Wilmington daily commercial., 1873-09-16
FIRST EDITION.
SWISS SCENERY AND PEOPLE.

PARIS, September, 1873.
A ride on Lake George, even if it be a fishing
excursion, it not more delightful than Sum-
mer afternoon trip on Lake Leman. The sun
may pour down hot beams, but the clear green
waves drink them all up, and carry them down,
ever so many feet some places 600 they say
and yet however deep it may be, the light goes
to the bottom, and We see the rounded white
stones, through the soft liquid emerald.
We find comfortable stools under the awning,
the steamer whizzes and whirls off rapidly, the
near shores and the but little more dittant
mountains shift and turn continually, but are
always under the tender blue hint Of haze that
| only adds charm, while afar off we catch
glimpse of bold Mont Blanc, pearly white
| against the blue sky. We wave handkercliefs
| and adieus to those who stay day longer in Ge-
neva we listen to the grand expectations OF
| some half dozen bolder travellers than the rest
| of us, who with long alpenstocka in hand, are
setting out to seek bolder scenes than we Will
| see to go to Chamounix, and to climb Mt
Blanc we laugh and chat together, we give
ourselves up to the enchanting delights OF the
| scene and with the more freedom that we think
those dark-faced French looking people just
/ beside us cannot understand a word we
/ saw What il our surprise then, after
| a little while, when one addresses US, not
| only in good English, but with decided New
| 1O1k accent, (WHICH EebiubiACo VI A4 9oeto Az
| LYONS has not worn out, but has only added
| pleasant French twang to- and inquiries for Ia
dies Of our party, that he knows mu1t be travel
| ing with us from our conversation, ard with
/ whom he used to be acquainted. These ladies'
we have left behind in Geneva, and though it
/ would be such pleasure for friends 80 long
| separated to meet, yet we feel that We owe an
hours very pleasant chat to that loss, which
| however, is made good very soon after, for the
| gentlemen take the next boat pack to the city,
| and find their friends at the hotel
| For two or three hours we are at Ouchy, the
| port of the old hilly town of Lausanne which is
| far too dignified to come down from her stately
| heights, to the hot sandy level of the beach 80
| Ouchy il frightening herself up i'll the sunshine
| and has lovely green lawns filed with trees
| flowers and fountains, aud the handsomeet no.
tel to be found anywhere, the Beau Riyage'
| seated up on tho slope overlooking the lake
| An omnibus that holds twenty persons and IL
| definite baggage is dragged up those long sandy
| hills into the town by tSo starved-looking but
| really strong wiry horses. 1t takes away all
| the comfort of riding, to know That the poor
| horses are working 30 hard and we have often
had to feel in many different places, that we
were about as able to walk as they were to pull
us, such poor, little cramped up affairs as they
| use and then how the drivers do h5urlsh thelr
whips and make them play a tune fairly with
their quick successive cracks around the ears OF
the horses. Watched the manoeuvIes closely till
/ found they never touched them. 1t seems to
me that an Italian driver considers the making
Of these sharp snaps with the snalty twirl OF his
long lash, the guarantee of his ability to drive ;
they are evidently accomplished after long and
careful practice, and when once the art is learll-
ed he has probably attained the summit OF dis
ambition
We are toing through the dust but at last
reach the Hotel Glbbon built near the site OF
| the old house inhabited by the historian, from
| whose garden we look down lntO, another nlled
| with old trees. under one of which, according to
| the guide book. sat Glbbon when he wrote the
last line of his great work the Roman EN-
pire The waiter brought me aplcture hity years
| old, of the old man leaning on his stan, ana
seated on bench beside his cottage door. This
was all we saw of the famous house, it probably
has been pulled down to give place to ONE more
pretentious building; at least we did not hnd IL,
| for we were on other business herei we went
ytsiti,td and only when one has been among
crowds of strangers, and living in cars, and eat
ing at hotels, eau one fully appreciate the cosy
| privacy OF friends eating-room or SHADY, and
the quiet ease of home-table. These we iounu
| and epioyad more than we can tell, in the COM
| Portable, pleasant house of A. @. who was as
glad to see frenda from America as we were 70
greet familiar face. and to feel the warm well
, come of friendship in strange land. The honrs
sped rapidly, aud we're all too short for the hun
dred questions and answers that arose. IL was
a great pleasure to find that ten years OF an
sence had not added ten years OF age to eithel
the heart or the face of our friend. surrounded
by home CT mforts and pleasures, happy in the
sweet ties of kindred and children, she ls al
home, there, ,as before with us in Am srlca. Lttie
! | bright -eyed Emma and struck upa friendship
immedis to y, and gave her once and over az Nn
the kisses her grandmother sent her from Will
| mington, with a personal interest added.
