Washington sentinel. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1855, 1853-10-30

signed for the tyrant il his arrow had slain his
son. walked ont Of the village into the mar
row meadow under the brow OF overhanging
mountains, and admired the industry that has
terraced the slopes and wrung all the support
it would yield from the soil. A row Of targets
was here, with evidences that the people, having
long since laid aside the cross-bow, are now
experts with the rifle and as this village is
the capital of the canton of Uri, if is the rally
ing place for those trials Of skill in which they
take so much delight. The tree on which GEES
sler's hat was hung, with the command that
the people should bow down to il, stood here
till 1867, when it was removed and a stone
erected in its place.
We were at the head of the lake in a few min
utes. / was willing that it should be extended
for hours, but the little village Of Flnellen was
reached, and here we go ashore. The village
stands in q marsh, which is formed at the en-
trance of the river Reuss into the lake, and,
in consequence, the people are subject to goitre
and cretinism, those terrible diseases so peculiar
to this country, and Of which / shall speak
at large hereafter. II is not desirable to stay
here any longer than is necessary TO get away
and there is nothing to attract the stranger.
We took the first carriage we found, and
rode on TO Altorf. At the hotel two young
women came out to receive us, as men walters
would do in another country it was a novelty
to be thus received, and, giving O hand to each
of the damsels, / was assisted from the carriage
in style, and escorted into the house. One of
them was a fne-looking girl Of eighteen, in a
picturesque and becoming dress, white spencer
and short sleeves, with q dark skirt and brace
let's heinsisted on taking my knapsack, which
| declined giving up, and leaning on my alpen-
stock, / had so much Of an argument with her
a. A. Z. c----zJ = -s~nlxt kN.xt SO al
looked on. Here we dined, and while dinner
was preparing / walked out to the open square
in which that scene was enacted which has
been more famous than any other in Swiss his
tory.
The valley Of Schachen, which we enter on
leaving Altorf, delighted me with the beauty Of
its meadows, in which the Swiss peasants were
making hay under a burning sun, while the
mountains raising from the edge of the fields
were white with snow. The men and women
at noon when we passed were resting from their
toll, and lying around, generally on the mown
grass, the very picture of slow and easy hay
makers. We crossed q rapid stream foaming
in its downward course, in which William Tell
was drowned, while nobly striving to save the
life of a child, and a little further on we passed
the village in which he was born. Thus, in a
single day, which is not yet half gone, have
seen the various spots in Switzerland made
classic by the deeds Of William Tell and his
compatriots, and the places where that Illus
trious though rustic hero was born, where he
performed his great exploits, and where he
persisted in the midst of one not less noble
than any other that sheds honor on his name.
1t was a great day in my travels to have passed
through all these scenes, aud | can say, without
atfectation, that my solitary walk in that ruined
town of Altorf moved me more than the con-
temptation of any battle field in Europe.
IREN EUS.