pupils repose, are ele- 
 
197 
 
 gantly neat, and all subordinated to health and 
 comfort; each has a separate compartment, and in 
 some we were pleased to observe the pictures of 
 their parents or friends. In the dining-room is 
 a closet, which descends into the kitchen by 
 means of machinery, and is wound up again, load- 
 ed with the dishes. The arrangements in the kit- 
 chen seemed admirable, and very complete, 
 even in that for the working-people was a Pa- 
 pin's digester. Proper houses and rooms are 
 appropriated for tailors, shoemakers, carpenters, 
 mechanics, &c., and we found all at their re^ 
 spective labours : every thing required for the 
 establishment is done, as much as possible, with- 
 in the precincts. A large building is appropria- 
 ted to horsemanship and various gymnastic 
 exercises ; and for the latter there are also erec- 
 tions of wood, &c. without. There is a plot of 
 ground allowed to each pupil for a garden, in 
 which he may exercise his own taste. Several 
 new edifices were being erected, for various 
 purposes, and M, Fellenberg superintended 
 Jhem in person. The number of educated poor 
 amounted to thirty, chiefly orphans, they are 
 maintained, clothed, and educated gratuitously, 
 and, in return, their services are claimed by 
 him until they are of age. 
 
 The agricultural implements are numerous, 
 varied, and complete, including all the ingenuity 
 
198 
 
 of the most recent invention. There is a fine 
 dairy : the milk is preserved in shallow trays of 
 wood in subterranean cellars, and the floors are 
 frequently sprinkled with water to keep them 
 cool. A good deal of common cheese is made. 
 There are fifty milch cows, which are regularly 
 curried down, and attended to like horses ; four- 
 teen horses ; fourteen oxen for labour, particu- 
 larly large, of the Fribourg breed. Liquid 
 manure is duly appreciated, and holds its pro- 
 per place in the economy of agriculture, which 
 is not merely theoretic, but practical, and that, 
 too, on a magnificent scale: Both horses and 
 oxen are almost entirely fed at the stall : green 
 provender is cut for them in the proper season. 
 Fellenberg must, from his princely domains, 
 be possessed of vast pecuniary resom*ces, and 
 their appropriation seems commendable. Alto- 
 gether the science r of education, in its various 
 ramifications, appears to be conducted with rare 
 ingenuity and talent. The whole machinery is 
 as extensive as it is noble, and every wheel 
 seems to move with perfect order and regularity. 
 Fellenberg is certainly a lofty character. He 
 has been accused, as well as Pestalozzi, of 
 favouring infidel sentiments, with what shew of 
 reason, I cannot tell. The forms, both Catho- 
 lic and Protestant, are, at any rate, observed, 
 
199 
 
 and we did not hear that his private sentiments, 
 if they are infidel, had ever been obtruded. 
 
 On the whole, we cannot but cheerfully re- 
 peat the complimental tribute awarded by M. 
 Crud *, " Tout y est, et y est a sa place." 
 
 Doubtless it was at Hofwyl that Owen im- 
 bibed the principles of his wild and visionary 
 scheme, — his parallelogramic plan of society, 
 which he is now endeavouring to transplant in 
 the wilds of America ; and when Mr Owen can 
 recreate the human heart, and remodel its prin- 
 ciple of action, then he may succeed, — ^but not 
 not till then. The whole proceeds on a false 
 estimate of human nature, and both observation 
 and experience give the lie to his assumption. 
 
 From Hofwyl we proceeded to the Chateau 
 of Count d'Erlach, at Hindlebank, and en- 
 joyed a walk through his garden and domains, 
 which are delightfully situated ; but we regret- 
 ted that the Count had unfortunately just left 
 home for the Chateau de Berg, near Zurich. 
 From this chateau we proceeded to the village 
 of Hindlebank, with especial reference to the 
 extraordinary monument in the church there, — 
 the work of the sculptor Nahl of Cassel, for- 
 merly sculptor to his Majesty the King of Prus- 
 sia. It represents the moment when Madame 
 
 • Notice sur les Etablissements de Hofwyl, 1816, p. 6. 
 
200 
 
 Langhans, the wife of the Pastor of Hindle- 
 bank, springs from the tomb, with her infant in 
 her arm, the sepulchral stone being fractured 
 by the trump of the Archangel, at the summons 
 to Judgment. It is a wonderful production, 
 and, we think, exceeded by none of the works 
 of RouBiLLiAC. Madame Langhans was con- 
 sidered one of the most beautiful women of 
 Switzerland, and died at the age of twenty-eight 
 years. Nahl, who was then engaged in exe- 
 cuting a monument for one of the family of 
 Erlach, abode with the Pastor, and employed 
 his chisel in this new direction. The figures 
 and £he tomb are sculptured out of one entire 
 block of sandstone. The tomb seems to have 
 been rent suddenly asunder, and fractured into 
 three pieces, and the fragments to have yielded 
 and opened; while from its bosom a beautiful 
 figure, with her infant, is about to dart to 
 Heaven; the fracture is so extremely natural 
 and striking, that the astonished spectator can 
 scarcely believe it is merely the triumph of 
 sculpture. The monument is a little lower 
 than the floor of the church, and a trap-door 
 opening on its hinges, exposes it to view. In 
 this church there is also a fine monument 
 raised to several members of the Count d'Er-» 
 lack's family. One seems to have attained 
 
201 
 
 to an unusual age. The following is the in- 
 scription : 
 
 4 
 
 Alb. Fred. S. R. J. C. ab Erlack Dominus 
 Nat. Kal. Nov. 1696 Concess. Fato. 
 1788. Explet ann. 93, &c. 
 
 We returned to Berne in the evening, through 
 a charming, fertile, and highly cultivated coun- 
 try. 
 
 We left Berne for Thun, at nine o'clock on 
 Saturday, with a German postilion, by a fine 
 road, the land cultivated, and adorned with pic- 
 turesque cottages, &c., and arrived at Thun 
 about noon, but remained only a short time 
 at the inn (Freyhof) : it was a fair day, and 
 numerous wares were displayed. We ascended 
 by a flight of steps sufficiently shallow, to the 
 cemetery of the church, which stands on an emi- 
 nence, and overlooks the town, and enjoyed a 
 noble view of the ridge of the Blumenalp : the 
 Jwigfrau^ Stackhorn, &c. The view of the plain 
 to the right, and the lake, enrich the picture. 
 About two o'clock we set out on the lake, the 
 boat was charged 7 francs. On leaving Thun, 
 the view becomes extremely interesting, and 
 several pretty scenes on both sides present 
 their various aspects. The appearance then 
 changes to the towering, the wild, and the rocky. 
 We landed at tbe further extremity of the 
 
S02 
 
 lake, after a most delightful excursion, for the 
 day was fine and serene, and the waters were 
 placid as a mirror. Having engaged a per- 
 son to take our luggage, we chose to walk to 
 Unterseen, a distance of only about two miles, 
 as the individuals seemed eager to impose. 
 
 We remained during our stay at the Hotel de 
 la Douane^ the landlady of which was the once 
 far-famed Belle Batelliere, now thirty-three years 
 old, and has several children : she is still beau- 
 tiful, and must, at one time, have been lovely. 
 From hence the Jungfrau forms a magnificent 
 and sublime spectacle. The villagers seemed 
 happy and cheerful ; the aquatic scenes by which 
 we were surrounded, enlivened every aspect 
 with a vesture of the romantic and picturesque. 
 The view by moonlight from the bridge over 
 the connecting stream, which unites the lake of 
 Thun with that of Brientz, was calm and pla- 
 cid, and peopled with novel images and figures. 
 This village is a very singular one : the houses 
 are built entirely of wood, remarkable and exo- 
 tic in their construction, and curious in ara- 
 besque or fantastic ornaments, and carved in- 
 scriptions in German, indicating by whom they 
 were constructed, and invoking God for his 
 blessing and protection ; and the dates seem to 
 claim for some of the houses a high antiquity. 
 It seems to be a village, as it were, half afloat 
 
203 
 
 on a running stream, which presents some fine 
 islands on the side of the lake of Brientz. Here 
 and there the water exhibits pretty little falls, or 
 is heard murmuring and gurgling round flood- 
 gates, and piles, supporting buildings, variously 
 occupied with saw and corn mills, and other 
 machinery, impelled by the moving current. I 
 like Unterseen for its calm and settled quiet, 
 and I like its people, who really seem fraught 
 with much Arcadian simplicity, and appear also 
 well-doing and industrious, moral and religious. 
 The meadows are sprinkled with a profusion of 
 autumnal crocus*, and fine walnuts form avenues 
 around. It was truly rural to witness, toward 
 the evening, the regular return of a flock of 
 goats from the mountains, at a stated period. 
 They were supplied with bells, and were gene- 
 rally preceded by a captain, who headed the 
 troop, and led the van ; they were unaccom- 
 panied by any person, and so ^oon as they arri- 
 ved at the corner of an inn, the cavalcade, which 
 had marched with extraordinary regularity, 
 broke up, and each went his several way to his 
 own home. The Sunday we passed here was 
 alternately wet, and chequered with gleams of 
 sunshine. From our window we beheld the 
 sublime spectacle of a rainbow in all its glory, 
 with part of its arch depressed among the snows 
 of the Jungfrau (the mountain of the Virgin.) 
 
204 
 
 The Chanteuses at Unterseen are Anna 
 Bailli, Margueritte Michel, Elizabith 
 Michel, and Margueritte Fuchs. I spoke to 
 two of them in French and Italian, but they un- 
 derstood me not, and I was not conversant with 
 German. Here a person calls the hours each 
 night, in summer at ten p. m. and two a. m., and 
 in winter at nine p. m. and four a. m. His note& 
 and announcement are musical enough. The 
 interpretation is, " Gentlemen, I wish you good 
 night, the clock has struck ten," or " Gentle- 
 men, the clock has struck four, I wish you good 
 morning " We took a walk to Interlacken, 
 where once was an abbey, now in ruin. Here 
 is a fine avenue of walnuts, forming quite a VaU- 
 (mibrosa. 
 
 We had been advised by our Jwst either to go 
 by the Scheidegg via Meyringen, or by the Grim- 
 sel, skirting the glacier of the Rhone, St Gothard, 
 Pont de Diable, and through Uri's rocky world 
 to Altorf, and had in due conformity provided 
 guides, and mules ; and with this intention, we 
 left on Monday morning at five o'clock. We 
 crossed several meadows, and afterwards passed, 
 on the right, the ruins of the ancient Castle of 
 Unspunen, in the vicinity of which pastoral fetes 
 were celebrated in the years 1805 and 1808. 
 On entering the bosom of the mountain, we ob- 
 served a tablet, containing an inscription, deep 
 
205 
 
 sunk in the rock, recording the death of two 
 brothers, who fought in this defile, and were 
 both killed. At a cross point, on entering the 
 valley of Lauterbrunnen, we came to the junc- 
 tion of two branches of the Lutchinen^ here 
 called Zweylutchinen^ or the Two Lutchines. 
 One branch, the White Lutchinen ( Weiss Lut' 
 chinenj, flows from the valley of Lauterbrunenn; 
 while the other, the Black Lutchinen (Schwartz 
 Lutchinen J, has its source in the glaciers of Grin- 
 delwald ; their united streams flow into the Lake 
 of Brientz. The name Lauterbrunenn signifies 
 all springs or fountains, from the great number 
 of springs which abound in it, and form no less 
 than thirty rivulets. On the left we perceived 
 a considerable deposition of calcareous matter, 
 from the water of a spring. The mountains, of 
 slaty schistus, appear to be singularly contorted. 
 Numerous challets and clumps of trees, with 
 some patches of birch, adorn the gi'een pastures 
 on the left. We were much disappointed in the 
 Staubach (literally stream or cascade of pow- 
 der) : it falls from the summit of the rock called 
 Pletchherg^ from a height of 930 perpendicular 
 feet, but the quantity of water was then exceed- 
 ingly small : it is reduced into vapour, and seems 
 almost converted into snow — an appearance pro- 
 duced, it is probable, from its state of minute dir 
 vision. 
 
206 
 
 We did not pursue our route farther up the 
 valley to see the cascade called Schmadribach. 
 Toward the left of the Jungfrau (12,856 feet 
 high) rose the Monk (12,663 feet), a mountain 
 abounding with chamois, and which the hunters, 
 though frightfully precipitous, often scale in the 
 chace. Pretty models of Bernese cottages and 
 dairies are sold in this valley, and we obsei'ved 
 that the silicious epidermis of the Hippuris vul- 
 garis was generally used as a substitute for sand- 
 paper in polishing the surface of the wood. We 
 did not stop at the inn here, but retraced our 
 route to the road leading off, on the right hand, 
 toward Grindelwald, at the Zweylutchinen. On 
 our way thither we found that part of the road 
 was under repair, by felons, superintended by a 
 guard. In Grindelwald the inhabitants seem 
 industrious ; and the state of the arable land and 
 pasturage proves that they enjoy that comfort 
 which such industry must secure for its posses- 
 sor. Here is made a gi'eat quantity of Kirschen- 
 wasser, a kind of brandy made generally from 
 cultivated cherries, but here from the gean, or 
 wild cherry. The fruit, together with the 
 stones, is bruised in stone troughs by wooden 
 mallets ; and this, when fermented, is submitted 
 to subsequent distillation. When new, this spe- 
 cies of cherry-brandy is dangerous, but it is mel- 
 lowed by age. The hydrocyanic, or prussic 
 
207 
 
 acid, which comes from the kernal, necessarily 
 renders it dangerous, this being one of the most 
 violent and powerful vegetable poisons; and, 
 as it decomposes by time, it is probable that it 
 is rendered less pernicious from some such 
 change. Here may be had the Eau de vie d^Ah^ 
 sinthe, which the mountaineer will find a toler- 
 able counterforte against the cold blasts to which 
 he may be exposed ; it is kirchenwasser, with 
 the addition of wormwood in the fermenting 
 vat. 
 
