Marshall County Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1855-1859, 1856-11-27
Correspondence of the Sentiael.)
TOUR IN SWITZERLAND AND GER,
1ANY-No. /.

NAN mo. j.
SrRAsBURG, September 18th, 1856.
My DEAR N:-Sometimes bad begin
ming insures good ending by making peo-
pie more CAREFUL and attentive to their own
business. So | hope it will be with u.s.
We left Geneva, as you know, OH the morn
ing Of the 10th inst. The weather was
fine. the company pleasant and the motion
of the steamer was delightful. The green
hills and white villages on one shore, and
the soft mists like satin curtains looped
with silver that hung round the other and
seemed to shut ont world of wondrous
beauty, the summer sky with its cloud-is-
lands above us, and the blue lake with its
grave old associations beneath us, are beau
tiful pictures in my memory forever.
At Morges we took the cars and passed
for an hour or so over one of the finest and
most elaborately cultivated countries I
have ever seen. When we arrived at W.
erdou we found that the steamer which was
to bear US over the beautiful lake of Neuf-
chatel was not yet in; we asked of che Rail
road officials how long we should have to
wait. and his reply was, cat least one
hour" Thereupon We looked around to
see how we should bestow ourselves for
the longer half Of sixty minutes, but amuse-
ment, for short time, is not hard to find
in pretty, rural place like Yverdon. We
took up our quarters in grand old grove
about twenty yards from the depot, and
for want of something else to do fell to dis
cussihg the cNsents of our carpet-bag.-
The soldiers who had been called Out to as
sist in queling the rebellion al Neufchatel
were performing their evolutions behind
the grove where we sat. Their gay uni
forms and bright weapons cleaning and
flashing through the green trees, the rattle
of their carbines and the sound of their
brazen music was decidedly warlihe. But
it did not make us forget that we were
waiting for the boat, and in less than half
an hour from our arrival we enquired of
another official when the boat was expect
ed. 'Why," said he, opening his eyes
like young moons, "the boat is gone."-
We snatched our carpet-bag and run; we
opened, also, our eyes and looked. There
was the canal by which boats enter the
lake, there was the lake itself, in the dis
tance. but it looked as guiltlcss as If 1t had
never borne a recreat steamboat on its bo-
som. This was a nice state of affairs;
what was to be done? We had our tickets
in our pockets showing that we had paid
our passage from Geneva to Bale. Our
baggage had gone on to its destination
What should we do? This was the ques-
ton we asked several respectable looking
gentlemen with yellow bands around their
hats, white tassels on their arms and red
stripes down their pantaloons. who respect
lively rolled up their eyes, shrugged their
shoulders and replied "Je ne sais pos."--
Finally, IS we could not go to Bale, we
went to hotel, where we told the landlady
our mishap and were comforted with the
information that it was a thing If very
common occurrence, arising from the un-
certainty of the steamboats, arrival This
good lady advised US to apply to the Maj
tire des Postes. who is expected, in these
small towns, to know everything. This
we did, and he, poor man, not having slept
any the night before, seemed sadly amazed
and bewildered, but after looking up as if
to invoke some grand thought. and down
as if he sought to solve some profound
problem, he told us we could go on that
night at eleven o'clock by the diligence
So after an excellent dinner and long
promenade on the lake shore, we set out,
assured that we should be in Bale during
the afternoon of the next day. But alas for
human hopes. After four hours of jumb-
ling and jolting the diligence set us down
at the station house of the city of Neufcha-
tel, with tie comfortable assurance that w.
should recommence our journey at five
O'Clock. AT first we were little annoyed,
but finally concluded that an hour and a
half is but matter of moonshine in a life
time; so We disposed ourselves as best we
could, Oil the sofas of the station room, and
went to sleep. might have slept an hour
when was awakened by tho voice of the
Doctor exclaiming, "Mrs. Bolton! we shall
be left againp' And sure enough, there
was the diligence with the horses prancing,
the driver cracking his whip, the baggage
on top. the passengers inside and every
thing ready for start We jumped in
right glad to be off. But o, spirit of pa
tienoe. we were doomed to another disap
pointrnent. While we were congratulating
ourselves. the conductor looked at his tab
let's, then at US, then at his tablets again.
and his face said as plain as face could say.
"you can't go with me, no how" In vain
we showed him olrr tickets and assurad hin,