Dayton daily empire. [volume] (Dayton [Ohio]) 1850-1865, 1864-04-09
.aillgy GmpIre.
Written expressly for the Dayton Empirel
A SU MINER In oEUROP Il.
Ha NO. XLVI.
eENEyA-THE LAKE-MARTlGNY


The environs of Geneva are full Of beauty.
On. one side there are perpendicular walls OF
Fock-oh the other gently sloping hills In
front, is the lake and out Of it, rushing tow
ards the vest is the artowy Rhone. A nils
below the city, is an oveFhanging precipice
whence we could see the outline of the Jurn
Mountains sharply defined upon the rosy even
ing sky; the snow clad range, of which Mont
Blanc is king, in the South East the tall
hills between them and us; the lake at our
left the valley before, and the dark deep riv.
er, three hundred feet perpendicnlarly be-
meath us On the other side Of the river, and
little below, comes the turbid waters Of the
Arve, hastening into the greater river They
have come dashng down from the mountains
side, over bugefocks and preeipioes beaten
into foam in every foot o. their progress thus
far, and now they are seeking to escape from
further turmoil, by throwing themselves into
the bosom of the Rhone. They seem to meet
with cold welcome however, and as far as
we can see the line between them is distinct.
ly marked. The pure, blue waters, seornfully
refuse to receive them, and seem to be saying
like the Pharisee, ''oome not near me for /
am holier than themi
From the top Of house, near which we
bad to pass, on our return from this overhang-
ing height, we most Unexpectedly saw float.
ing, the dear old "stars and stripes" Moved
by a sudden impulse, we swung our hats over
our heads and Justify oheered the brave old
flag. The French servants aud others about,
looked on with wonderment, until, in the
werds of Millard's song we shouted, " Vipa
u AmericaW y and then they understood, and
seemed to appreciate our enthusiasm.
All it was pleasant sight No one knows
until he has been wanderer from home, how
beautiful that starry banner is, or how much
he loves it. How it come there, we found no
one who could speak English or German
enough to tell, but the house is a naisoa meu-
bic, and tits probably the temporary residence
OF one or more American families, who thus
appropriately testify their affection for the
land of their birth
AT eight o'clock Monday morning the fiz-
zing of the steam and the ringing of a bell at
the pier near our hotel, notified us that the
little steamer which plies from one end of the
lake to the other, distance of fifty miles and
back every day, was ready to take its depart.
ure. We hurried on board, and, with gay
company of tourists, took our seats under the
awning aft Of the wheel house, prepared com
fortably to enjoy the pleasures which the day
might bring forth. Those Of us who occupi-
ed that part of the deck we're called first class
passengers, and were charged for the dignity,
one-thrd more than those who, in front Of the
wheels enjoyed the view without the smoke
the oleagiuous atmosphere aud the unappetiz.
ing smell which arose for our benefit from
the machinery The weather was lovely
The Jura refused TO exhibit to us her olive
thunder" Ieaping her "rat.Iing crags among
but the lake, as If il thought there might be
another Chide Harold on our boat exhibited
to us all that rare aud quiet beauty which so
charmed, the poet, and awakened in him those
holier and impulses, which, alas it would
seem he knew, not to obey, but simply to ex-
press.
.'Ciear placid Leman = thy canirasted lake,
With the Wild world dwelt in, is thing,
Winch warns me with il stiffness 20 forsake
EArth's troubled waters for Purer spring
This quiet sail ess uoisiess wing
To NNt me trom destruction once loved
Torn oceans roar but thy soh murmuring
Sounds sweet a. II a sisters yo.ce rsprOYad
That with stern delight should e'er have
been moved"
The lake is one Of the largest in Europe
and its water, clearer and deeper than that Of
Lake Erie, is also buer than the heavens il
reflects, and as smooth as our beautiful Ohio
upoH a morning in May. Its banks, here,
gently slopihg back TO hills covered with vines,
and dotted with villages aud elegant country
residences Of the wealthy citizens; there,
springing up perpendicularly into the clouds,
are richer and grander than those Of the Hud-
son or the Lakes of Kilarny Our boat
stops n moment at Lausanne, where, seventy
five years ago, Gibbon wrote the last time OF
his ineomparable history Of the Decline aud
Fall of Rome; then on by Vevay, where we
oss the most Of our fellow passengers BY
Castle Chillon, immortalized by Byron, across
the mouth of a muddy stream whioh, singu-
larly enough, has the same name as that stream
OF peerless purity that issues from the other
end Of the Lake, aud then we disembark Al
the little station Of Bouveret, where the train
Is waiting to carry Us up the valley We were
not satisfied with the mere glimpse that we
had Of the beauties Of this scene, and resoly-
ed before leaving it, that we see il again be.