 While dinner was being prepared at the inn, 
 we sallied out, and directed our walk to the 
 Lower Glacier (Glacier inferieur), where is a 
 seat prepared for the stranger ; but we descend- 
 ed into the bed of the glacier, to view more 
 nearly the magnificent facade and vault of ice, 
 and a vast iceberg it was. Here we may lite- 
 rally touch the ice with one hand, and gather 
 violets and strawberries with the other. I found 
 the temperature of the air 65°, and that of the 
 water issuing from below the glacier 31°, never 
 having met with water, under such circum- 
 stances, at so reduced a temperature. It was 
 on the Mer de Glace of this glacier that a French 
 Protestant minister of the Canton de Vaud lost 
 his life, on the 21st August 1821, respecting 
 which we learned the following particulars. 
 
 He was accompanied by two guides, and 
 seemed much interested, and looked down many 
 
208 
 
 of the chasms. Into one which appeared more 
 formidable than the rest he wished to throw a 
 stone, to ascertain, if possible, the depth, and 
 sent a guide in search of one ; but, during his 
 absence, in stooping forward, he lost his balance 
 and fell to the bottom. The guides called loudly 
 to him, but receiving no answer, they agi*eed, 
 one to remain at the spot, and the other to hasten 
 to Grindelwald for ropes and proper assistance. 
 Two hours necessarily elapsed before he could 
 return, and the night drew on. They, however, 
 came with torches, and lowered one, but could 
 not discover the body. An English gentleman, 
 who had accompanied the party, offered a consi- 
 derable reward to any guide who would venture 
 into the chasm. At last one of the most cou- 
 rageous was prevailed upon, and was let down 
 by ropes; but his search was useless. He de- 
 scended a second time, still without success; 
 but undaunted, he resolved to try again, and af- 
 ter remaining some time, found the body in the 
 most remote corner ; he adjusted the ropes, and 
 the lifeless corpse was drawn up. . 
 
 On the guide being questioned as to the ap- 
 pearance of the place, he represented it as a 
 grand and spacious hall, of immense size, with 
 ^ finely vaulted roof, but not cold. 
 
 The vault of this great mountain of ice was of 
 the most sublime character, and possessed a fine 
 
209 
 
 aquamarine tint. The view from the seat is cer- 
 tainly of a most singular description. The py- 
 ramidal form of the insulated aiguilles among 
 the glaciers is here very imposing ; and their vast 
 size and multiplicity give the scene wonderful 
 effect. One of the aiguilles was singularly per- 
 forated like a needle. In the romantic valley of 
 Dovedale, in Derbyshire, the limestone rocks 
 assume very much the form of these pyramids 
 of ice, and I remember to have seen one perfo- 
 rated. It rained a little, and we were informed 
 that a small avalanche had fallen in the forenoon 
 of the day from the Mettenberg, a little to the 
 left of Schreckhorn, and in the fore ground. 
 
 Grindelwald is 3507 feet above the sea's level. 
 On the right is the Grand Eiger, 19,216 feet 
 high; and on the left the JVetterhorn, 11,445 
 feet high. Between these two mountains stands 
 the Schreckhorn, 12,613 feet in altitude. Between 
 the Grand Eiger and the Schreckhorn reposes the 
 Lower Glacier; and between this central moun- 
 tain and Wetterhorn lies the Superior Glacier 
 (Glacier superieur.) 
 
 When we returned to the inn, we made in- 
 quiries about the passage of the St Gothard via 
 the Grimsel, and were informed that it would 
 be dangerous to attempt that route, as the weather 
 was unfavourable, and it was utterly impass- 
 able during fogs and rain. We therefore deemed 
 
210 
 
 it most prudent to return to Unterseen, and, 
 after navigating the lake of Brientz, to pass 
 the Briinig, into the Canton of Under walden. 
 
 Among all the wonders of Alpine regions, the 
 most wonderful and awful phenomena are those 
 of the avalanche and glacier. Destructive, in- 
 deed, and terrihle are the effects of the fall of an 
 avalanche. Detached from its elevated station, 
 where it may have been consolidated and 
 hardened, and rested for ages, it sweeps before 
 it in one whirlwind of fury, rocks, villages and 
 pasturages, with the shepherds and their flocks, 
 moving with accelerated velocity into the plain, 
 and after emitting flashes of fire from the friction 
 of fragments of rock (which was the case in the 
 fall of the Glacier of Weisshorn), overspreads 
 the verdant and smiling plain, with the livery of 
 death and desolation. In 1501, an avalanche 
 swept away an entire company of Swiss soldiers, 
 not far distant from St Bernard, and in 1591, 
 so many avalanches fell into the Rhone, that 
 the river overflowed its banks, and carried away 
 more than 100 houses, and drowned sixty per- 
 sons, and 400 heads of cattle; and in 1720, one 
 buried forty individuals in the district of Brieg. 
 Sir Robert Ker Porter, in his travels in 
 Georgia, &c. * has well described the fall of an 
 
 * London, 2 vols. 4to 1821. 
 
211 
 
 avalanche from among the lofty heights of the 
 Caucassian range. " As the avalanche rushed, 
 huge masses of rock rifted from the mountain 
 side were driven hefore it : and the snows and 
 ice of centuries pouring down in immense 
 shattered forms and rending heaps, fell like the 
 fall of an earthquake, covering from human eyes, 
 villages, valleys, and people ! What an awful 
 moment, when all was still ! when the dreadful 
 cries of man and beast were heard no more ! 
 and the tremendous avalanche lay a vast mo- 
 tionless, white shroud on all around !" 
 
 Such dread visitations are frequent occur- 
 rences in Switzerland, and scarcely a year cir- 
 cumscribes its round, without the record of their 
 devastation, the fall of mountains, the ruin of 
 rocks, or the desolating effects of the debacle. 
 The Cantons of Uri, Orisons and the Vallais are 
 pre-eminent in these misfortunes, and it may be 
 emphatically said of the inhabitants, " their lives 
 are in their hand." The sombre forests of pines 
 which fringe the escarpments of the Alps, or 
 fill up the hollow acclivities on their sides, serve 
 as abutments or buttresses to check the first 
 impetuosity before it gathers strength, which it 
 does in an accelerated ratio ^in its progression. 
 These pine-trees seem planted by Providence, 
 and, as it were, commissioned to say to the dread 
 avalanche, " Hitherto and no farther, and here 
 
, 212 
 
 shall your force be stayed." It is beneath the 
 wing, and under the shelter of these pines, that 
 the challet of the shepherd is reared, and the Al- 
 pine village in the valley nestles most secure. 
 To destroy such trees, their shield of safety, is 
 made a capital crime, nor can we wonder at it, 
 even in a country where happily the punishment 
 of death is unknown. The Alpine traveller is 
 subject to these falls of the avalanche, and it be- 
 comes him oftentimes to be very cautious in his 
 progress, for the slightest noise, the crack of a 
 whip, or even the human voice, might be suffi- 
 cient to detach one. This increases the dan- 
 gers of the Alpine chamois hunters, as the 
 discharge of their carabines is more than suffi- 
 cient to rouse it from its repose ; and should 
 such a circumstance be any where anticipated, 
 their musket is fired off, to accelerate the fall, 
 that they may afterwards pass without dan- 
 ger. Those who traverse the Alps ought to be 
 aware of all these perils, and use the necessary 
 precautions. Under particular circumstances, the 
 guides enjoin it as imperative on the traveller, 
 not only to walk softly, but on no account to 
 speak. There are other dangers besides the 
 avalanche ; whirlwinds of snow may suffocate 
 the Alpine wanderer, or, by blinding him, be- 
 wilder and perplex his path. 
 The Glaciers present difficulties and dangers 
 
^) 
 
 213 
 
 equally formidable to those who traverse them. 
 The individual may be engulfed in some hor- 
 rid chasm, by the rending glacier, which in- 
 stantly yawns to receive him, or which is 
 covered with a deceptive mantle of snow that 
 conceals its danger, or the precipice may await 
 him, should he escape the other perils so pro- 
 fusely scattered over the Alps of Switzerland. 
 The rents in the Glaciers are announced by a 
 crash like thunder, or a sound resembling the 
 terrible discharge of artillery, and form a spe- 
 cies of mountain barometer, the presage of 
 change in Alpine weather. In all probability, 
 the Glaciers are on the increase. There former- 
 ly existed a road from Grindelwald to Brieg in 
 the Vallais, but it is now rendered impassable 
 from their accumulation. There is also a na- 
 tural basin of a somewhat conical form, toward 
 the north of St Bernard, between Mont Noir, 
 and the Glaciers of Tseudey and Valpeline ; it 
 has been ascertained to be 115 feet in depth, and 
 according to Saussure its contents are 84,000 
 cubic feet. In autumn the waters collect and 
 fill the basin, and it freezes superficially. In the 
 following July it thaws and forms a debacle 
 which rushes into the Dranse. In certain sea- 
 sons its basin has dried up, so that a descent 
 to the bottom might be effected. In other 
 years it has remained entirely frozen. There 
 
has,' however, been no torrent from it since 1813, 
 and it is therefore conjectured that it is now re- 
 solved into a permanent glacier. The advance 
 of the glaciers into the valley has already been 
 cursorily remarked, and the probable cause glan- 
 ced at ; namely, the congelation of the water that 
 enters by infiltration, and subsequent expansion 
 in the act of freezing, which pushes forward the 
 glacier toward the valley, where there exists 
 no barrier to resist its advance, but rather an 
 inclined plane which facilitates its march. This 
 progress has been proved both in the Valley of 
 Chamouni, in the Glacier de Bois, and in that 
 of Grindelwald, in the case of the Glacier Su- 
 perieur. 
 
 In the former case, three pines being planted 
 on a line with a rock opposite, in the Valley of 
 Chamouni, it was thus proved that the glacier 
 had advanced fourteen feet in the course of one 
 year toward the plain. In the latter instance, 
 pines of considerable thickness, remembered by 
 many individuals, have been overthrown, and 
 overwhelmed by the progress of the Superior 
 Glacier of the Valley of Grindelwald. These 
 Glaciers are the sources of mighty rivers, and 
 from them arise the Rhone, the Rhine, the 
 Tessin, the Arve, the Aar, &c., that roll their 
 waters toward the ocean, through many lands, 
 which they fertilize in their progress ; or afford 
 
215 
 
 the facilities of navigation to the commercial 
 enterprize of nations. From the surface of the 
 Ocean, these waters rise, by evaporation, and 
 are again • condensed on the mountain summit. 
 Thus rivers may be said to return to their source, 
 and move in a circle. " All the rivers run into 
 the sea : yet the sea is not full : unto the place 
 from whence the rivers come, thither they return 
 again." 
 
♦ 4- '- 
 
 216 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 LAKE OF BRIENTZ — CASCADE OF GIESBACH — 
 CHANTEUSES — THE ALPINE HORN — THE PAS- 
 SAGE OF THE BRUNIG — THE VALLEY OF SARNEN 
 — STANTZ — LAC DES QUATRE CANTONS — THE 
 THREE FOUNTAINS — TELL's CHAPEL — SCHWITZ 
 THE LAKE OF LOWERTZ. 
 
 W E left Unterseen, our favourite village, on 
 Tuesday at six o'clock a, m. to traverse the Lake 
 of Brientz. Sebastian Pierre, a guide from 
 Lucerne, who had accompanied a party returning 
 in this direction, wished to retrace his steps, and 
 requested a place in the boat we had engaged. 
 As we found him intelligent, and especially as 
 he understood and spoke French as well as Ger- 
 man, we immediately engaged him as our guide 
 to pass the Briinig, from the Canton of Berne 
 into that of Underwalden, and as far as Lucerne, 
 whither we were proceeding. The morning was 
 indeed fine, and the lake was calm, but the sur- 
 rounding rocks were veiled in clouds. At 8 a. m. 
 
217 
 
 the air was 69° Fahr., and the temperature of 
 the waters of the lake 66° ; Saussure's hygro- 
 meter was 20° 5'. The water seemed particu- 
 larly pure^ heing insensible to chemical reagents. 
 We landed on the right, and ascended by a very 
 steep path to the beautiful and truly picturesque 
 waterfall of the Gieshach. A convenient seat is 
 erected for the stranger, and from hence the 
 cascade is seen to great advantage. A curious and 
 fantastic rustic bridge is thrown over it at some 
 height above, forming a kind of hasso relievo in the 
 woodland back ground. Having for some time 
 contemplated the charming spectacle, we ad- 
 journed to the house, and were gi'atified by hear- 
 ing the organist of Brientz, and his two daughters, 
 chanteuses, and two sons, form a fine choral 
 band. Without entering into musical techni- 
 calities, it may be stated that the singing was ex- 
 quisite; whether light and airy, or soft and plain- 
 tive, there was excellence in all. Their voices 
 were not only sweet in their native tone, but of 
 a highly cultivated character, and, as far as we 
 had the ability to judge, there were exhibited 
 in the execution, feeling, taste, and judgment. 
 Among the pretty airs, &c. we had the Tyrolese 
 song of Liberty, the Chanson de Giesback, and 
 GOD SAVE THE KING. The words of this our 
 national air were remarkably well pronounced, 
 and the accompaniment of the youngest son on 
 
218 
 
 the pianoforte was very well played, and with a 
 good deal of execution, but unfortunately the in- 
 strument was out of tune. I proposed my fa- 
 vourite air, and the national one of Switzerland, 
 the Rang des Vaches, one which powerfully af- 
 fects the sympathy of all Helvetia's sons. It 
 was delightfuly sung, and can never be en- 
 joyed to its full amount, except among its na- 
 tive Alps, and by those who have seen a flock 
 of goats rush from the mountain steep, and 
 heard their bells yield their running notes, and 
 now a slower march, their bells in consonance, 
 and then the changed intonation as they pass, 
 rank and file, the rude pont des chevres, or as the 
 battalion enters the village, and the sounds ra- 
 mify on their dismissal. All this I can fancy I 
 hear again, and the Hang des Vaches summons 
 to my recollection this rural alpine picture, 
 in all its life and colouring ; and when I would 
 realize its imagery, I have it repeated on a spe- 
 cimen of Geneva's ingenuity, yclept a musi- 
 cal box. 
 
