CHAPTER XXVIII. "THE Switzer's Land! where grandeur is encamped Realms that by human foot-print ne'er were stamped, A semblance 'twixt the scene and his immortal mind." CHUS Campbell sang; and Rousseau, in approach ing Switzerland by the Jura, exclaimed in ecstasy: "Ce paysage unique, le plus beau dont l'œil humain fut jamais frappé! Séjour charmant auquel je n'avais rien trouvé d'égal dans le tour du monde! l'aspect d'un peuple heureux et libre!" Dr. Beattie expresses nearly the same sentiment: "Whoever," says he, “has traveled much, and compared the various attractions presented to him in the course of his peregrinations, will generally be found to admit that if there be any country which merits more attention than the rest, that country is Switzerland." So far as our own experience extends, we accord fully with these sentiments. One here seems raised, as it were, above the bustling, anxious world to an elevation nearer to the heavenly spheres to a height from whence one obtains a clearer view in looking "from Nature up to Nature's God." Our stay in Freiburg was short- a few hours only between trains on the 21st of September, when we proceeded to Lausanne, two and a half hours by train, reaching there about seven, P. M. All along we were enchanted by the scenery. Speeding on, suddenly, as we emerged from a tunnel, we caught our first view of Lake Leman, which, almost at our feet, broke in all its beauty on our vision, while its hithermost border was smiling with grape vines and apple, pear, and plum trees loaded with fruit. "Clear, placid Leman! thy contrasted lake, On the 22d, in carriage and on foot, we visited the most interesting parts of the town, first calling to see Mrs. Consul General Hitz, knowing that she, with her sprightly children, had been residing here several months; but we were disappointed in finding that they were in Paris on their way home. The Cathedral is the most prominent building in the city. It dates back to the tenth century, and possesses a good deal of interest. It contains among other monuments one to Victor Amadeus VIII., Duke of Savoy, and one to Otho of Grandson. There are also on the walls many memorial inscriptions, one of which, in French, recites that Henrietta, wife of Stratford Canning, English Ambassador to Switzerland, died June 17, 1817; amiable as she was young and beautiful, and as happy as it is permitted to mortals to be. On this account, however, not less prepared to enter heaven, if innocence and a sincere piety may have any merit before God. Lausanne is noted as having been the residence of both Voltaire and Gibbon, and that the latter, whose house we saw, wrote here the concluding chapter of his great work on the "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." The city stands some fifteen minutes' walk from the lake. It covers three ridges and the intermediate valleys, and most of the streets are rather steep; but the situation, affording as it does charming views of the lake and adjacent scenery, is very beautiful. There is an old Castle here with watchtowers on its four corners. It is now used for public offices. Many of the houses have a very ancient look. Ouchy is the port of Lausanne, and here is situated the principal hôtel, the Beau Rivage, one of the largest and finest public houses probably in Switzerland. It is near the lake shore, and the grounds around it are laid out in the most tasteful manner. We left our Pension Beau Séjour on the 23d, at ten o'clock, expecting to take the boat for Vevay at half past ten; but when we reached the steamboat landing, right in front of the Beau Rivage Hôtel, we learned that the boat had been gone half an hour. We had to wait till noon, therefore, for the next boat a disappointment, as we wished to visit Vevay and the Castle of Chillon that day, and stop over night at Villeneuve, the end of the steamboat route from Geneva. It so happened, however, that it was a very fortunate disappointment, showing that "There is some soul of goodness in things evil, We knew before that ex-President Thiers was sojourning at the Beau Rivage Hôtel, but being naturally disinclined to disturb him in his retreat, we did not intend to call on him. Finding, however, that we must wait two hours for the boat, it occurred to us that we would inquire at the hôtel whether such a call would be proper, and on being assured that it would, we sent up our card to him. His French waiter, immediately brought back word that Monsieur Thiers was at present engaged, and wished to know if we were stopping at the hôtel, and if we would not be good enough to call in the afternoon. We explained why it was not convenient to wait, and the messenger soon returned with a request for us to walk into Monsieur Thiers' private parlor, a large and handsomely furnished second-story room, looking out upon the lake. We took seats, and in a few moments the venerable ex-President entered from an adjoining front room and received us very cordially, taking a seat near us. We addressed him in English, when, raising one hand to his ear, he intimated that it was difficult for him to understand, and we then spoke to him in our broken French. He said he had been stopping some time at Vevay, but that he enjoyed better health at Ouchy. He complained of bronchitis, but his appearance was that of perfect health. He is a short, thick - set man, with a large head, gray eyes, hair nearly white, wears large-bowed spectacles, stands erect, and his expression, free from anything like hauteur, is altogether pleasant. Meeting him under such circum-. stances, we made our call, of course, very brief; but in the few moments' conversation we had with him, President Buchanan's name being mentioned, he remarked that he knew him, of course, but not personally. On our taking leave he accompanied us to the door, extending to us a pleasant good-bye, and we left highly gratified with our call-the result of one of those happy accidents which in the end turn out to be "blessings in disguise," and which we shall ever look back upon with profound pleasure. He is beyond question one of the most remarkable men as well as one of the greatest statesmen of the age, and there is no person living whom we would have preferred to see and speak with.* According to an authority before us, it was, while detained by stress of weather, at the Anchor Hôtel of Ouchy that Lord Byron composed his "Prisoner of Chillon," "and where, from his window, he could observe the Castle thus immortalized rising white on the eastern verge of the lake. He visited every locality," in this part of Switzerland, "known in history or tradition; and in one of his published letters says: 'I inclose you a sprig of Gibbon's acacia, and some rose leaves from his garden, which, with part of his house, I have just seen.' Moore has well observed that this circumstance in the life of the immortal bard has added 'one more deathless association to the already immortalized localities of the lake' 'Rousseau, Voltaire, our Gibbon, and de Stael In less than one hour after leaving Ouchy we found ourselves at Vevay, where we spent three hours-long enough to walk all through the little town and get a lunch at the Hôtel Monnet before the arrival of the next boat. At Vevay there is a very ancient and noted society called the "Abbaye des Vignerons," whose object it is to encourage and superintend the culture of the grape vine with a view to the raising of the best grapes and the pro *The announcement of the sudden death of this great man, which occurred at Paris on the 3d of September, 1877, touched us the more deeply from this personal interview. It was with lively satisfaction that, on the day of his funeral, we observed the United States flags at half-mast over the Government Departments -a fitting recognition of his distinguished character and services, and of the cordial relations between the two countries. |