The Statesman.
London, England, 1820-04-08 00:00:00

SKETCHES or Sir fZ2;il-4.VD 4ND rns RHINE.

:EXTIIIACTCD IRON THE St NUFCRIPT Jftt'C♦L 01 a

RICENT lONTINENTAL TattELLER.)

Scenery more tr Innre fertile, and, at the same
tiwr, more iitipnAti than that in the neighbourhood
of Center, rag !It A:rely I.e imagined. Yet where has
successful in ittstry more assiduity in cultiva-
tion; no where has future unfolded more stiblinsity or
variety in the colour. the position, or the height of the
snrrounding mounttins Sonse stir has shaped in pyra-
tnisls, towers, or needles; others in roanded domes, or
lengthened chains. Some she has covered with ‘erdurr,

littler% with eternal snow. Here she has hristled their
,sides with pointed rock.; there el,ehNi them with
sweeping forests; every where, anti at retry moment of
the day, changing an I modifying thoir aspect by the
most singular successions of Iti and 'bade. Add to
this magic scent. an extensive lake. a heantiful meander-
ing stream, a wide anti rapid river, fiel.is cultivated as
highly us gardens, fruitful viney4rds, the most agree-
able promenades, the most delicious sites, and an ade-
quate idea may be firm .11 of Geneva and its neighbour-
hood. Can we, after this, be aurpristsl at the enthn-
Sigsul which its mimes trel fur their usurp home, or at
the inexhaustible ; ti.trirs which all travellers find iu
this enchanted and enchanting country?
• •• •• •• •• •

Whilst at Geneva. it world indeed he a went of taste
Wink eisithw Pesetre. • 'Moe gresupli, Inekno*ll be.'
fore Voltaire gave it its present celebrity. On my ar-
rival there, I was struck nith.the universal neatness of
the houses, which appear less the abode- of peasants
than of opulent tamers. They are, for the 'most part,
the stork of the a liiiiieul Patriarch, oho took great de-
light in encnitragin:( the industry, and promoting the
comforts of the Artie „horn hr hererstahlishel. The
etfests of his patron:ire Mere ••••an displayed in the in-
creasing prosperity and propilLatioo of
lage, which, at in 1775, contained eighty
homes, and 12110 although consisting' of
but eight cottages when he first male it his place of

The apprnarli to the chateau is throatei an avenue of
poplars ; at the extremity of which, on the left hand,
stands a small chitrvis, neatly tiled, without steeple, and
of the simplest style (,1 arehitectitre. In front is scalp-
towed, " Deo eri•sit Voltaire." The chatean itself is a
plain square buildions. without either wings or decora-
tions. On application there, I was %hewn the bed.
chamber which the philosopher occupied when living,
and which, as well as the adjoining saloon, the present
proprietor, M. de Mole, has, with equal taste and libe-
rality, left in the same date as at that period. The
chamber is extremely mean; ornamented pith a porce-
lain cenotaph, to will .h is atteehed a small hoard, bear-
ing the motto, " Son esprit cat porton:, nisis son emir
est ici." Amongst a number of mediocre paintings and
engravines that chequer the walls, I remarked portraits
of our Milton and ton. Embosomeil in a luxuriant
grove of ash. elm, and fir trees, hi yowl the garden is a
paltry wooden monninpnt, enclosing a marble slab, en-
gravyd with the woeds, " Mc* manes sout consoles
rumpus mon come est an milieu de vous."
The Garden Terrace commands most extensive and
Ilvaried prospects. To the east, the Alps ; to the west.
the Jura ; but what a difference between the two views!
The Jnra appeared in the distance a mere extended and
unbroken chain, its highest point not exceeding 5,000
feet: the opposite coup trail was unique. To the right
of the foreground, the Grand and Petit Salver; beyond
them, the dusky Beeson and Wergi; to the 1(11, the
woody Voirens, the rounded summit of the Burt, and
the Alpine d'Argentierrs; in the centre, the enormous
pyramid of the Mole ; and, on the verge of the horizon,
a terrific belt of mountains, above which Mont Blanc
reared his majestic dome. A dummied times had I seen
this spectacle, end yet I still gazed on it with the same
rapture ts at first. The c-lours which at this distance
the snows assumed, were singularly dirrrsilied ; in one
plate they were of a dusky obscure tint ; in another
grey or brown ; in a third, they reflected the most
dazzling whiteness. The sun, girt with light vapouring
clouds, was ju-t setting behind the Jura; his last rays,
obliquely striking the opposite inonistains, produced an
effect beyond the power of imagination; and which,
alike in vain, would the pencil or the pen attempt to
pourtray ; in short, it was a fairy scene, that existed but
for a moment, and vanished with the star of day. Being
nearly a league from home, I began to think o 1 turning
my steps in that direction. When I had reached the
banks of the Lek. the night was rale' and clear; thin
blue vapours, spread on the distant surface of the water,
boated along the base. of the bending steep ; the stars
shone with unclotidetl brilliancy; and the moon, rising
le afloat enalesty from behind the mountains, poured in
a stream of taint yellow sacs along the Lake, whose un-
rolled expanse ranted Ow softened beams that trembled
on its surface. A death-like stillness seemed to pervade
all nature, interrupted only by the faint and prolonged
notes of a French horn, proceeding from the opposite
shore, sad sounding *. like the memory of josa that are
past, pleasant and mournful to the soul." All lent their
tranquillising influence to the enjoyments of the even.
ing ;--enjoymenta of the must pure and delicious bemire ;