 After this musical treat within doors, we 
 lieard the Alpine horn without. There was a 
 wild romance in its notes, Avhich was charac- 
 teristic in a very high degree of all around. 
 This instrument is about eight feet long, and 
 its farther extremity rests on the ground. It is 
 used among these mountains, not merely for the 
 
219 
 
 herdsmen's call, but as an invocation for the 
 solemnities of religion. As soon as the sun has 
 shed his last ray on the snowy summit of the 
 loftiest range, the Alpine shepherd, from some 
 elevated point, trumpets forth " praise god the 
 LORD," while the echoes in the caves of the 
 everlasting hills, roused from their slumbers 
 at the sacred name of god, repeat " praise god 
 THE LORD." Distant horns on lower plains now 
 catch the watch-word, and distant mountains 
 ring again with the solemn sound " praise god 
 THE LORD," and other echoes bounding from 
 other rocks, reply " god the lord." A solemn 
 pause succeeds ; with uncovered head, and on 
 the bended knee, the shepherd's prayer ascends 
 on high. At the close of this evening sacrifice, 
 offered in the temple not made with hands, the 
 Alpine horn sounds long, and loud, and shrill, 
 " good night," repeated by other horns; while a 
 thousand " good nights" are reverberated a- 
 round, and the curtain of Heaven closes on the 
 shepherds and their flocks. 
 
 We landed at Brientz on the other side of the 
 lake, and were extremely anxious to have heard 
 the fine chanteuses here, but we were* startled 
 and terrified by the stentorian voice of an Eng- 
 lishman vociferating bad German, and issuing 
 his pompous commands, in the true style and 
 character of milord Anglais in the summons for 
 
220 
 
 breakfast, and we were glad to escape from this 
 scene of noise. Our ears had been before saluted 
 with dulcet strains of harmony, and this was 
 more than we could bear ; therefore, hastened 
 on toward Myringen. Before we reached the 
 town, we paused at the noble cascade of Reichen- 
 hach on the right, which is a magnificent water- 
 fall. From its highest elevation to the plain, there 
 are altogether seven falls, but the lowest is the 
 finest and most picturesque. The water rushes 
 with vast and tumultuous fury into the chasm 
 it has excavated for itself. 
 
 " Fervet, immensusque ruit profundo 
 Piiidarus ore." 
 
 There was an artist occupied in taking a 
 sketch of this splendid cascade, and we must 
 confess that the falls of this and of the Giesbach 
 are, from their associated beauties, in our hum- 
 ble opinion, surpassed by none we have seen in 
 Switzerland. Farther on towards Myringen is 
 a curious niche in the rock, very much resem- 
 bling the chimney in the halls of ancient castles, 
 such as the days of chivalry possessed when 
 .lance and horn blazoned the wall. Underneath 
 reposed a herd of cattle, which thus imparted to 
 it a very picturesque appearance. Not far 
 from hence are several curious jets issuing from 
 crevices or orifices in the rock. One resembled 
 
221 
 
 a complete thread, another seemed not unlike 
 a film of cobweb, and a third might be compared 
 to a fall of transparent hail. Near to Myringen 
 are two cascades called Alphach and Muhlihach. 
 We dined here, and made some small purchases; 
 one a magnificent specimen of the insect Ca- 
 pricorntis ; and sallad spoons, &c. of yew finely 
 carved, where advantage, as in the onyx when 
 cut in cameo, is taken to bring out one of the 
 colours only in the relief, while the other forms 
 the ground. The people of this town are tall 
 in stature, the men about six feet, and the 
 women five feet six inches. It is celebrated for 
 ancient cheese ; some has been introduced at table 
 130 years old. Hemp, barley and oats are the 
 chief articles cultivated here. 
 
 Though the climate of the Canton of Berne 
 is not hot, it must be now much warmer than 
 in the days of Julius C^sar, when the people 
 of Helvetia set fire to their twelve cities, and 
 400 villages, and quitted their country for a 
 warmer region. There is a great diversity of 
 climate. In some districts the term of vegetation 
 only endures for three or four months, so that 
 corn and fruit ripen badly, or not at all. In the 
 valley, wheat is gi'own ; and reaped in the month 
 of June, and in higher regions the oat and bar- 
 ley, the only grains that can be cultivated, are not 
 ready to cut down till the month of September. 
 
222 
 
 In the Canton of Berne the wolf, lynx, alpine 
 hare, &c., are very common. A few years ago 
 a wild cat was destroyed in the vicinity of Berne. 
 Old people now living, remember to have seen 
 at Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, &c. flocks of 
 chamois, from 50 to 100 together. The bear is 
 sometimes seen on the Grimsel, or the heights 
 of Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald, &c. One was 
 killed on the Grimsel in 1802, and two bears in 
 1815 destroyed many sheep in the valley of 
 Grindelwald. This animal comes from the 
 Canton of Tessin, where it is indigenous, or 
 from the mountains of Savoy, and it is only 
 when the weather is very severe that it ven- 
 tures into these regions, in search of food. The 
 wild boar from the forests of the Jura ranges as 
 far occasionally as Bienne. At Lauterbrunnen 
 the flesh of the marmot, which sleeps soundly 
 at the foot of eternal snows, is much relished ; 
 it is scalded to remove the hair, and then roasted; 
 it is also preserved, smoked and salted. The 
 ornithology of the Canton of Berne, from its 
 diversity of climate, chiefly in reference to alti- 
 tude, does not materially differ from the sur- 
 rounding Cantons. When the season is severe, 
 flocks of the wild swan visit its lakes. In Janu- 
 ary 1814, a cormorant was seen on the Lake of 
 Brientz, in which is fished the Brientzling, so 
 called after the name of the lake. Near to 
 
Thun, at an elevation of 1800 above the level of 
 the sea, the vine is cultivated. The beech is 
 found at 4500 feet high, and the oak at 3360. 
 The elm and oak succeed at an elevation of 4100 
 t^eet ; and the Pinus sylvestris^ though discovered 
 at an altitude of 6400 feet, does not prosper. 
 The flora of this Canton is veiy extensive and 
 varied. The Lutchinen falls into the Lake of 
 Brientz, not far from Interlacken, and the Aar, 
 rising from the Glaciers that lie between the 
 Schreckhorn, and the Finster Aarhorn, 13,176 
 feet above the sea's level, rolls its golden sond, 
 sweeping past Myringen into the Lake of 
 Brientz. 
 
 Having surveyed the surrounding country, 
 we took our leave of the Canton of Berne, to 
 pass the Briinig, by a path 3,579 feet high, into 
 the Canton of Underwalden. Before we left 
 Myringen, at half past ten o'clock, the ther- 
 mometer was 72°, and the hygrometer 22°5. 
 Our walk over the Briinig was very pleasant, 
 though somewhat fatiguing : now and then we 
 were embowered among trees, and twice came 
 suddenly and unexpectedly on pretty pasturages, 
 \vith their challets calmly reposing in the lap of 
 verdure. From our highest elevation, the view 
 of the valley and lake of Brientz, which we had 
 just left, was most imposing, presenting many a 
 sublime and beautiful image to the poetic vision, 
 
224 
 
 .or the beau ideal of mind. The view of the 
 Valley of Sarnen from hence is quite a picture, 
 and one of the richest kind. Beneath us lay the 
 Lake of Lungern, — an unruffled mirror, " calm 
 as settled hate," reflecting from its glassy waters, 
 dark and deep, the mountains and their brown 
 garniture of pines, while, in patches, in shallow 
 places, the water-lily sported its snowy chalice, 
 floating among discs of green leaves. Long 
 before we .arrived at Lungern, we found that 
 we had got into a Catholic Canton ; the cross had 
 announced this. On our descent of the moun- 
 tain, and not far distant, was a chapel or sta- 
 tion, in which was enshrined a paltry represen- 
 tation of the Madonna ; a poor ragged boy was 
 kneeling before the image, telling his beads, and 
 this was followed in due time by beggars, in- 
 sulated or en masse, and so beset were we, that 
 it was not without difficulty we reached the 
 miserable village, from which we were glad to 
 escape as promptly as possible. 
 
 Sebastian Pierre engaged for us a sorry 
 vehicle, little better than a cart, without springs, 
 but the only machine of the kind that would 
 contain ourselves, the guide, and driver. The 
 horse was very restive, and as we skirted the 
 Lakes of Lungern and Sarnen close to the wa- 
 ter's edge, which are extremely precipitous and 
 profound, our seat, altogether independent of 
 
2f25 
 
 our vaultingy was not the most soothing and 
 tranquillizing, and we should most earnestly ad- 
 vise those who follow in our route, to walk^ if 
 they value their personal safety; for, suppose 
 they succeed in obtaining a char-a-banc, it is not 
 the stoutest vehicle in the world, and they must 
 submit to the caprice of the horse. A mule 
 would be much safer in this district. All we 
 saw of its inhabitants were pictures of idleness, 
 dulness, and distress, — sad scene for the philan- 
 thropist. Rags, filth, and wretchedness, however, 
 are the indigenous trophies of Catholic Cantons, 
 and comfort and happiness seem to bid them for 
 ever farewell. 
 
 It was late when we arrived at Sarnen, from 
 whence the valley takes its name. Our landlord 
 at the inn where we remained for the night, was 
 extremely civil and obliging, but the salle-a- 
 manger was of the most ordinary kind, and pre- 
 sented a very motely assemblage of diversified 
 characters. On the left Mount Pilate, with its 
 seven towers, and on the right Mount Rhigi, 
 queen of mountains, like the Pillars of Hercules, 
 form a bold feature in the scenery of the Lake 
 of the four Cantons. The new church of Sar- 
 nen is covered with red tiles, and surmounted 
 by a spire. The lake is 1580 feet above the sea's 
 level, and Sachlen on its verge, contains the 
 tomb of Nicholas Flue, — a name dear to 
 
 k3 
 
^6 
 
 Switzerland, whose patriotic eloquence, in 1481^ 
 served to cement in the bond of amity the then 
 distracted Cantons. The northern extremity 
 of the Lake of Sarnen extends to the base of 
 the Arniberg, and between this lake and that 
 of Lungern, stands the small Town of Giswyl, 
 and a connecting stream flowing from the Lake 
 of Lungern unites the two lakes of the valley^ 
 The scene presented by this valley is extremely 
 picturesque and beautiful, and the Diorama is 
 certainly its faithful representative. The chain 
 of the Briinig, of which Wyllerhorn is the most 
 elevated summit (5,895 feet high), closes the 
 valley, and far above, in the back ground from 
 the Canton of Berne, the Wildgest Horn (7,800 
 feet elevation), silvered over with snows, rears 
 his stately dome. The Valley of Sarnen is a 
 sweet terrestrial paradise. The condition of its 
 inhabitants is the only shade of the picture, and 
 dismal and dark it is, — it is an Arcadia and a 
 Tempe, and, abstracted from man, presents what- 
 ever is sublime and beautiful in creation, — lovely 
 in vegetable being, and venerable in the majesty 
 of mountains. 
 
 Early on the following morning we left Sar- 
 nen for Stanz, where we arrived at eight o'clock. 
 Shortly after breakfast we visited the church, 
 and took a look at its golgotha, or place of 
 skulls, where the crania are ranged on conve- 
 
227 
 
 nient shelves, and occupy niches somewhat like 
 pigeon-holes, duly labelled, with name and date 
 of demise. The church presented many trophies 
 of miraculous cures by saints, memoralized in 
 pictures and baby wax-work. One had left 
 the crutch on which he ome had leaned^ — a vo- 
 tive offering in the " house of Rimmon his God." 
 Two of the altars were under repair ; three of 
 the radii of the halo on the crucifix which sur- 
 mounted the chief altar, were defaced, we were 
 informed, by the bullet that killed the priest 
 while officiating, fired by the French, who en- 
 tered the church on liorseback. The church- 
 yard was decorated with numerous iron crosses, 
 many of them gilt, and some of them adorned 
 with little paintings, tolerably executed. The 
 graves were covered with pinks and boxwood, 
 and stone basins and pans, with bunches of box, 
 were attached to every angle, and a due allot- 
 ment of salt and water, wherewith to sprinkle 
 the sod. In the -room where the Diet sits, in 
 the Hotel de Ville, we saw the fine picture by 
 WoLMAR of Nicolas de Flue, taking leave of 
 his family ; and on the roof, an inferior produc- 
 tion, the Judgment of Solomon. The Presi- 
 dent's chair was decorated with the double key, 
 the armorial insignia of the Canton. In Stanz 
 is a fountain of black marble, with the statue of 
 WiNKELRiED. The dress of the people here was 
 
228 
 
 very peculiar : the men wore a cockade in their 
 chapeau, and the females had their hair inter- 
 twined with white tape, wdth handeaus, and fes- 
 toons, and further decorated with large skewers, 
 quite a tete ornee, and in sufficient profusion. The 
 hats are flat, painted underneath, and covered 
 with rihhons, dyed all the colom-s of the iris. 
 In the salle-a-manger, where we hreakfasted, 
 and where the Diet dines, were two cabinets, one 
 at each end, containing the armorials of the Lau- 
 dammenn ; the folding-doors were thrown open. 
 After we left Stanz, there was pointed out to us 
 on the right, the house formerly the residence of 
 Arnold DE Winkelried, now belonging to the 
 family of Trachsler. On our left was a quad- 
 rangular enclosure of stones, which we entered, 
 somewhat Druidical in character, and surrounded 
 by horse-chesnuts : the acts of the Diet are here 
 annually promulgated viva voce^ in the audience 
 of the people, — a practice similar to that of the 
 Tinwald Court in the Isle of Man. On the road- 
 side we passed several females engaged in beat- 
 ing flax, which was previously almost scorched 
 over a fire. Underwalden was one of the three 
 associates in the cause of Swiss liberty, in 1308. 
 The Catholic religion is that of the Canton, and 
 the only library in its entire extent belongs to 
 the Abbey of E)ngelborg. Superstition and igno- 
 
229 
 
 ranee reign the ascendant, and want and misery, 
 like some " ill-used ghost," walk abroad. 
 
