The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-07-31 00:00:00


A RAMBLE IN SWITZERLAND.
(ay our Loudon Correspondent)
Having been in that state of mind with which a med-
als traveller, spoken of by the late lamented Albert
Smith, of facetious memory, was afflicted—the said
traveller being uncertain whether he should go to
Algiers or Ramsgate—l decide on going to neither, but
to Switzerland. But this frame of mind is certainly
not produced by having been everywhere and seen
everything, but rather from the difficulty of seeing
something fresh —to me—in a very brief holiday.
Allow me to ask the reader to accompany me. Ile (of
course my companion must be of the masculine gender)
need but bring money, a knapsack, and a walking
stick; for we will pedestrianise as much as may be
agreeable—perhaps more—and will not promise to
keep to a beaten track of railways and diligencee. I
cannot offer the reader much instruction; I will not
bore him with hard, dry facts, nor persecute him with
statistics, which are so useful for argument, but for
nothing else ; I cannot promise to be his guide, philo-
sopher, and friend ; but, hoping that I may not prove
a thoroughly tedious companion, I merely ask him to
read my im,pressions de voyage, as a solitary rambler,
and it may be that one out of many may perchance
decide to go and do likewise—and very likely won't do
it even if he so decide.
Having spent a day in Faris, where I have been
frequently before, and still will go, some other day, if
Fortune smiles, I go by railway to Basle. A pros-
perous thriving city it is, and the beauties of nature
are evidently not marred, as they are in many places,
by the miserable poverty with which people so favoured
by natural advantages have to contend. Bade is, in
many respects, the chief city in Switzerland; the most
commercial, the most important, the most political.
It is beautifully situated on both sides of the Rhine.
There are great differences observable in various parts
of the city; in the newer parts refinement and luxury,
or, in other words, high-pressure civilisation; in the
older parts, laborious industry and harder fare; but
nowhere are there observable those signs of destitution
which are, unhappily, so common in England. What-
ever else I may miss, I always like to go to the Cathe-
dral, and that of Basle is well worth a visit. It may
not be regarded as very beautiful—certainly I have
seen many far more beautiful—but then it is very
ancient and picturesque. It was commenced, they
say, in the year 1010, or rather a cathedral that stood
here was begun at that time, and some marvellously
grotesque figures are pointed out that are some seven
or eight centuries old. Like most old cathedrals, it has
two histories, as t were, and the first history (or rather
tradition) of Basle Cathedral comes down to an earth-
quake, which destroyed great part of the ancient
edifice; but even the second history dates back for
three centuries. There are some splendid views about
Basle. The view of the town itself from the principal
bridge is a very charming one, but commend me to the
extensive command of scenery that you obtain from the
Ffalz, or place, which is SO feet above the Rhine, and
which is beautifully laid out with chesnut trees. From
this high plateau you have a lovely view of the Rhine
and of part of the Black Forest. As I have no inten-
tion to serve as a guide to the reader, I will only say
that there are plenty of good hotels in Basle, as, indeed,
there are in most other towns in Switzerland, the only
difficulty being that you usually find out when too late
whether such and such an hotel is good, bad, or indif
fereut ; and there need be no bother, under ordinary
circumstances, bemires you can speak neither French
nor German. The Swiss shame us in the matter of
language, and at nearly all the hotels some waiter or
other speaks English enough to prevent his charging
you twice.
It is strange how words long familiar to you echo and
re-echo in your mind as it were when you find yourself,
after long years, in a position identified with those
words. "By the margin of fair Zurich's waters "were
the words which recurred to me again and again, in
mental connection with an old familiar tune, when I
first stood by the lake of Zurich. And Zurich is
deservedly called fair, whether allusion be made to the
town or the canton. The town, if not beautiful as a
whole, is charmingly picturesque in parts, and every-
where presents signs of business activity, contentment,
and prosperity, though it need scarcely be added that an
outside observer, as it were, can form a very inadequate
Idea of the contentment of a people. The dwellers in
and about Zurich have, at all events, no reason to be
dissatisfied with their natural position and advantages,
or their political and social laws. The lake of Zurich
is binged with habitations of all classes, and nobody
can say by looking about him where the town begins
or ends; but no matter; all is picturesque and beauti-
ful, especially to a rambler who has been chiefly
accustomed to the comparatively dreary and dull cities
of England. I confess I felt rather glad that there
were no objects of remarkable interest in Zurich, such
as one feels he must see, but the cathedral ought to be
visited if only because it was here that Zuinglium, the
celebrated Reformer, preached; and there are some
museume, where you may, if a lover of antiquity
revel in the remains of distant ages. But for my own
part I would rather take a ramble on the Katz bastion
and in the Botanical Gardens. This is an elevated
promenade, and a favourite alike with visitors and
denizens. From it you can see, afar off, the Alps;
and if this be your first view, as will be probable
enough, you will become sentimental accordingly. If
you be a lover of the picturesque you may spend hours
about here, the views are so varied, and the lake and
the town appear under such varied aspects through the
changes of light or of weather; but they are always
interesting.
The trip by rail from Zurich to Schaffhausen is a
very agreeable one, and a strangely picturesque little
town is this same Schaffhausen. It is noted for its
marvellous old houses, with oriel windows and anti-
quated carvings and ornaments. Here and there you
may Bee some fresco paintings on the walls, but they
are more curious than beautiful. The whole town will
well repay you for a long ramble about it, noting the
antiquities and curiosities of the place. You can to a
great extent read the history of the town on the walls
of its houses. Or if you prefer the beauties of nature
to the memorials of antiquity (though nature's handi-
work is after all infinitely olderathan men's) you will
and some lovely walks on the outskirts of the town.
One thing you must do; you must have an agreeable
ride (I can't help using so many adjectives, but really
they are deserved) for a franc to the Rhine Falls some
three miles from the town, there the scenery is delight-
ful, and you see the lovely Rhine in a sportive humour.
From Schaffhausen you may well spend a few hours in
an excursion to the Freudenberg, or in a railway trip
to St. Gallen, the latter a busy little town noted
for its muslins and its cottons; the former a mountain
commanding a most extensive view, the chief objects of
interest being the mountains of St. Gall and the Ap-
pel:ad', and the beautiful lake of Constance.
From Gallen you may go to Rapti by rail, and then,
as a matter of course, you will go to the baths of }ldlers.
I did so, and found the walk, of an hour or so, about
the most romantic walk I ever had. The little water.
falls are perhaps more picturesque than convenient,
but thatmatters little. You have some fresh sensations,
and that is worth something. The baths are natural
hot baths, about 98 deg. Fahrenheit, and are praised up
to the skies by all who have any connection with them.
Altogether it is a strange, weird, wild-looking place,
but not particularly attractive except as a curiosity.
Leaving Ragatz you go—at least I did—to Rapper-
schwyl by rail, and you find it—at least I did—a
enviously picturesque old place, with an old castle, old
walls, and an old church—in fact an old place alto-
gether ; and if you come away without memories of that
marvellously long, narrow, and apparently unsafe
bridge—nearly 5,000 feet long—it will be a wonder.
From Rapperschwyl to Horgen by steamer is an agree-
able trip ; from Horgen to Arth by steamer; and from
Arth to the Righi. There I did a stupid thing—as-
cended a pied towards the Righi, and had a toilsome
excelsior walk of more than an hour, when I could have
gone by omnibus in twenty minutes for a franc; but
then, during this wearisome went, I kept consoling
myself that I was ascending the Rigid When I
reached Gollau I had had quite enough of it, and
joined a party to ascend to the summit on mules.
So much has been written about the Righi that
rather than record my own impressions, I prefer, for
once, to quote from an authority, "Murray," whose
red-covered books you see now and again wherever you
go on the Continent. From this I learn that th
Righi is 5,910 feet above the sea level. No wonder,
therefore, that at suffi an elevation the charges at the
inn on the summit should be also very high. "About
20,000 persons are said to visit this hotel in a year.
The arrangements are generally good, but complaints
of inattention and incivility are sometimes made. It
is fair to remember that the constant presence of a
crowd of hungry and impatient guests must try to the
very utmost the patience and activity of the entire
household. Travellers not on foot should bring cloaks
with them, as the cold is often intense; and the thermo-
meter, marking 70 deg. in Lucerne at mid-day, was
37 (leg. on the Ilighi at sunset and 31 deg. at sunrise.
The house is warmed with stoves even in summer.
The following notice is hung up in every room—(I give
the translation) :—"Travellers are warned that it is for-
bidden to take the bed-clothes on going out to visit the
summit." Alter a description of the noise, confusion,
and excitement of this inn (which I can vouch to
be unexaggerated) my guide says: "Whether
the inmate have slept or not, he, together with
the whole household, is roused about an hour
before sunrise by the grating sounds of a long
wooden horn which is played until (very particle of
sleep is dispelled from the household. Then com-
mences a general stir and commotion, and everybody
hastens out with shivering limbs and half.open eyes to
gaze at the glorious prospect of a sunrise from the
Righi. Fortunate are they for whom the view is not

