here is the middle of august, nearly a month of uninterrupted sight seeing has passed away, and my curiosity is surfeited. i am now on the eve of roving away to “the hilly oberland,” where i will tire my limbs on the rocky alps, and crave the comfort i here have enjoyed. i know i am but leaving paris to enjoy the anxiety to get back.
four days are gone by, and i have spent half a day at chalon, and one at lyons, the “silk city.” in this last half a day, i saw more manufactories than i ever saw in one town. it is said that machines to the enormous power of two hundred horse, are in some of these factories. from 50 to 60,000 hands are engaged in manufacturing silk daily. this is a very rich looking city, and must indeed, be very rich. it is no doubt an older city than paris. if a man was brought here blindfolded, after beholding its magnificence and wealth, he might easily be led to believe he was at the capitol of france.
another day is gone, and finds me not less fleeting. i am away up the rhone, at “aix le bain.” this romantic little town of a few thousand inhabitants, has the celebrity of chronology of 700 years before the christian era. it points to some warm baths, which it is named after, as its grey hairs; and of which was its ph?nix. the romans built it up on account of its feasibility of becoming a “national bath tub” of gaul. under the ground, as far as the ambition of a roman chooses to go, these baths could be made profitable. there are now from eight to ten stone walled rooms, where all a man has to do to put the bath in readiness, is to open the door.
some 200 or 300 frenchmen were here passing away the summer, enjoying themselves fishing, dancing and gaming, for there is a very rich bank in a splendid casino, to draw that class of france that live on excitement, i saw one american here who was broke. he wanted to relate his misfortunes to me, but i did not wish to hear them, as i was well posted before he tried to post me.
i am intercepted on all sides, as i step off the steps of the hotel, by donkey boys, who are indeed anxious to have me take a ride to a little old city not far away, but in savoy. it is impossible to tell a good donkey from a bad one by his looks, and each boy assures me that his donkey is the best in aix. by way of proving it to me, he gives me the word of an american that rode him the summer before; but were i an englishman instead of what he took me to be, he would have had other testimonials more influential. but what these little good natured plagues say is true, so far as the words of their patrons are to be trusted; it would be very indecorous to ride his little donkey three or four miles and have the little owner to run along behind all the time and whip and beat the poor donkey, and then get off and walk in without saying he was a “good donkey,” “the best you ever saw.” that pleases the little fellows. his donkey is worth 5 or $6, and to run down his little stock, would be no part of a gentleman.
august is not yet gone, but i am a long way from paris. here i am, at the “city of watches,” geneva, and lake leman. never did a better opportunity present itself to man, to make a good impression, than this beautiful day presents geneva to me, her visitor. not a cloud intervenes to mount blanc’s snow clad peak, fifty odd miles away, and it looks as if it was merely over yonder hill, to the right of byron’s house, which is not two miles away. it reminds me of a still cloud, over a sun-set that indicates fair weather to-morrow. as mount blanc is covered with snow here in august, it makes another mountain of a lesser height that lies between here and mount blanc, appear as if its top was painted red. mount blanc, standing beyond, with her white capped peak, through the intervening heat of this hot day, the small one may well resemble a fiery painted mountain. this is the edge of switzerland, and still the french is the prevalent language, which language seems destined to be universal throughout europe.
after looking over some of the watch factories, i went to mount blanc on horses, and stayed two days at the a city at its base, and went across the country to vevey, a small town on lake leman. to my astonishment i saw two americans here. one was dr. elliot, of louisville, ky., and the other mr. n., of new orleans. the old dr. was very glad to see me. he and i had been sick companions together on the steamship africa, where and when we both wished that we had never heard of europe, but now that we were out of the slough, and traveling over the republican land of wm. tell in the very best health and spirits, and like the roe and buck, we were happy in these highlands.
vevey is a very handsomely situated village, one would not forget it after seeing its picturesque groups of vineyards and rustic huts, interspersed with fairy-like palaces. it is a lively little place, and a great many english and rich switzers come here in the dog days of summer.
after staying at vevey a couple of days, i hired a carriage and plodded on over this hilly land to switzerland’s capital, bern. bern is a very dull looking place, and most especially so for a capitol. the second story of the houses hang over the pavement, so you can walk the town without getting wet. the language generally is german, so you see the close alliance of languages in switzerland.
five days more; i am in the great oberland, among the towering alps. i traversed the whole of the valley of interlaken, to the almost hidden village of interlaken. the hotels are all small, generally not more than ten rooms, and are called pensions; queer name to create an appetite with.
english come here in summer for cheap living; there is also some americans with patience enough to stay a short time and strengthen their means, that are most too frequently consumed at paris, brussels, or vienna. as you leave the village to take a tour in a carriage up the great valley, you pass the ruins of an ancient castle, which once was the court of an ancient and noble race, whose ancestors are not to be traced, whose names was unspunnin. a young knight belonging to another court scaled the walls and stole away ida, the last male descendant’s daughter, and made her his bride. many years of bloody strife followed, after which the young knight came forth to burkard, the lord of this castle and father of ida, with his infant son in his arms and offered himself up, when the old man went into tears and made rudolph’s infant son heir of his numerous estates.
farther up the valley a place is pointed out where a great murder was committed, and a noble young knight was the doer of the deed. he could never rest afterwards, so he fled from the sight of man, and has never been heard of since. in the immense vallies of perpetual glaciers, the snow has lain for thousands of years, and where the mountains drip upon the glaciers below, crevasses are made through and under. it is supposed that this knight crept into one of these and there froze up his heart, unseen by father, mother, sister, brother, friend or acquaintance.
this part of switzerland is unlike any other part. it is nothing but mountains and small lakes. the lakes are as apt to be found on the tops of mountains as in vallies. from these large basins of water on top of mountains, are crevasses running through side rocks, and falling off makes the crevasses through and under the glaciers as i have described.
but here is a specimen of the intelligence of the switzers of olden time. it is a little old town with a wall round it, and a hill close up to the wall all round. the walls could have done no more good than the hill if there was any spunk in the builders. the lake of lucern comes up to this bigoted little spot. its appelation is in honor of this important lake of catfish and suckers. it has a piece of art, too, a lion sculptured in the side of a rock outside the walls. it is the most natural artificial lion i ever saw. here is zurich, the prettiest city in switzerland, notwithstanding byron’s praise of geneva. here is the famed “zurich waters.” the people here have not that staring stupidity so characteristic of the swiss in other towns. they are all going along about their business as if they had lived among strangers all their lives. it is a thriving town, and they manufacture silks here on quite an extensive scale. in conclusion, switzerland is a republic, and all parts, except the ruggedest mountains, is in the highest state of cultivation. wine and wheat are among their chief studies. they are devout christians. every mile of their highways there is an image of the son of mary hung high up by the roadside, denoting his suffering, patience and forbearance. the swiss are not a homely people. their country is too mountainous for railroads.