 At a small village on the borders of the lake 
 of the four Cantons, we engaged a boat to navi- 
 gate its expanse. At a quarter before eleven a. m. 
 the thermometer was 68° F., and hygi'ometer 
 14°. A dense fog enveloped the surrounding 
 mountains. The temperature of the lake was 
 67° F. The church bell was heard at a distance, 
 and its tone, softened and mellowed by the lake, 
 had a very pleasing effect on the ear. In the 
 angle near to Gersau, in the strait of Vierwald, 
 it is quite evident that the mountain has shot 
 from its inclined plane into the lake, — a pheno- 
 menon of too frequent occurrence in these lands. 
 The view from the lake of the surrounding moun- 
 tains is extremely fine and diversified; but there 
 are several points possessed of local interest, of 
 an unusual description, and we had not been 
 long on the lake before the dense curtain of fog 
 v/hich had enveloped the mountains around, 
 gradually rose, and unveiled all their magic 
 charms and magnificence. Mount Pilate gloried 
 in his height before us, — sombre from the pines 
 that brace his sides, though here and there the 
 monotony is relieved by the varied shades of 
 patches of verdure. At one time, during the 
 dark ages of superstition, though its di'egs still 
 remain, tbe Council of Lucerne gravely decided,. 
 
230 
 
 that none should, without special leave, visit 
 the lake on the summit of Mount Pilate ; and 
 the heaviest penalties were inflicted on those 
 who violated the command, for fear some im- 
 proper person, hy throwing in stones or ruhhish, 
 should cause storms and tempests to arise, hy 
 rousing " the spirits of the vasty deep," and 
 thus drawing on the plain the fell vengeance of 
 the spectre domiciliated in its infernal waters. 
 The shepherds of this mountain were sworn, 
 each returning spring, not only to refuse to act 
 as guides, hut also to conceal the path, and the 
 administrator of the oath was paid a florin per 
 day for this purpose. At the hase of this moun- 
 tain, made so formidahle hy superstition, are 
 little wooden houses, used as cold caves. On 
 31st July, while the temperature in the shade 
 was 73° F., that in the huts was only 39° ; milk 
 can he kept for three weeks, meat for a month, 
 and cherries for twelve months. In one house 
 snow was preserved all the summer. 
 
 Gersau, on the left, looked very interesting 
 and heautiful. It is the smallest repuhlic in 
 Europe, and only extends two leagues in length 
 hy one in hreadth, heing hounded hy the hase 
 of the Rhigi and the hanks of the lake. At the 
 age of sixteen years, each possesses a right to 
 vote in the General Assembly. On one occa- 
 sion there was a public notice threatening exem^ 
 
2131 
 
 plary punishment to any one who should be 
 found associating with two individuals, who had 
 been convicted of being drunk and quarrelsome ; 
 so strict is the code morale of the republic of 
 Gersau. 
 
 We passed, on the right hand, a pyramidal 
 mass of rock, perfectly insulated in the lake, 
 and seemingly detached from the adjoining 
 mountain by a slip, but pitched exactly on its 
 base, and cro^vned by a spruce fir and the Pinus 
 sylvestris. The lake, at this place, is estimated 
 at 600 toises depth. Two shepherds were march- 
 ing like chamois among the alpine rocks, at a 
 great altitude above, imparting to the scene a 
 wild and romantic feature extremely singular. 
 The trees fret and clothe these rocky walks very 
 curiously, and their roots ramify among the 
 rents, and descend to the waters of the lake. 
 My hygrometer shifted to 0°, and soon after 
 veered round to 9°. We landed at 1 p. m. to 
 s^e the three fountains, which legend informs 
 us sprung up here simultaneously and spon- 
 taneously, when the three Swiss met to take 
 the voluntary oath to avenge their country's 
 cause. These three patriots were Walther 
 FuRST, a rich proprietor of Uri, and father-in- 
 law of William Tell ; Werner de Stauffach 
 of Schwitz ; and Arnold de Melchthal of 
 Underwalden. Thirty of their friends joined 
 
232 
 
 with them. It has been supposed that these 
 streams belong to different sources, but this does 
 not appear to me to be the case. The tempera- 
 ture of the air was 65°. The stream on the 
 right hand was 52°.75 ; that on the left hand 
 51°.25 ; and the central one 51°.25 — the increase 
 of 1°.5 in that on the right might be ascribed to 
 some accidental circumstance. Chemical tests 
 detected in all of them the carbonate oflime^ but 
 neither sulphates nor muriates could be disco- 
 vered. A house is built over these streamlets in 
 commemoration of the event, and several fruit 
 trees are planted around. The entire mass of 
 rock is evidently a slip, at some period long 
 gone by, from the superior chain. Two churches, 
 pitched on the summit of the mountains above, 
 complete the extraordinary picture. , 
 
 We descended and crossed the lake. On the 
 left, near this spot, a mountain has fallen, and 
 provided a new surface, on a lower level than 
 that it preoccupied, which is now invested with 
 pasturage for cattle, and the dwellings of men : 
 thus has that surface, which once scorned vege- 
 tation, become clothed with fruit trees and un- 
 derwood ; Avhile it towered above the clouds, it 
 exhibited the invariable garb of winter, but now 
 it has changed its climate, and with it has be- 
 come instinct with animal and vegetable being. 
 Sebastian Pierre informed us, that a bear whicK 
 
233 
 
 weighed 800 lb., was killed, about eight years 
 ago, in a valley on the right. It was discovered 
 quietly feeding with a flock of sheep. The lad 
 who tended the flock ran home and told his fa- 
 ther that a great dog was feeding with the sheep. 
 They immediately went out, and it was killed 
 by the father. It had most likely been chased 
 previously by huntsmen, and wearied out. One 
 hundred francs is the premium given by go- 
 vernment for the heads of wolves and bears. 
 
 We landed at Tell's Chapel, which appeared 
 to have been once prettily covered with discs of 
 wood, which are often elegantly arranged in the 
 houses in the Canton of Underwalden. It seems 
 to have been repaired in 1719, but is now going 
 fast to ruin. We found several people here en- 
 gaged in splitting up billets of wood. The prin- 
 cipal events in the life of the hero are painted 
 somewhat rudely on the plaster of the walls. 
 It was at this spot that William Tell sprung 
 from the boat, and escaped from the clutches of 
 Gessler. As the legend of William Tell is fa- 
 miliar to almost everyone, it is unnecessary to de- 
 tail it at length. The tyrant Gessler, the servile 
 tool of the Emperor Albert, had exercised the 
 most ferocious acts of cruelty. He was a man 
 full of malignity, proud, haughty, and imperi- 
 ous, and carried the exercise of his power so far 
 that, in 1307, he caused his hat to be erected on a 
 
234 
 
 pole, in the Great Square of Altorf, capital of 
 the Canton of Uri, and demanded reverence and 
 obeisance from all who passed it. William 
 Tell refused the homage required by the ty- 
 rant ; whereupon he was seized, and his young- 
 est son being bound to a stake beneath a lime- 
 tree, and an apple placed upon his head, Tell 
 was ordered to shoot at this apple with his cross- 
 bow. The father succeeded in splitting the apple 
 in twain ; but on Gessler's demanding the rea- 
 son of his having a second arrow concealed 
 about his person. Tell replied, " To have killed 
 you, had I killed my son." On this answer, 
 the fui'ious tyrant caused Tell to be bound, 
 and carried to the boat in waiting, for the pur- 
 pose of having him conveyed to a stronghold in 
 his own castle. A storm arose, and William 
 Tell was unbound for the pm'pose of navigating 
 the boat, being well acquainted with the local 
 circumstances of the lake ; and it was here that 
 he leaped from the boat and escaped, having 
 pushed it off, to brave again the fury of the 
 storm. 
 
 After leaving Tell's Chapel, we skirted the 
 lake on the same side, and passed a church, and 
 near it a mill, in motion, where, about twenty 
 years before, a mountain tumbled into the lake ; 
 and its waters, thus raised, swept away into its 
 vortex two houses and fourteen persons. As 
 
235 
 
 we advanced, tlie rocks seemed very singularly 
 contorted ; and the vertical walls in many places 
 presented a smooth surface, hut slightly inclined. 
 We ohserved also a picture of the Madonna, im- 
 bedded in the surface of a lofty rock, over a 
 vaulted cavern. The vertical walls of limestone 
 towering high above us, were finely fringed and 
 feathered on their escarpements with trees and 
 shrubs, while spots of lichens mottled the sur- 
 face ; and here and there the Lichen sulphureus^ 
 geometi'icus, &c. painted the mountain side, Avhere 
 no other species of vegetation could cling. 
 Near to Brunen these rocks become curiously 
 castellated, and much resemble enormous masses 
 of brick- work, covered with shelving roofs. The 
 postman from Lucerne to Italy departs by the 
 lake four times a week; and when the navi- 
 gation becomes dangerous from storms, he tra- 
 verses the mountains above. 
 
 The boats which navigate this lake, and those 
 generally in Switzerland, are but ill adapted to 
 encounter the storm, or even to traverse such 
 vast surfaces of water in summer, though they 
 might suit river navigation well enough. They 
 are extremely shallow and flat bottomed, there- 
 fore can have but slender hold of the water. 
 The slightest motion, or even change of position, 
 is quite sufficient to upset the frail bark, and 
 the balance must consequently be equipoised 
 
236 
 
 with the nicest care. The sail, too, is one of 
 an improper form ; it is quadrangular, but 
 should certainly be triangular ; and, from the 
 sudden gusts of winds which issue from the 
 mountains, and are occasionally violent, it must 
 be always held in the hand, ready to be lowered 
 in a moment. 
 
 We landed at Brunen, and dined at an inn 
 which presented a lovely prospect of the lake 
 full in front. On our right were the three fouU" 
 tains, and on the left TelVs Chapel, which we 
 had just left. We perambulated the town, but 
 found nothing worthy of notice. One of the 
 mountains which overlooked Schwitz, the capital 
 of the Canton, was gilded with the last rays 
 of the setting sun, and appeared beautiful. At 
 this place was signed the famous league between 
 Uri, Schwitz, and Underwalden, on the 13th 
 January 1308. 
 
 We proceeded onward to Schwitz, and observ- 
 ed in a garden on our right a gigantic plant of 
 hemp, and what might justly entitle it to the 
 name of tree hemp. It was at least eight or 
 nine feet high, and had branches from the main 
 stem three feet long. When we entered the 
 town, we perceived on our left a tolerably fine 
 house, which we were informed was the resi- 
 dence of the Landammann. The church, full in 
 front, and on an eminence, with its church-yard 
 
£37 
 
 display of a thousand gilded and figured crosses, 
 was peculiarly picturesque and singular. The 
 roof of the church is very neatly painted alfresco^ 
 and the organ delicately figured. Our guide 
 here made the accustomed genuflexion and sign 
 of the cross before the altar, and, turning to 
 us, intimated that it was mere form ; and we 
 had reason, on more occasions than this, to 
 doubt the sincerity of Sebastian Pierre's Ca- 
 tholicism. The town, from being the cradle of 
 Swiss liberty, not only gives the name to the 
 Canton, but the country. The original name 
 of Switzerland was Helvetia ; under Conrad le 
 Salique it was called La Haute AUemagne ; 
 and, after 1313, assumed its present name. At 
 Einsiedeln, in this Canton, is an abbey of Be- 
 nedictines, and in the chapel adjoining is a cele- 
 brated image of l^otre Dame des Ermites^ pre- 
 sented by the Abbess of Zurich. It is the Lo- 
 RETTO of Switzerland, and thither the tribes go 
 up annually in immense troops. In 1817, the 
 number of pilgrims amounted to 20,000. Here, 
 too, may be purchased fragments of the true 
 cross, in quantity sufficient to roof an ordinary 
 building — a relic which certainly seems, from 
 its copious supply and universality, to possess at 
 least one of the properties of matter, its infinite 
 divisibility. 
 We left Schwitz for Goldau, and had on our left 
 
the snowy ridge of the Blumen-Alp. The scene 
 of the Lake of Lowertz before us was placid, 
 and the rays of the setting sun sparkled on its 
 surface ; a boat glided on its waters, and a swal- 
 low dipped its wing in the wave as it flew over it. 
 On one of two islands plumed with trees, there 
 was a castle ; the varying light and shade of the 
 living picture before us might have supplied the 
 contemplative philosopher with sufficient images, 
 and with every angle the scene and imagery 
 changed. The confines of the lake are much 
 curtailed by the fall of the Rossberg, a mountain 
 toward the right ; and opposite to this destruc- 
 tive mountain stood the Rhigi, with a crown of 
 clouds. We walked over the road, which had 
 been raised by this catastrophe upwards of 100 
 feet above its former level. It required the la- 
 bours of 400 men for a considerable time to cut 
 and form a road across the dreadful ruin. 
 
239 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 rxOLDAU AND THE RUIN OF THE ROSSBERG THE 
 
 RHIGI SUBLIME PANORAMA AS SEEN FROM 
 
 THE RHIGI-CULM — LUCERNE. 
 
 J. HIS terrible catastrophe occurred on the Sd 
 September 1806, by the fall of the Rossberg, 
 which rose originally 3516 feet above the level 
 of the sea. This mountain has also been called 
 Ruffiberg, or Spitzbiihl. The eventful morning 
 appears to have been ushered in with rain, which 
 continued until noon; and during the entire 
 day the heavens were sad and sombre, as if in 
 anticipation of the event about to ensue. About 
 2 p. M., the forests and orchards which com- 
 passed the Rossberg appeared convulsed, as if 
 shaken by the invisible hand of Omnipotence, 
 and occasional fragments of rock were observed 
 to fall. About an hour after, the villages of 
 Goldau, Lowertz, Rothen and Busingen, were 
 overwhelmed, and a once smiling valley, where 
 
240 
 
 600 peaceful shepherds and then* families dwelt, 
 with their flocks and herds feeding on the plains 
 beside them, was covered with the rocky wreck 
 of fell desolation and ruin, which circumscribed 
 a square league. It was a dread picture of de- 
 struction. Thus, in one awful moment, was an 
 Arcadian vale turned into a Gehimnwn or valley 
 of shrieking. In the ruin Avere involved two 
 churches, 111 houses, 200 granaries and stables, 
 more than 400 persons, and at least 325 heads 
 of cattle. This fearful accumulation of the 
 wreck of the Rossberg formed a new mountain, 
 and diminished the apparent altitude of the 
 Rhigi, on this side, by elevating the plain at its 
 base. Strangers, whom curiosity had led toward 
 the Rhigiberg, were unfortunately overwhelm- 
 ed, as well as the inhabitants of the plain. 
 
