The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1863-02-20
From our Special Correspondent
Trip through Switzerland and
Southern Germany.
NO. Ill.
Bi JOHN PHENIX, JR

NO. III.
At the close of our last we spoke of taking
the train at Neufchatel, and here we resume
our narrative. A few miles from n. is the
it.. lake Cf Bienae, and as We approach it,
"" are on the lookout to get glimpse of the
i>e of s.. Peter, celebrated for having been
tlr som. time the residence of Jean Jacques
Rousseau. This island, which is very small, ,
is situated about mile from the shore, and
IN passing presents very picturesque ap-
pied is still preserved in its original state,
and every year the island is visited by thou
sands of persons. The curious come here
that they may see the haunts of this way
ward son of genius, and thus satisfy their Gu
riJs;ty; but his admirers come as tc a shrine
and look upon the soil his feet have trod as
upon holy ground. 1t is an old saying that
time works wonders" and this like many
o,her Instances shows how true it is. In the
Botanical Garden at Geneva we see bust of
Rousseau, and near by the house in which he
was born, in the wall of which the town has
set a marble tablet. The public library has
MS autograph by the side of those of Calvin
aad Luther, and beautiful little island in
the Rhone has taken his name, and on it
Is his statue. To the world-wise all these
things may not seem strange, but confess to
have seen them with some astonishment, and
could hardly persuade myself that this was the
town that refused Rousseau a home witkin
its walls and caused two of his works to be
condemned and publicly burned by the exc
cutioner.
The isle of St. Peter is soon left behind,
and while we are still thinking of its former
occupant, 50 gifted, yet so fral and so un-
fortunate, We are reused from our revery by
the stentorian voice of our broad -shouldered
sood-humored German conductor, who cries
aoleue! .Soleme!" we put our head to the
window and this petrfeG representative of
the Middle Ages is before us. Its moat, its
thick walls surmounted by pepperbox towers
and other paraphernalia of fortified town
still remain as they were five centuries ago
1ad within the town, during this period, few
yhanges seem to have been made. 1t has
Inc Old gothic cathedral which contains many
''lectS OF interest, among which are some
PRAYER books which are eight centuries old;
and tower attached to one of the churches,
x oae can believe the inscription on it, was
5lj.t four hundred years before the Christian
Era.
l. was in SOleure that the Polish hero
h.skusko found an asylum after his failure
TO give freedom to his fatherand, and here
he lived in quiet for many years. In this
quaint old city one can easily imagine him
,"t as living in the age of chiyalry, and at
very corner he almost expects to meet pill
~nm-train On the way to Rome, or some
amed minnesnger, or company Of steel-clad
kni9hts going out to seek adventures. But
"haever our expectations may have been,
Dariag a stay of few hours, We meet neither
flsrim nor knight, nor minstrel, and now
We continue on our way towards Zurich. 1t
5 a beautiful summers afternoon and we 60
winding along among the mountains, at what
IN America We should term snails pace ;
hat so much the better, since we have more
tine to look out on the silver waters of the
Arr, and gaze up into the mountains whose
base are dotted with cottages, and farther up,
perched upon the crags, We now and then
discover an old castle. As one sees these
cottages for the first time, he wonders how
they can be reached but if he looks care
tally, he will find path winding up among
tar rocks. and this is their only way of ap-
pFoach. If one visits them, he will find some
which indeed are miserable enough, yet in
general they are comfortable, exceedingly
neat and tidy, and though the abodes of pow
erty, they are not those of wretchedness.
Wherever there is a patch of mowing-land
We see the haymakers, and these stalwart
sons and buxom daughters Of Tell leave their
work for moment to look at US. Similar
scenes have often furnished themes for the
p'e;s' and in theory they are poetical enough ;
ou' to describe the reality one must employ
U-e Sooerest prose. When a woman takes
ascythe, spade or rake, she has an instru-
lent she is little fitted to WELD. By the use
., them, it is true she may acquire strength
'' nerve and muscle, but at the same time
she is developing the animal of her nature