The ride by rail to Berne is one Of the most in
teresting, agIiculturaly, of any we have had Iht
| richest of farm scenes, i'll grain, fruit, and wine
everywhere meet the eye with the neatest, mos
comfortable loo king homes. As we dash alont
a | on the train, we look first on one side to see
} far valley spread like picture below, then OF
the other for one falr8r STILL or for great chasm
= | adj AZ ruahinp riVarH hnl-ArCl0u DIlQg6
| over clefts in the mountain-sdes and back aBall
to the grain fields and the vineyards, and every
3 | where to the greenness aud freshness OF sprung
J | Not hint of weariness or OF summer lauguo
do we see anywhere it is the glad clean
Z; healthy life Of our spring, with the richness AM
. | funess of summers perfection. There ID some
| thing more in the scenery OF this country thar
we have at home; it is not all Imagination, thoug
, a closer cultivation and more care will do mucl
a | for ours in few years, for we have some ee
menta that this lacks. But we ha yo not the fal
9 Jewels OF lakes, Set in such high, green noun
g tains the sweet, quiet valleys overlooked by IN
Q grand snowy-hsaded patriarchs that shield il
a winter and send down ice cold streams OF rar
h refreshment, in summer.
Q Yes, and avalanches and laud-slides too, al
RI we'll, when storm or time make the old fellow
o shake their frowning brows in anger. Thes
l. must be terrible in their ponderous might AM
J swift destruction, Judging from the lmmens
h amount of debris which we found along tue wa
as we came over the Brunig Pass, nearly wee
% after there had been landslide, though ther
s, had been fair army Of men working at 1t a
10 the time.
y severe rain storm had occasioned this, an
II it appeared as though whole side of mountai
had been loosened and had come rushing dowI
If carrying trees, rocks, and houses with it, br
id leaving all along the track quantities OF stone
n and earth, aud broken trees, 30 that by the tim
,n the level was reached there was not such grei
o. deal to deposit, it had left so much by the wa.
t. There had evidently been great fl BOD attenI
ing it, there were such vast beds of stones, cleaI
le washed left on the slopes, and lying just thong
oy a great river had petrlhed in the midst OF poV
At erful onward rush.
rs In ono village we passed through, it had CON
n down narrow street, just filling it, but not d.
ly stroying the houses, though the yards and Bid
walks were covered three feet deep with lew
Il, mass of stone and earth close up to the wall
ar Such gaps and gulleys has been washed in IL
or firm mountain road that in some places gre
nd arches had had to be hastily thrown across, al
j j.; the earth was crumbling and rolling down Il
al precipice all the time as we passed over the shaf
or structure 1t was the only place that the dang
o. of a mountain road approached in any degr
)r- that of the California roads The winding ledg
'rt up which we slowly climbed, and the lonely pa
oramic views spread close at our feet, apparent
,s- were in some respects similar but the desce
though rapid, was not at the break-heck spe'
ed which is the delight OF a California Jehu. III
re ride over the Brunig Pass is considered tame
ts, those who have seen wilder views, but 1t "
y, enough to call firth the warmest enthuslasm