 Dr Zay of Arth (a small town on the borders 
 of the Lake of Zug, and contiguous to the scene 
 of desolation), has given us, in a little work 
 published originally in German, but now trans- 
 lated into French, a deplorable yet faithful pic- 
 ture of the catastrophe *. Entire forests, we 
 are informed, were perceived to dfescend en masse 
 from the mountain, and advance with accele- 
 rated movement into the plain, accompanied 
 with rocks of the magnitude of large buildings, 
 
 • " Goldau et son district," &c. Lucerne 1820. 
 
241 
 
 which were launched through the air with the 
 rapidity of an arrow to the distance of nearly 
 two leagues. Houses, cattle, and human beings, 
 were engulfed in this vortex of destruction 
 and whirlwind of death, and seemed to float in 
 mid-air. The Lake of Lowertz, filled up by 
 enormous masses of rock, no longer confined 
 within its natural precincts, rose like a wall, 
 and extended its desolating wave far and wide. 
 Two lads and two young girls, who were tend- 
 ing their goats on the Saigel, were raised into 
 the air, and propelled by the current to a great 
 distance. Flames burst forth (in all probability 
 attributable to a charcoal oven) and gave an 
 awful character to the scene ; while it readily 
 accounts for the report that gained ground at 
 an early period of the dread catastrophe, that a 
 volcano had broken out. The Rhigi felt the 
 shock and shuddered ! and the windows of the 
 Maison de Ville at Schwitz rattled in their case- 
 ments. The Seeven, a village near the lake, on 
 the extremity toward Schwitz, appeared as if 
 afloat on the waters of Lowertz ; and numerous fish 
 were swimming about in the streets of Steinen. 
 A party, consisting originally of eleven per- 
 sons, who had come from Berne on an excur- 
 sion of pleasure, were engulfed, it is supposed, 
 near the chapel of Goldau, where the mass of 
 
 L 
 
242 
 
 ruin was more than 100 feet deep, and orAyfour, 
 who had happened to wander to a little distance, 
 were left to tell the fearful tale of distress. These 
 survivors were two Messrs May of Berne, M. 
 John of Gotha, tutor in the family of M. May 
 of Roued, who was entrusted with the care of 
 his son, and also of Louis d'Arbon, young 
 May's friend, both of whom perished ; and M. 
 DE Diesbach, who lost his young bride, and was 
 himself carried in a litter severely wounded to 
 Zug. " Jamais," says the Doctor, who was called 
 to M. DE Diesbach, " je n'y pense sans eprouver 
 une violente emotion ; jamais je ne pas temoin 
 d'une scene plus dechirante, moi qui comme me- 
 decin ai ete a port6e d'en voir de si doulou- 
 reuses. J'ai sgu de plus par des personnes qui 
 avoient vu a Harmetlen M. de Diesbach apres 
 Tevenement, que dans son desespoir il vouloit se 
 briser la tete contre des rochers." 
 
 A melancholy colloquy is stated to have taken 
 place between a child and her nurse, buried 
 among the rocks, and separated from each other 
 by them. " Come," said the child, " do take 
 me away." " The Day of Judgment," said the 
 girl in reply, " will soon be passed ; we shall 
 then find ourselves in Heaven, and be for ever 
 happy." A gentleman of the name of Detlin- 
 gen had a pretty house on the side of the hill ; 
 
at the moment when the waters of the Lake of 
 Lowertz rose, there were in his house a female 
 servant and two of his daughters ; one of these 
 was five years old, and the other nineteen, the 
 latter dumb. She was the only one saved. 
 
 There is detailed a still more wonderful in- 
 terference of PROVIDENCE, in the case of an in- 
 fant of two years old, belonging to persons 
 named Metler, who, though seemingly swal- 
 lowed up with the cottage in which it lay, 
 was ultimately found calmly asleep on its mat- 
 tress, on a mass of rubbish at some distance. 
 In minutely examining all the circumstantial 
 details of this remarkable instance of preserva- 
 tion, we find ourselves as utterly at a loss to ac- 
 count for it as Dr Zay seems to have been. 
 The cottage had a solid roof, the windows were 
 too small to permit the passage of the mat- 
 tress, the door was locked, and the wooden walls 
 and rafters were crushed to pieces. The infant 
 when taken up smiled. The parents were ab- 
 sent from the village during the catastrophe, 
 and on their return had the happiness of re- 
 ceiving their infant uninjured. 
 
 The effect on the minds of the survivors seems 
 to have been that of stupor and total abstraction. 
 They thought that the final day of doom had ar- 
 rived, and that the fall of the Rossberg would 
 be promptly followed by that of the Rhigi, and 
 
 1.2 
 
244 
 
 other mountains around; and, indeed, it seemed 
 almost to realise the Apocalyptic vision of the 
 Day of Judgment, " when the wicked shall say 
 unto the mountains and to the hills. Fall on us 
 and hide us from the wrath of the Lamh." It 
 appears, from undoubted authority, that this is 
 not the only catastrophe which the annals of the 
 Rossberg have to record, as a former village, 
 named Rothen, was destroyed by a fall from the 
 same mountain, but the date is not well ascer- 
 tained. 180,000 francs were contributed to- 
 ward the relief of the unhappy few who sur- 
 vived. 
 
 It was late in the evening when we arrived 
 at the inn of Goldau, or rather where Goldau 
 once stood. It was moonlight, occasionally ob- 
 scured by clouds. The circumstances connect- 
 ed with the scene beneath and around, all oc- 
 cupied my mind, and thought was busy in her 
 chambers of imagery. I could not forget that, 
 in all probability, we then were over the pro- 
 found grave of the seven individuals from Berne, 
 who had perished near this spot. Amid the 
 multitude of ideas which engrossed me, I took a 
 solitary walk over this dread wreck of matter. 
 It was a sorry sight ! The moon threw a calm 
 and settled, to me a melancholy, ray upon this 
 vast sepulchre. On the side of the hill oppo- 
 site gleamed here and there the light of the 
 
245 
 
 challet, like stars twinkling in the sky. A bat 
 flittered past me, and a beetle, whose sound was 
 like a parting knell over these deep caverns of 
 the dead, where rocks filled up the graves " as 
 dust to dust." What a funeral monument was 
 here ! As I clambered among the fragments of 
 rocks, some of terrible magnitude, I heard the 
 song of the grasshopper, and the reed sighing in 
 the wind, as some breeze shook it amid the fens 
 which here and there abound. The very vege- 
 tation was funereal, or appeared to me to wear 
 a sad and mournful livery. The cypress, the 
 yew, and the aspen, were not there; but the 
 htrid nightshade and the trembling grass had each 
 their memento mori. When " the storied urn 
 and animated bust" shall have fallen from their 
 niche, and all the pomp and blazonry of the 
 sculptor's art have forgot their cunning, the 
 ruin of the Rossberg will attest the terrible 
 event, and be the permanent register of these 
 rocky tombs to distant ages. Each rock around 
 me looked as a grave and monument, and from 
 its stern front seemed to rebound the words, 
 
 " SISTE VIATOR ! PULVEREM HUMANUM CALCAS !" 
 
 I had wandered not knowing whither I went, 
 till my foot slipped into a pool of water, and 
 roused me from my reveries, and I returned to 
 the inn ; before which rose the Rhigiberg, that 
 we were to ascend the following morning. No 
 
246 
 
 cloud muffled its diadem, and, thus unveiled, it 
 stood a noble sight. At one side was a cha- 
 pel, where a glimmering lamp burnt the en- 
 tire night before an image of the virgin, which 
 was placed over the altar. 
 
 We left our inn the following morning about 
 half past 6 a. m. for the ascent of the Rhigi. 
 In the meadows we observed a profusion of the 
 autumnal crocus, and on our ascent the gentian, 
 scabious, monkshood, daisy, Centaurea montana, 
 &c. A large flock of goats, some hundreds in 
 number, crossed our path. We passed several 
 stations — shrines for the devotee. In one of 
 these was a rude and gigantic representation of 
 our Saviour sinking under the burden of the 
 cross. It was a hideous form, and there was a 
 brutality in the exhibition which excited feel- 
 ings of the strongest horror and disgust. After 
 many a weary circumvolution, we at length en- 
 tered the valley of Imsand, where the view is 
 more limited. Here stands the chapel of " Notre 
 Dame des Nieges," — a pause for the weary pil- 
 grim. The foundation of this building was laid 
 in 1689, but being found quite insufficient for 
 the vast influx of pilgrims, it was taken down 
 and rebuilt in 1719. Hard by is an Hospice, in- 
 habited the year round by three Fathers and a 
 Capuchin lay brother. A beggarly Capuchin 
 thrust his head out of one of the wickets of the 
 
247 
 
 Convent as we passed. This valley is much 
 frequented by catholics on saint days and Sun- 
 days, but particularly on the two high festivals 
 celebrated here in the chapel of our Lady of the 
 Snows, which occur annually on the 22d July, 
 the day of St Magdalene, the fete of the mountain 
 herds ; and the 5th August, the day of our White 
 Lady. On these holidays are the grand rendez- 
 vous of the shepherds, while thousands from 
 the country round join them in the sacred solem- 
 nities of telling beads and singing Ave Marias, 
 In the chapel were many trophies of the mira- 
 culous agency of this " Avenel." We counted 
 no less than twenty crutches hung up as votive 
 offerings to the snowy dame ; and tawdry pic- 
 tures, and waxen arms and legs, multiplied ad 
 infinitum^ the registers of the halt, the lame, and 
 the blind, who had leaped and walked, and had 
 at least seen " men as trees walking," if no 
 more, at the spell of this blanched Madonna. 
 
 Soon after leaving the shrine of our White 
 Lady, we met a group of three damsels and a 
 man uncovered tripping lightly. They told 
 their beads and chaunted gaily their " Ave Ma- 
 ria, gratice plena^^ &c. the man leading, while 
 the females made the responses. We were sa- 
 luted notwithstanding, with all due courtesy, 
 and " Je vous salue," though not likely to be in- 
 corporated among the language of their beads, 
 
248 
 
 seemed to dovetail well enough. We arrived al 
 the comfortable inn at the Rhigi-staffel, built in 
 1816, and enlarged in 1822, at half-past 9 o'clock 
 A. M., having occupied three hours in the ascent. 
 The thermometer stood at 63°, hygrometer 22°, 
 and water boiled at lOTFahr. As we ascended 
 we perceived clouds hovering over the moun- 
 tain, which at last condensed into one impene- 
 trable casque of vapour ; and when we arrived 
 at this point, alas ! 
 
 *' All in mist the world was lost below." 
 
 At this inn we found a family who had made it 
 their temporary residence, and were trying the 
 effect of mountain air : and, in complaints of the 
 chest, and pulmonic diseases, we think the sys- 
 tem may here receive a new pulse. Nature 
 seemed to favour this view of the case, and had 
 strewn around not only the Lichen rangiferinus, 
 but also the Iceland moss, which we observed 
 in abundance ; and here is a rarer, purer air, 
 unmingled with the stagnant vapour and impuri- 
 ties of the valley, or the crowded population of 
 the town, and all its noxious exhalations. A 
 steep and winding path brought us at length to 
 the loftiest point of Rhigi, " Queen of Moun- 
 tains." 
 
249 
 
 The Rhigi (Riga) has been poetically called 
 Regina montium. In the days of other years its 
 name appears to have been Mons rigidus. Three 
 lakes repose at the base of the Rhigi, namely 
 those of Zug, Lucerne and Lowertz. The moun- 
 tain may be considered as forming an almost 
 peninsular promontory, of eight to ten leagues 
 in circumference — a kind of outpost to the great 
 Alpine ridge. Opposite the Rhigi stands the 
 sombre Mons Pilatus, her rival power, and by 
 her side the Rossberg and its ruins. The Rhigi 
 is composed entirely of breccia or conglomerate^ 
 and the highest point is called the Rhigi-culm^ 
 elevated, according to the measurement of Ge- 
 neral Pfyffer, 5676 feet above the level of the 
 sea. At the Signal Point, where we arrived at 
 half- past 11, the thermometer was 60°.5, having 
 fallen 2°. 5; the hygrometer was 15°. Not far 
 from hence is a cross, at the base of which a gen- 
 tleman's servant was killed the preceding year 
 by a flash of lightning. 
 
