The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1870-02-19
TRAVELLING SKETCHES.



Switzerland Is land Of wonders
wonders which make it the exhibition
ground of Europe; and callous indeed
must that misauthrope be who fails to |
admire the majesty Of the greatest
works of the greatest Of all architects.
Language, in fact, fails to convey any |
idea of the startling grandeur to be
met on every hand but it is needless
to add that all, from the humblest
peasant to the courtly official, know
well how to take advantage of them.
But to our narrative.
The trip from Thun, or more prop
erly speaking, from Scherzlingen, to
Bern, distance of fifteen miles by the
Swiss Central Railway, is chiefly re-
markable for the oddity of the names
of the villages through which it passes
-Gumlingen and Munsingen being IA
vorable specimens and also for the
magnificent views Of the Bernese Alps
afforded. The approach to the city is
by curiOusly constructed bridge over
the Aare, which is furnished with two
roads, the upper for railway, the lower
for ordinary traffic. 1t is soon passed,
however, and shortly afterwards we
are landed in the capital city Of the
glorious little Swiss Confederation.
As our visit must be of very limited
character, We cannct avail ourselves of
the letter CT introduction to the Ameri-
can Minister, Hon. Horace Rublee, late
Of Wisconsin, which we received from
our esteemed friend, Cowell Stepney,
ESQ, Of London but determine, on
ascertaining that the train for Lausanne
does not leave till $50, to use our
leisure to the best advantage, and con-
sequently lose no time in taking an ex-
tended stroll
4 Of all the towns we have yet seen,
Bern best preserves its characteristics,
its architecture being in keeping with
its reputed character-somewhat ex-
elusive and contracted. Tell and
Bruin are evidently its patron saints,
for, 60 where You will. they meet you
at almost every step. Many of the
} streets are lined with arcades, in which
shopkeepers display their most tempt
ing curiosities. While these furnish .
shelter for the pedestrian in wet or
} stormy weather, their effect on the
shops is gloomy in the extreme.
The first place which attracts our at
tention is the Cathedral, a building
Of almost worldwide reputation.
Like many other structures Of like
character, however, it is incomplete.
The tower is $50 feet in height, and
the building itself $50 feet long by los
feet in width. The carvings, the prin-
cipal of which represent the last judg-
ment, are very fine, as are also many Of
the figures representing the apostles,
&C., DC. On the square, i'm mediately
in its front, is gigantic bronze statue
Of Rudolf Won Erlach, protected by
four immense bears, who look as
though they know the price Of liberty,
and are determined to maintain it al
all hazards.
: From Bruin artificial to Bruin gen.
: uine requires walk of FIVE minutes
As a matter of course, we must see the
live bears of Bern, of which every
schOol-boy has read. 1t is said by
somebody, we forget who, that every
body is crazy on one point. We guess
: ACKNOWLEDGMENT is the epidemic which
affects the inhabitants of this quaint
old city, which perhaps may be over
looked on the ground that Bruin ID
the heraldic emblem of the Canton
: immediately after crossing the bridge
Of Nydick the bear-pit may be seen,
where four unsightly brutes are placed
on exhibition. A crowd of the town
folks ere on hand. A demand for a
dance is invariably complied with,
after which . slice Of q loaf of bread
rewards the performer.
Returning, the view from the bridge
is very fine; to the right lies the bo-
tanic gardens, beneath the rapid Aare.
II 10 point to be here noticed that all
the streams in Switzerland run like
race horses, are very cold and very
deep. The bridge itself is an impos-
ing Structure-the center arch having
q span Of $50 feet, and is 90 feet above
the river. Several drives and promen-
AIDES are also seen, some of which are
very fine, while directly in front of us
the city Of Bern proper appears in full
view.
There are several other points of in
terest TO visit-such as the museum,
university, the arsenal and picture gal
lery-but the only one to which We
propose to pay our respects is the far
famed mechanical clock. As the fol-
lowing description, from a local publ
cation, will give our readers a better
account of its mechanism than we can
do, especially as the cock refused to
crow" and the old gentleman to
strike" as advertised, we insert it
entire
At minutes before every hour a wooden
cock gives the signal by clspping its wings and
growing l minute later the bears walk round