marred by clouds and rain, a very common occurrence,
as the leaves of the album kept in the inn will testify.
Indeed the following verses describe the fate of a large
majority of these who make this expedition:—

Nine weary uphill miles we sped,
The setting sun to Lee;
Sulky and grim he went to bed,
Sulky and grim went we.
Seven sleepless hours we tossed, and then.
The rising sun to see,
Sulky and grins we rose again,
Sulky am! grim rose he.
Long before dawn, an assemblage of between 201) and
300 persons is often collected cu the Righi Culzo,
awaiting the sunrise, to enjoy this magnificent prospect
in the cold. A glare of light. in the East, which gra-
dually dims the flickering of the stars, is the first token
of the morning; it soon becomes a streak of gold
along the horizon, and is reflected in a pale pink tint
upon the snows of the Bernese Alps. Summit after
aummit slowly catches the same golden hue; the dark
space between the horizon and the Righi is next illumi-
nated; forests, lakes, hills, rivers, towns, and villages
! gradually become revealed, but look cold and indis-
tinct, until the red orb surmounts the mountain top,
and darts his beams across the landscape. The
shadows are then rolled back, as it were, and ins few
moments the whole scene around is glowing in sun-
shine." lam fortunate in being able to add that Ido
not think this stirring description is at all exaggerated;
but whether others are equally fortunate or not, to
ascend the Righi to see the sun rise is one of the many
correct things to do when you have a ramble in Swit-
z gland.

L