 We had been some time on the mountain, 
 and the shroud of mist still enveloped the 
 Rhigiberg, and On looking down into the pro- 
 found of vapour, we witnessed a most curious 
 and beautiful spectacle : it was that of an iris 
 glowing in all the tints of the prism, and of a 
 horse-shoe form, imbedded deep in the vapour. 
 I never before saw a rainbow of this form ; its 
 
250 
 
 dimensions, too, were very limited. The clouds 
 moved, and seemed to pass before us in review, 
 : — fit shrine for Ossian's ghosts. At length they 
 began to disperse, and dissolve into transparent 
 air. Sometimes they would seem to linger on 
 the mirror'd lake, as if they wooed it, and were 
 loath to part, and then they would cast their veil 
 over the distant mountains, dimly seen through 
 their transparent medium; but, at length the 
 curtain rose from over the landscape, as if it 
 were drawn into Heaven by an invisible hand, 
 and discovered its unique and glorious pano- 
 rama. " We looked o'er half the world ;" the 
 Rhigi-culm is marked by a stand, which we 
 mounted by a short ladder, and from this point 
 the astonished eye unexpectedly plunges into the 
 immense profound which lies unveiled before it 
 in all its vastness, — its length and breadth and 
 depth stretching far and wide into immensity. 
 A lovely hemisphere was above our heads, and 
 beneath and around a terraqueous scene, out- 
 witting the necromance of imagination or wit- 
 cheries of poetry. None " but itself can be its 
 parallel." Fifteen lakes spread before us their 
 reflective beauties, including those of Sarnen, 
 Lucerne, Zurich, and Zug, and many sheets of 
 water not numbered as lakes, are seen besides. 
 The eye seems gifted with new vision : at once a 
 telescope and a camera obscura. Mapped out be- 
 
^51 
 
 fore it on one fair animated canvas is seen a 
 great part of the Cantons of Underwalden, Lu- 
 cerne, Schwitz, Zug, Argovie, and Zurich; and in 
 the noble circle which circumscribes us, are the 
 mountains of St Gall, Appenzell, Glaris, the 
 Orisons, Tessin, Uri, Berne, Neufchatel, So- 
 leure, Basle, Schaffhouse, and Thurgovie. Here 
 was a circle of the " everlasting hills," — "a build- 
 ing of God, not made with hands," — where Alps 
 on Alps arise. The vision wanders over more 
 than Switzerland, — it penetrates into the Vosges 
 and among the mountains of the Black Forest 
 of Germany. The superb relief of the Alpine 
 chain, and their snows and glaciers, is immea- 
 surably vast and sublime. Nought wanders in 
 their solitudes but the condor of the old world, 
 whose wing wafts him above the regions of the 
 clouds, the summits of Mont Blanc or of Rosa, 
 or the Jungfrau or the Schreckhcfirn. Within 
 the vast circle thus flanked by walls of adamant, 
 are seen flocks and herds, and trees and pastu- 
 rage in liveries of green, cities, towns, villagies ; 
 Ihe bark gliding on the lake, and all the pheno- 
 mena of art and nature, — a camera obscura of 
 life and being, crowd upon the senses, with 
 their overpowering wonders. On the Rhigi 
 mountain feed 4,000 heads^of cattle, besides vast 
 flocks of sheep and goats. On this sublime pe- 
 destal, I thought of the Scripture vision, " All 
 
252 
 
 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD IN A MOMENT OF 
 
 time;" but until now I had not learnt its em- 
 phasis or power. Here all its magic crowded 
 on the surprised and delighted sight: I shall 
 never forget its wonders, and when I read the 
 expressive language, I shall remember the pano- 
 ramic vision of the Rhigi-culm. 
 
 From the platform on the Rhigi-culm, we went 
 to a seat near the cross, and not far from ano- 
 ther inn, erected in 1816. The view from this 
 seat overlooks Goldau and the ruin of the event- 
 ful Rossberg, stretching in width five or six 
 miles from the Lake of Zug to that of Lowertz, 
 — a fate, we fear, in reserve for the Queen of 
 Mountains, and the towns and villages beneath, 
 especially Weggis and Kusnacht : nor is this 
 mere speculation or fancy. Immense are the 
 rents presented throughout its vast extent : we 
 jcast stones into some of these, and they issued 
 from the mountain side some thousands of feet 
 below. That the Rhigi has been shattered by 
 some convulsion, is evident from the ruin, dis- 
 order, and dislocation which are here and there 
 observable on its flanks, — formed of the same 
 materials, and operated upon by the same causes 
 as the Rossberg, we see no alternative; and ter- 
 rible will be the fall, and more extensive and 
 disastrous, in all human probability, will be its 
 consequences. Its inclination, too, similar to that 
 
253 
 
 of the Rossberg, adds to the amount of these pro- 
 babilities. The infiltration of water through the 
 rents, and a power, greater than that of the wedge, 
 arising from its expansion in the act of freezing, 
 would shatter and disjoint its mighty form, — a 
 power that has burst a mortar with a force ex- 
 ceeding that of gunpowder. May Rhigi long 
 maintain her station, but we do not see on what 
 principle she can claim exemption. 
 
 The temperature of the mountain varies ex- 
 ceedingly, corresponding with the elevation of 
 the scite or shelter afforded from woods. The 
 dell, skreened from the bleak winds of Heaven, 
 and a southern aspect, are circumstances that 
 will rear a kindlier vegetation. It has been 
 stated, that 800 species of plants have been col- 
 lected from its sides and summit; rhododendrons, 
 vacciniums, gentians, and the napellus, &c. On 
 our descent we noticed a fine cistern, wherein a 
 great quantity of large trout were preserved. 
 We saw beautiful gi'oups. and patches of gen- 
 tians, sporting their blossoms of blue, in rich 
 profusion, and collected on our path both cran- 
 berries, whortleberries, and raspberries. 
 
 As we proceeded to Kusnacht, we passed 
 through the defile where William Tell gave 
 the tyrant Gessler the mortal wound, — an event 
 commemorated by the erection of a chapel on 
 the spot. Within the chapel is contained a 
 
254 
 
 miserable melange of catholic trumpery. On 
 the wall without is a Avi'etched painting, repre- 
 senting the hero of Swiss liberty, giving the 
 despot the coup de grace ; but other incidents 
 in Tell's life are improperly included, not being 
 contemporaneous. At a short distance from 
 Kusnacht is a hill, from whence we perceive the 
 ruins of Gessler's Castle. 
 
 At half past three p. m. we arrived at Kus- 
 nacht. The thermometer was 74° F., and hy- 
 grometer 22°. Our dinner at the inn at this 
 place was excellent, and elegantly garnished with 
 flowers, especially the dessert, which consisted of 
 nine dishes ; hot almonds, fried in sugar, beauti- 
 ful rolled up wafers, and some large and deli- 
 cious peaches from the garden of the inn, fine 
 grapes, rich cakes, and sweetmeats, or bonbons 
 in papers, with various mottoes, &c. A fowl 
 was introduced on the dinner-table with a sprig 
 of rosemary in its bill, which to us had rather a 
 novel appearance, though it certainly looked very 
 pretty. Kirschenwasser is made in this neigh- 
 bom-hood to a considerable extent, and, we un- 
 derstood, might be purchased here at 10 soiis 
 (5d.) the bottle. In the streets of this town we 
 observed many individuals peeling hemp, and 
 females spinning with the distaff. The church- 
 yard was decorated in a similar way to that 
 of Stanz, with the same adjuncts and appen- 
 dages. The graves were almost all covered with 
 
2^55 
 
 pinks, many of which were in flower. On one 
 of the altars in the church, is St Clement re- 
 posing in state, in a glass coffin; the skull seemed 
 to he hlanched. There is a large hoat suspended 
 from the ceiling, with a huge wax-candle for the 
 mast, the Virgin at one end, and some saint at 
 the other ; the hark contains two rowers besides 
 these holy personages. In the chapel of the 
 Purgatory we observed a pyramid of skulls. 
 From hence we enjoyed a fine view of the 
 lake and the Pilate-herg *, belted with clouds. 
 Temperature of the air 74°; hygrometer 21°; 
 temperature of the lake was 64°, soon af- 
 ter we embarked on its surface for Lucerne. 
 The waters of this lake, under analysis, gave 
 indices of liTne, and a muriate ; but caustic baryta^ 
 lime-water^ nitrate of baryta^ &c. eff*ected no 
 change. The evening was calm, and we had a 
 most delightful sail. The planet Jupiter rose, 
 over the summit of Mount Rhigi, and the con- 
 stellation of Ursa major crowned the Pilate- 
 berg, while lightnings played around his girdle. 
 We passed a chapel in a small island, dedicated 
 to St Nicolas, patron of the Lake of Lucerne^ 
 and landed at a quarter past eight o'clock p. m., 
 at the Hofthor, where we paid, on entrance, a 
 very small coin, — a diminutive fraction of a 
 batzen, namely, a heller^ in value about ^^th of 
 a penny ! 
 
 • Berg, mountain. 
 
^56 
 
 Lucerne was formerly called Lucernaor Luce- 
 ria, Mount-Pilate on the one hand, and Mount- 
 Rhigi on the other, impart bold features to the 
 surrounding scene. The city is situated on the 
 banks of the Reuss, which divides it into two parts. 
 The four bridges are exceedingly remarkable 
 and curious, and form the most singular objects 
 of interest in the town. Reussbriicke, or the 
 bridge of the Reuss, is the only one which is 
 uncovered, and is the most ancient. It is con- 
 structed on piles of wood, is 150 feet long, and 
 26 feet broad. The second is the Hofbriicke 
 or Hofbridge, which joins the town to the 
 Cathedral, near the junction of the river with 
 the lake, and is 1380 feet long: on its raf- 
 ters or cross beams are painted 238 pictures, 
 one-half of which are subjects from the Old Testa- 
 ment, and the other half are taken from the New 
 ^Testament; the latter in front in going to the 
 cathedral, and the former in returning from it. 
 In a particular part of the bridge, from whence 
 we obtain a fine prospect. General Pfyffer, in 
 1790, had registered and inscribed the names, 
 distances, and heights of the principal summits 
 of the higher Alps, as seen from it, commen- 
 cing on the east by the Rossberg, and terminat- 
 ing on the south by Mount-Pilate. The third 
 bridge is called the Kappel Briicke or Chapel 
 Bridge, built in 1303; it is 1000 feet long, traver- 
 
257 
 
 sing the lake where the Reuss joinsit. Toward 
 the centre it forms an angular curve, and here 
 comes in contact with an ancient tower of Ro- 
 man construction, called now Wasserthurm, or 
 Water Tower. It crosses the river at its junc- 
 tion with the lake from whence it flows. The 
 rafters of this hridge are also decorated with 154 
 pictures, seventy-seven relating to the more re- 
 markable periods in the history of Switzerland, 
 and the other half connected with the individual 
 histories of two of the patrons of the city, St 
 Maurice and St Leger, Catholic legends. The 
 Wasserthurm, it is conjectured, was once a pha- 
 ros or watch-tower. Before the revolution of 
 1798, the archives of the state and also the trea- 
 sure were kept in it. The fourth bridge, called 
 Miihlenbriicke, or the Bridge of Mills, has its 
 rafters adorned with pictures, thirty-six in num- 
 ber, a copy by Meglinger from the celebrated 
 Dance of Death, supposed by Holbein. On this 
 bridge is a shrine and image, and the due quan- 
 tity of oil is each night consumed before the 
 saint ; it was a frequent promenade, as it al- 
 most fronted our hotel, the " Gasthof zum 
 Rossli," the White Horse, a very excellent inn. 
 In the collection of the Banker Nager, we saw 
 little worthy of note. Some huge specimens of 
 rock-crystal from Mount St Gothard, sold at 
 reasonable prices : there were also onyx neck- 
 
258 
 
 laces for disposal, and various other articles. 
 At a bookseller's (Meyer), we were interest- 
 ed in a fine panoramic painting of the view 
 from the Rhigi-culm, which seems a faithful 
 portrait of the surrounding scenery. We were 
 very much gi'atified by seeing the antiques of the 
 Arsenal. In the armoury we noticed among 
 others the coat of mail worn by Duke Leopold 
 of Austria, at the battle of Sempach. The iron 
 casque of the famous reformer Ulrick Zuingle 
 of Zurich, killed in 1531, at the battle of Cap- 
 pel ; flags and standards, bows and arrows of 
 olden times; a Turkish standard taken in 1610, 
 before Tunis, by a native of Lucerne. There is 
 also a collection of ancient painted glass. I was 
 presented with an old arrow, having a triangu- 
 lar point, some of these arrows had their points 
 besmeared with a substance, which I foundv^H 
 analysis to be pure sulphur. We went to see 
 the immense models in relief of a great part of 
 Switzerland, executed by the late General 
 Pfyffer, wliich are especially worthy of notice, 
 a wonderful production, and evidence of the ex- 
 traordinary exertions of this indefatigable man : 
 they are shewn in a wing of the house formerly 
 the residence of this intrepid and distinguished 
 Alpine traveller, who died in 1802. The entire 
 models are represented on 180 square feet of 
 surface, and are composed of 136 pieces. Here 
 
259 
 
 is also a very excellent portrait of the General, 
 and among other ohjects the wooden shoes used 
 in his Alpine excursions, and an ingenious ac- 
 companiment serving at once for a seat and a 
 walking stick, are still shown. 
 
 We were exceedingly pleased with the monu- 
 ment sculptured in the sandstone rock, to the me- 
 mory of the Gardes Suisses, in the garden of Co- 
 lonel Pfyffer, and purchased a cast after the ori- 
 ginal model. In the commencement of the French 
 Revolution, on 10th August 1792, the Swiss 
 guards were called to the Tuilleries in defence of 
 the King and Royal Family of France. The great- 
 er part were massacred on the spot, or perished 
 victims on the scaffold, for their fidelity to the 
 cause they had sworn to defend. M. Charles 
 Pfyffer of Altishofen (now Colonel), headed 
 this nohle band : his life was spared, and he was 
 finally suffered to return home. By a decree 
 of the Directory of Berne, 7th August 1817, an 
 iron medallion, bearing the inscription " Fidelite 
 et honneur," was voted to each of the survivors. 
 On the 1st March 1818, Colonel Pfyffer pro- 
 posed to erect a monument, by public subscrip- 
 tion, and the sum subscribed amounted to 1000 
 Louis (Tors. Thorwaldsen of Rome, the emi- 
 nent Islandic sculptor, was engaged to make the 
 model, and on the 19th August 1819, the exca- 
 vation of the grotto was begun. Shortly after this 
 
260 
 
 period the model arrived from Rome, but on 
 opening the box which contained it, it was found 
 considerably damaged, and the noble head of 
 the lion broken into more than fifty pieces. It 
 was, however, put together with tolerable suc- 
 cess, by Colonel Louis Pfyffer of Wyher. 
 The work after the model, was commenced by 
 Lucas Ahorn, sculptor of Constance, on 28th 
 March 1820, and finished on 7th August 1821. 
 The grotto excavated in the solid rock, where 
 the noble lion, 'mortally wounded, and having ex- 
 pired, reposes, is 44 feet long, and 26 feet high, 
 and the lion is 28^ feet long, and 18 feet high. 
 This animal, of the colossal magnitude already 
 stated, is represented as having died on a heap 
 of broken warlike weapons, on a shield bearing 
 the armorial Flew de Lis of France. The 
 monument is well conceived, and finely executed. 
 In an adjoining chapel is annually celebrated a 
 catholic funeral service on the 10th August, in 
 commemoration of the event, when 750 Gardes 
 Suisses, a few of the National Guards, and 
 200 defenceless individuals, maintained an un- 
 equal stand against 100,000 soldiers, and an in- 
 furiated mob, breathing cruelty and revenge. 
 
