Connecticut western news., 1872-07-12
FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE.
Scenes in Switzerland-An Old Castle, with
 it's Dungeon Horrors s-The Loveliest of Swiss Lakes-Geneva Washerwomen at Work, etc., etc. ts

"oOAO " 0A AAANOu dUOuu 1soO Is Me A4dfe ing to wait till o'clock for the train to Chiffon, we went to the Hotel Gibbon, where we had lunch. Looking out of the windows, we could see the garden in which Gibbon, the historian, wrote the concluding portion of his great work over eighty years ago.
 The day was hot, the streets filled with a lime-like dust, and not being able to find carriage, had to walk up the steep hill to the principal portion of the town. We visited the Cathedral, which is a gothic edifce of simple and massive construction, and had 8 fine view of Lake Leman and the vicinity from the tower. We wan dered around the place until the train started, and at 5.30 P. M., were at the depot at Veytaux, Chiffon.
 We sent our trunks up to the Hotel des Alps, and walked down the track to the Castle of Chiffon, which was about an eighth of mile distant. Crossing the bridge leading from the main land to the Castle, we were met by guide, who took us through the different portions of it. Few objects in Switzerland are more familiar, and I might also say, hackneyed, than this same Castle; so often has it been described by the poet, painted by the artist, and written about by every traveller who has been within it's walls. The Castle itself, is not striking object; it is neither massive, nor very picturesque, and the beauty of the site is greatly di- unfinished by the railway which runs close to it. But the sad story of Bonnivard, the prisoner of Chiffon, and the innumer- able poetical associations which cluster around it's antique walls, will make it always an object of 9eep and perpetual interest. The interior of the Castle is we'll worth visit. There is quite gar rison attached to it, and when we went in l the courtyard, we found one of the drill sergeants putting company of raw re- cruits, through the "goose step." Over the principal entrance are the following words inscribed by the Bernese in 1643 "Gott der Herr segne den Fin und Aus gang" (May God bless all who come in and go out. We were shown number of dungeons cut out of the solid rock, in which the early reformers and subse- quently prisoners of state were confined :; across one of the vaults, we noticed a beam blackened by age, on which, the guide said, the condemned prisoners were formerly hung. In the dungeons are eight pillars, one of which is half built into the wall to these pillars the prisoners were chained, and on the rocky pavement, the steps of Bonnivard and other illustrious prisoners have left their footprints Among the thousands of names inscribed l np fho mi W. coy fhoca of -R nd Dumas. A short distance from the Castle is the Isle tie Paix, small spot on which three trees now flourish. Bonnivard speaks it as follows: #s|s
 And then there was little isle,
 | Which in my very face did smile;
 The only one in view"
 We then returned to the hotel, where we passed the evening viewing the lake and the exquisite sun set, than which nothing could be more beautiful. The sky was covered with rosy light, which gave to the summit of the mountains a most lovely appearance, which was re- fected in the calm mirror like surface of the lake, which lay at our feet. l should think one of the most agreeable ways of spending summer delightfully."-, would be to put up at one of the first-class hotels you find on Lake Leman, and from there make excursions to different parts of | Switzerland.
 During the summer, the Swiss hotels are always crowded, and the stream of travel often becomes torrent; hence the necessity of telegraphing for rooms. The tourists are of all degrees and languages, but the English and Americans seem to be the majority after the natives them selves; my own countrymen, am happy to say, being generally popular, on ac- count of the iberality of their opinions, their lavish expenditures, and the courtesy of their manners. Large as is the travel on the Continent, and superior as are the accomodatiens, nothing is more apparent than that the people do not enjoy the same advantages in their intercourse with each other, as they do in the United States. The wealthy classes alone, constitute the Continental tourist, and you can quickly notice the difference between a watering place in Switzerland, and watering place in America. At the latter, all is good humor, hustle, and an absence of caste whereas at the former, all is cold, silent, courtly and slow, each group or clique keeping to itself; and even Americans may live in the same hotel for a month without making an acquaintance. One of the most noticeable things we have seen, is the fine appearance and good ad- dress of the walters at the hotels. They are the smartest looking, and best dressed men we meet, and are always very atten- tive, and usually speak tive or three Ian guages. IF
 At 8.45 A. M. on the following day, we left by steamboat for Geneva, stopping al various towns and villages on the north shore of the lake to land and take on pas. sengers.
 Lake Leman is the largest in Switzer- land, and in some respects, the most beau tiful. Its beautiful blue color is only tc be compared with that of the Blue Grottc in the Bay of Naples. It has for centuries been a theme for writers in all countries Its connection with some of the greatest names of modern times is universally } known. Voltaire and Goethe speak of il with enthusiasm; Rosseau makes it the scene of his impassioned romance, the Nouvelle Heloise; the exquisite poems o1 Byron, who dwelt for some time on its shores, faintly described it's varied beau ties; Alexander Dumas deems it worthy of comparisone with the Bay of Naples indeed, the arts of the poet and the painter have been exhausted to do justice to this , lovely expanse of water, which combines the sunny softness of Lake Maggiore with the imposing grandeur of the Lake o1 l Luzerne.
 When we reached Morges, we had g fine view of Mt. Blanc, and it was always in sight till we reached Geneva. Here our tour through Switzerland was at an end. Two days passed quickly in the society of friends, and viewing the city and it's surroundings. The city is mag. nifcently situated at the southwest ex- trenity of the lake. and on both banks o1