 Having passed the Hofbriicke, we inspected 
 the parish and collegiate church or cathedral. 
 It is stated that the foundation stone was laid in 
 695, on the remains of a convent oi Benedic- 
 
261 
 
 tines. The present edifice, however, is the erec- 
 tion of 1634. Over the chief altar is a fine 
 painting by Lanfranc : the subject is our Sa- 
 viour on the Mount of Olives. This church con- 
 tains three organs : the largest was finished by 
 Jean Geissler of Salzbourg in 1651, and was 
 the labour of seven years. There are 2826 pipes 
 constructed of English block tin : the largest is 
 thirty-seven feet high, and two feet diameter, 
 and capable of containing 1308 liquid pints. 
 
 Here is a most extensive exhibition of rosa- 
 ries and relics, the true cross, and fragments 
 of the veritable bones of saints innumerable, 
 though we more than suspect we observed 
 among them fragments of bones certainly not 
 human, though belonging to the class mammalia ; 
 and there were shewn us chalices and patens 
 ancient and modern, and priests* vestments and 
 trappings, rich and gorgeous beyond what the 
 theatre ever sported in its costliest display. 
 This is esteemed the richest cabinet of bones and 
 priests* apparel in Switzerland. We certainly 
 do account it strange, why all this ado should 
 be made about the bones of animals " savage 
 and tame," dressed up with silk and tinsel like 
 baby*s toys. The multiplication of bones and 
 fragments of bones, presupposes an extensive 
 and unceremonious robbery of graves and charnel 
 houses. The true cross seems infinitely divisible, 
 
262 
 
 or, like the polype, self productive and regenera- 
 tive ; and then the multiplex array of beads and 
 rosaries ; each bead a prayer sui generis ; nor is 
 it once pretended that they possess the princi- 
 ples or modus operandi of Babbage's calculat- 
 ing engine. Need we add the recitation of 
 Latin prayers, as if God understood no other 
 language than the Roman. They also ransack 
 the kingdoms of Nature, both vegetable and mi- 
 neral, and so torture her, as if they would have 
 her to tell a lie to support their mischievous 
 fraud. Thus the Lichen jolithus^ which is sprink- 
 led on the stones at the bottom of St Winifred's 
 well, must needs be saints' blood, and the spots 
 of peroxyde of iron, on a surface of sandstone 
 impregnated with muriate of soda, is, by catho- 
 lic tact, and transubstantiation, transmuted into 
 St Januarius's blood. All these are " cunningly 
 devised fables," nor does it require the penetra- 
 tion of a Paul to see that " in all things they 
 are too superstitious." 
 
 We had frequently reason to suspect the sin- 
 cerity of Sebastian Pierre's Catholicism, but 
 at length he gave us palpable proof of his he- 
 resy. While viewing the cabinet of osseous 
 fragments, he turned asside to me, and with 
 a satirical grin remarked, " On achete ces ckoses 
 la a Rome /" A vast cemetery Surrounded by 
 porticos environs the church. We were in- 
 
263 
 
 formed that the bodies of the dead at Lucerne 
 were immediately removed from the houses 
 of their friends, and carried to one of those 
 which adjoin the church on the left hand, 
 exclusively devoted to this purpose, where they 
 remain forty-eight hours before interment. In 
 this church-yard are also pans and " holy wa- 
 ter," but the dock-leaf substitutes the box. There 
 seems to be a considerable demand for this 
 water, so much so, that it is duly prepared in a 
 large barrel, a Latin prayer is muttered, and a 
 little salt cast in ; and thus divided and subdi- 
 vided, however much, or attenuated however far, 
 the integral blessing, itself incapable of division, 
 remains inviolable. 
 
 There were numerous mallard ducks swimming 
 near the Bridge of Mills, exceedingly tame, and 
 I amused myself early in the morning by feed- 
 ing them : on one occasion there was a flock of. 
 twenty-eight. Convicts were employed in water- 
 ing and cleaning the streets early in the morning: 
 I perceived twenty of them with iron collars and 
 chains, dragging a cart, &c. and under the sur*- 
 veilance of two gens'-d^armes. The watering ma- 
 chine was buckled round their body, and had a 
 flexible hose and rose. At Lucerne water boiled 
 at 206^ Fahr. 
 
 In the environs of Lucerne are many fine 
 walks and views. A pleasant road conducted iia 
 
264 
 
 to the pleasure grounds of M. Weber. It is an 
 elevated esplanade, terminating the hill Musegg, 
 and this part of it is called Allenwinden^ — All- 
 winds, perhaps from its exposure to every hlast. 
 From the battlements we had a delightful view 
 of the plain below, watered by the meanderings 
 of the Reuss. We had not time to pass to the 
 other side of Lucerne, to the hill called Gib- 
 raltar^ where there is another fine prospect in a 
 contrary direction. 
 
 Lucerne is rather a cold climate, and there 
 seldom passes a month, even in the summer, 
 when snow does not prevail on some of the sur- 
 rounding hills. The supreme power is invested 
 in a council, composed of 100 members con- 
 tinued for life, one half being chosen by the 
 city, and the other by the departments of the 
 Canton ; and thirty-six form a quorum, constant- 
 ly exercising the administration of the judica- 
 ture. The great council assembles three times 
 a year. The established religion of the Canton is 
 Catholic, and the population of the town is 6000. 
 The length of the lake is about nine leagues, 
 and it is four to five leagues broad. Its depth 
 in some places is 720 feet. The navigation of 
 this lake has been represented as dangerous, but 
 this is only in reference to the storms of winter ; 
 or inebriated boatmen, and strangers would 
 surely not be so imprudent as to trust them- 
 
'265 
 
 selves to any such individuals. Across this lake is 
 the transit of goods from France, Germany, &c. 
 into Italy by the passage of the St Gothard. Not 
 far distant from Lucerne is the small town of 
 Sempach, renowned for the battle fought on 9th 
 June 1386, under its walls between the Swiss 
 and the Duke of Austria, and where Arnold 
 DE WiNKELRiED fell in cspousiug his country's 
 cause. 
 
 M 
 
266 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 ZUG ZURICH— BASLE ON THE RHINE — 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 W E engaged a voiture for Zurich, and left Lu- 
 cerne early in the morning, having for our com- 
 pagnon de voyage a Polish nohleman, whose so- 
 ciety we found, quite an acquisition, as he ap- 
 peared to have made the tour of Europe, and 
 was very communicative. It was half past twelve 
 when we arrived at Zug, capital of the Canton 
 of that name, having occupied from three to 
 four hours in the route. The town seemed ex- 
 tremely wi-etched, and almost deserted. Some 
 of the lower class were engaged in peeling hemp, 
 while all its artizans appeared to us, occupied in 
 nothing else save forging crosses for the tomhs 
 in the churchyard, making votive toys of arms, 
 legs, and hearts for the shrines of their saints ; 
 we likewise observed a gold-beater, to supply 
 the foil for gilding. We saw the church of the 
 Capuchines, and that of St Oswald, where the 
 
367 
 
 usual exhibition of chalices and patens, silver- 
 gilt ; and " Babylonish garments," and bones, 
 integral and fractional, w^re displayed. From 
 thence we took a walk beyond the town to the 
 chui'ch of St Michael, their patron saint, and 
 on our way thither observed a small portcullis 
 attached to the gate of exit and entrance. On 
 the left, we noticed over the gate of the house 
 of M. Rose, attached to the conducting-rod, 
 Canton's electric bells, which sound the alarm 
 on the approach and advent of the thunder- 
 storm. In the " Purgatory" of the church there 
 was a complete collection of skulls, arranged 
 in pigeon niches, duly labelled underneath with 
 name and petition. The graves were conspi- 
 cuous for their gilded iron crosses, and the sod 
 tor roses, irises, and pinks; the stone-basins 
 were mostly emptied of their saline contents, 
 and the perforated rattles within them seemed 
 to have once seen better days. The fountains 
 of the to%vn were bedizened with images, and 
 there were plenty of beggars; they have literally 
 '' the poor always with them," and seem re- 
 solved to keep them so. We were charged four 
 francs each for our dinner, and for the very 
 same repast, our Polish friend was charged only 
 three ; but the Maitre d'Hotel sports a few Eng^ 
 l*sh words, and these are always dearly bought 
 fey the unfortunate English, who are " pigeon- 
 
 M 2 
 
268 
 
 ed" and plundered with no sparing hand. Their 
 unbounded display of wealth and utter careless- 
 ness, and indiscriminating profusion, seem to 
 make them fair game, and constitute them the 
 spolia opima of the traffic. 
 
 The town of Zug was visited by a severe ca- 
 tastrophe in 1435. A rampart, flanked by mas- 
 sive towers, which formed the abutment of a 
 street, being undermined by the waters of the 
 lake, was engulfed, and sixty persons, includ- 
 ing the Landammann, together with the archives 
 ef the city, were swallowed up. Every citizen 
 of Zug above nineteen years of age, has a right 
 to vote in its General Assembly, held every 
 year on the first Sunday of May, to elect their 
 Landammann, other functionaries, and their de- 
 puties to the Diets : — the former holds his office 
 for two years. The following Sunday, the ele- 
 ven Communes of the Canton elect Counsellors, 
 Members of the Cantonal Council, composing, 
 together with the Landammann and great func- 
 tionaries, the executive power. A paper manu- 
 factory is the exclusive branch of commerce ; 
 few fields are cultivated, and still fewer vine- 
 yards. Poor cheese and sorry butter are made. 
 Formerly the town paid an annual tax of fish 
 from the lake, to the Counts of Hapsburg. 
 
 We left Zug for Zurich without regret. At 
 Si small village we stopt to give our horses a 
 
269 
 
 little rest and refreshment^ which consisted of 
 bread and wine^ — a meal, we have ohserved, 
 very commonly given to horses in some parts of 
 Italy. From the village churchyard, which was 
 considerahly elevated ahove the plain, we had a 
 fine survey of the surrounding country, and in 
 an adjoining garden we ohserved a peal of Can- 
 ton's electric hells. We were now in a Protes- 
 tant Canton, and the transition was truly cheer- 
 ing and delightful ; nature seemed to smile in 
 concord, and wear a lovelier rohe around us. 
 It was late when we entered the city of Zurich, 
 and the reflected gleams of the numerous lights 
 of the town, from the waters of the lake, formed 
 a very lovely scene. The following day was 
 Sunday. At eight o'clock in the morning there 
 was service in French : the other hours are ten 
 and two o'clock, in German, which is the uni- 
 versal language here. There is much external 
 decorum on this day of the week, the churches 
 seem remarkahly well attended, and secular 
 business entirely suspended. We attended St 
 Peter's in the afternoon, the service being in 
 German, was in some measure unprofitable; 
 but the preacher addressed an extemporane- 
 ous discourse, full of nerve and emphasis, to 
 a crowded congregation, and all was stillness 
 and attention. There was no organ. The fe- 
 males exclusively occupied the body of the 
 
270 
 
 chiu'ch, while the men sat in the gallery, or 
 were disposed around the sides. We observed 
 that many kept their hats on during service, — 
 a practice we had also noticed at Lausanne and 
 Geneva, but one to which we cannot say, Aiaaen. 
 The women sat, but the men stood up, during 
 singing. In this church we observed the admi- 
 nistration of baptism, which, in some of its parts, 
 resembled that of the Church of Scotland. Ques- 
 tions were put alternately to each pai*ent, who 
 returned the necessary responses, by a bow or 
 com'tesy. While the baptismal formula was 
 repeated by the minister, he dipped his hand in- 
 to the basin, and touched the forehead of the 
 infant three distinct times. 
 
 The following day we devoted to visiting the va- 
 rious public buildings, and other places of resort 
 and amusement. The Orphan Hospital, founded 
 in 1765, where 100 children are provided for, 
 is among the most imposing edifices of the city. 
 In the vestibule of the Hotel de Ville, are two 
 large paintings, representing all the fish of the 
 river Limmat and adjoining lake. The stoves 
 were plated with Dutch tiles, and were not in- 
 elegant. The various rooms for the petit conseil, 
 and grand conseil d'etat, were supplied with nu- 
 merous spitting-boxes ; so I conclude, smoking 
 tobacco is deemed an essential attribute of the 
 conclave. Over one of the entrances we per- 
 
271 
 
 c«ived the words, " Justieia omnibus idem;" ad- 
 mirable text ! The public libi'ary contains two 
 globes of considerable size, some antiques, a 
 few minerals, petrifactions, &c. with a model 
 in relief of the four Cantons, and portraits of 
 the burgomaster and other functionaries. We 
 felt gratified by witnessing the arrangement and 
 management of the Institute for the Blind. The 
 children sang very well, and their occupations 
 were various, such as making door-mats of rope 
 and straw, netting work-bags, bead-purses, &e. 
 They read from raised letters, and write with 
 types formed of pins; many seemed to have 
 made considerable progress. On the two towers 
 of the cathedral are equestrian statues of Char- 
 lemagne, and Rupert Duke of Swabia. In 
 the wasserkirche there is an original manuscript 
 of QuiNCTiLiAN, formerly belonging to the abbey 
 of St Gall. Among other things we visited the 
 designs and sketches of the poet Gesner. In 
 the arsenal there is a vast quantity of armoury, 
 and w e believe that there are arms here for the 
 equipment of 30,000 men. Some very ancient 
 armour of the aborigines of Switzerland is care- 
 fully preserved. Here, too, may be seen, " on 
 dit," the identical bow with which William 
 Tell pierced the apple on the head of his son, 
 in 1307 ; arrows tipped with sulphur, match- 
 locks, coats of mail, and casques ; guns finely 
 
272 
 
 inlaid, and some discharged by the ftiction of a 
 steel-cylinder against a flint, which we think, in 
 a modified and improved form, might be inge- 
 niously made to substitute the present structure 
 of the gun-lock, being far more certain and not 
 liable to accident. One of the coats of mail had 
 a cross on the corselet or breast-mail, and the 
 helmet carried the date of 1578. 
 
 In the coffee room (Caffe Saffran), which I 
 once entered, I observed almost all engaged, 
 either in playing at billiards, or in smoking and 
 drinking, and enjoying the passing news. There 
 is a market every Wednesday, for cloth and thread 
 of cotton, linen, and hemp. We observed the 
 fruit market on the bridge plentifully supplied 
 with apricots, peaches, grapes, pears, plums, figs; 
 and fine apples in great variety, many were large 
 and some of curious kinds, as white as snow; the 
 fruit was extremely reasonable. The crop of two 
 pear trees, full of ripe fruit, we were told, at a 
 short distance from Zurich, yielding a produce of 
 nine sacksful, was sold for 8 francs or 6s. 8d. 
 Sterling. Near the Hotel de Ville, stands a pil- 
 lar with three iron collars attached to it, serving 
 as the punishment for robbers, who are thus pub- 
 licly exposed. There are three prisons. One is the 
 Tower of Wellenberg, in the middle of the river, 
 for those convicted of capital offences, and in 
 Zurich adultery is considered as a capital crime. 
 
273 
 
 There are some good gardens and promenades. 
 Some of the puhlic gardens project into and over- 
 hang the lake, which, together with numerous 
 mills on the river banks add very much to the 
 beauty of the scenery. We enjoyed a fine pro- 
 menade on the rampart of Stadelhofen^ near to a 
 cemetery. There is also another of still more 
 frequent resort, that of Gesner, called by the 
 good people the " Modern Theocritus." This 
 Avalk is situated on the confluence of the Lim- 
 mat and Sihl. Here is a cippus of black 
 marble, surmounted by an urn. As we passed, 
 we perceived a monument in alto relievo^ under a 
 covert, by an artist of Rome ; it seemed injured 
 in parts. The Botanic Garden of Zurich has re- 
 ceived supplies from the late Andre Thouin of 
 Paris and Professor Thunberg of Upsal. In 
 the library founded in 1628, are more than 
 40,000 volumes, and 700 MSS., relative to 
 Swiss history, together with part of the Codex 
 Vaticanus, on i;to/e^-coloured parchment. 
 
 Zurich was called by the Romans Thuricuniy 
 and appears to have existed in the time of 
 C^SAR called by him Tigurum^ built on the 
 two banks of the Limmat, where the river Aa 
 immediately issues fron the lake. It is, inde- 
 pendent of its Roman name, an ancient city, 
 and even now is pointed out the house said to 
 have been occupied by the Emperor Charle- 
 
 M 3 
 
MAGNE ; called Zum Lock. Rudolph of Hxps^ 
 burg, in the 13th century, assisted the inhabi- 
 tants of Zurich to capture or destroy the castles 
 of those feudal lords around, who disquieted 
 them. After enjoying for several centuries the 
 immunities of an imperial city, it was one of the 
 first to join the league of the three foreign Can- 
 tons, and subsequently had the privilege of pre- 
 siding at the diets of the Helvetic confederation. 
 Zurich has the honour of having been the first 
 in Switzerland to embrace the Reformed Reli- 
 gion, commenced by Zu ingle in 1517, and many 
 Italian families, converts to the Reformation, 
 found an asylum in this, one of its foci. 
 
 The people of Zurich are enlightened and 
 intelligent, and literary in their pursuits. It 
 has indeed been called the Athens of Switzer- 
 land, and we are not inclined to dispute its title. 
 There is at Zurich a public school supported by 
 the Government, for such youths as may not 
 be destined for the church; German, French, 
 Music, Drawing, History, the Elements of Na- 
 tural Philosophy and of the Mathematics are 
 taught. There is a Philosophical and Agrarian 
 Society in this town, with a Cabinet of Natural 
 History, and it is the natal soil of Conrad 
 Gesner, Meyer, and other great names. Mu- 
 sic seems to be much studied and cultivated, 
 and if we remember right, the late Dr Gall 
 
^75- 
 
 gave them credit for possessing in an eminent 
 degree the organs of tune and timm. Among 
 their pursuits, they seem passionately attached 
 to flowers ; and in this particular it has heen said 
 yield the palm alone to Holland, and if we were 
 to form a judgment, from the great profusion 
 every where of China asters, in which they seem 
 to vie with each other, we should pronounce it 
 their favourite. Their gardens are fine, and 
 tastefully arranged ; no pursuit, certainly, is bet- 
 ter calculated to refine the feelings, and cor- 
 rect the taste, than Natural History generally, 
 and particularly botany, including its physio- 
 log}", and the culture of choice plants and 
 flowers : and we venture to say that the tran- 
 quil pleasures which flow from these amuse- 
 ments will find no counterpart in the general 
 recreative pursuits of life. 
 
 There is at Zurich a singular though interesting 
 custom, we believe peculiar and exclusive. On 
 the birth of a child, a pretty girl, often the 
 youngest of the family, bearing a large bouquet 
 of choice flowers, the fairest of Flora's train, car- 
 ries the glad tidings to the friends of the family, 
 who generally give presents on the occasion. 
 We were much pleased with Zurich, and its peo- 
 ple, and extremely regretted that our limited 
 time did 'not permit us to pay a visit to M. 
 d'Escher de Berg, at the Chateau de Berg, one 
 
276 
 
 of the most illustrious families of Helvetia, and 
 and from whom we had a very friendly invita- 
 tion. 
 
 We left Zurich on Tuesday, at 5 o'clock a. m. 
 At Brugg, ahout four miles distant, we halted 
 for a short time. It is a poor wretched and com- 
 fortless Catholic town. At the cistern before the 
 fountain, there were a number of floating per- 
 forated boxes, containing many fine fish. Far- 
 ther on to the left we noticed the Castle of Haps- 
 bourg, the cradle of the present Imperial Family 
 of Austria, now supported by the government of 
 Argovie. Here, also, are the baths frequented by 
 the princes of Germany. At some distance on 
 the right, we passed a convent in the Canton of 
 Argovie, all the forests and lands around belong 
 to this nest of monks; and the peasantry, we were 
 told, superadded their gratuitous services in the 
 culture of the fields. The convent and its depend- 
 encies seems from its extent to be almost a town. 
 Two Louis d'ors per diem are paid to the govern- 
 ment of Argovie as a kind of quit rent for their 
 immense possessions. We passed on the road 
 much that was Catholic, and miserably poor, and 
 encountered troops of pilgrims from France, 
 (occasionally from Rotterdam, a distance of 
 800 miles) and other parts, on their pilgrimage 
 to " Notre-Dame des Ermites," at Einsiendeln 
 in Scl^witz. This celebrated wooden " Lady of 
 
277 
 
 ihe Hermits" is enshrined in a new chapel, con- 
 structed of Lucullite or black marble, brought 
 from an adjoining quarry. We stopped for din- 
 ner at a poor village on the right bank of the 
 Rhine, when we noticed twenty felons in 
 chains mending the roads, and under a suffi- 
 cient guard. We crossed the Rhine into the 
 Grand Dutchy of Baden, skirted the right bank 
 of this mighty river, and finally entered the 
 protestant Canton of Basle. 
 
 We arrived at Basle about 9 o'clock p. m., 
 crossed the river over an uncovered bridge, and 
 took up our abode at an excellent inn, " Les 
 trois Rois," almost overhanging the Rhine. The 
 hotel is thus delightfully situated, and enjoys a 
 beautiful prospect. In our salle a manger, in 
 the centre of the table, was a pretty jet d'eau in 
 constant play. In Basle all seemed activity 
 and bustle. There are fairs held at regular in- 
 tervals, and its trade is considerable. There is 
 one silk manufactory, and not fewer than twenty 
 manufactories for ribbands. The Hotel de Ville 
 was under complete repair, and the renovated de- 
 corations had judiciously preserved the original 
 designs. The front is extremely singular, and 
 in the inner court the frescoes on the wall are 
 curious, particularly the figure, holding a letter 
 connected with a memorable event in the history 
 of the city. At a critical juncture in its affau's. 
 
278 
 
 a special messenger was dispatched by the 
 public authorities, and the die depended on his 
 promptitude: he returned within the specific 
 period, having faithfully fulfilled his trust, and, 
 from extreme exhaustion, fell down and expired 
 in the act of delivering his important creden- 
 tials. 
 
 There was formerly a Convent of Domini- 
 cans, but the building is now converted into a 
 French church ; and on the wall of its ceme- 
 tery is painted the celebrated Dance of Death 
 alfresco, attributed, without reason, to Hans 
 Holbein. It is, however, almost entirely de- 
 faced. The Miinster or Cathedral is a fine 
 Gothic building, very ancient, constructed by 
 Henry H. about 1010. Here we were shewn 
 the tomb of the Empress Anne, the wife of Ru- 
 dolph of Hapsbourg ; also the tomb of Eras- 
 mus, a monument of variegated marble. The 
 pulpit was of stone, and the sculpture light and 
 elegant. The roof was covered with various co- 
 loured slates, in a diamond form. The organ of 
 the Miinster was decorated with paintings by 
 Holbien. The city clock used formerly to be 
 always an hour in advance of the regular time. 
 The University of this city was founded in 
 1460, and here the celebrated masters Erasmus, 
 Euler, Bernouilli, &c. taught — names illus- 
 trious to literature and science ; and here, too, 
 
279 
 
 figured away that ' prince of physicians and of 
 philosophers by fire," as Van Helmont styles 
 him, Paracelsus, who boasted of the possession 
 of the elixir of life, but he died at the age of 
 forty-nine years, with a bottle of the immortal 
 catholicon in his pocket. 
 
 Basle is a lively town, and is abundantly sup- 
 plied with salmon, and other river fish, from the 
 Rhine. There are numerous collections of en- 
 gravings, paintings, sculpture, gardens, and mu- 
 seums of natural history. We observed dia- 
 gonal mirrors attached to the windows in se- 
 veral streets. We visited the Botanic Garden 
 under Professor Burchardt, where were some 
 fine plants of the Minwsa catechu, and Stapelia 
 planijlora, in flower, and unprotected. Alto- 
 gether the garden is of very limited dimensions. 
 There was a small pond supplied with aquatic 
 plants, and surrounded with rock-work and al- 
 pine vegetation. We observed the Arundo do- 
 nax fifteen feet high, and two splendid speci- 
 mens of the Cactus heptagoniis, one in flower, 
 and no less than fourteen feet high ; they had 
 always been exposed, and stood as sentinels on 
 either hand at the entrance gate. The ' Kirch- 
 gar ten" at the ' Wirtembergerhof, " is a most 
 extensive, curious, and interesting garden, and 
 excited our admiration. There seemed nothing 
 wanting amid the gay creation of horticultural 
 
. 280 
 
 beauty or decoration — fountains, ponds with 
 gold and silver fish, aviaries, grottos, Chinese 
 bridges, hermitages, and even a sepulchral mo- 
 nument, inscribed " Weiss," with other ac- 
 companiments and appendages. The coffee- 
 rooms seem in Basle to be indifferently attended, 
 and of an inferior description. 
 
 Bale, Basle, or Basel, is divided into two un- 
 equal parts, by the Rhine flowing through it, 
 called the Great and Little Town, and united 
 by a wooden bridge 600 feet long. The rivulet 
 Birsig, which also flows through part of the 
 town, occasions inequalities in several of the 
 streets. It seems originally to have been a Ro- 
 man establishment, and now contains about 
 10,000 inhabitants. There is an agricultural 
 school at Basle, but its resources are very limi- 
 ted. The city embraced the principles of the 
 Reformation in 1529. 
 
 We left Basle at 8 o'clock a. m. on Thursday 
 8th September 1825. It was a day of universal 
 thanksgiving throughout Switzerland for the 
 late plentiful harvest. We took a last look at 
 the land of Helvetia, and often turned in re- 
 trospect. Switzerland claimed from us the 
 sigh of gratitude, for we had received much en- 
 joyment and delight in witnessing her sublime 
 and beautiful scenes : and the name will ever 
 
281 
 
 excite powerful associations of no common in- 
 terest amid the pleasures of memory. 
 
 Helvetia ! " Land of romance !' 
 
 " Forget thee ! never — Fare-thee-well." 
 
 We should consider it a work of supererogation 
 to tell the reader aught of the sequel, our task 
 being done. We pursued our route by Nancy, 
 and after a few days sojourn in Paris, set out on 
 our return to the " land of our fathers." If 
 England cannot boast the same awful features 
 of sublime romance as decorate the snows and 
 glaciers of the lofty Alps, she possesses charms 
 of a holier stamp; and her H)nnettus and her 
 Tempe, if they rise to a less elevation, or be 
 vested with less of Nature's glowing foliage, are 
 still clothed with a beauteous robe. — "Havilah ! 
 where there is gold, and the gold of that land is 
 good." England is the Atlantis of the globe — 
 the emporium of a world's merchandise. Here, 
 too, is the unfettered dominion of mind, in its 
 loveliest, loftiest range. A temporary enjoyment 
 may be possessed in the galaxy of an exotic 
 clime, but the heart will often turn to " home, 
 sweet home !" and this we doubt not will form 
 the minstrelsy of every genuine son of Britain. 
 
 We left Boulogne for London with a fair wind, 
 but the storm afterwards became dreadful, and 
 in a few short hours, under many a reef, we 
 
282 
 
 were 'driven into the Downs off Deal. As we 
 passed, we observed with intense interest, happy 
 in our escape, the breakers on the Goodwin 
 sands, where many a gallant ship hath gone 
 down. With us absence only tends to impart 
 a keener relish for the endearments of home, and 
 serves as a foil to set off the sterling worth and 
 lustre of the beautiful " gem set in the ring of 
 the sea,^^ 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 p. NKILL, i»RINTER. 
 
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