Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-07-24
Written for the Herald
What ~ Merchant Saw in Europe
no. AL

LUzERNE, SWITZERLAND, May "a.
Last Friday morning, bright and early,
we left Chamounix for Geneva, and COM
menced a pilgrimage afoot. We had Of
ten heard Of the rovings afoOt of bands
of German students, and we were bent
upon the attempt Twas exceedingly
ill-timed that we should have attempted
so much the day after our trying ordeal
on the Mer de Glace, but the exhilaratiDg
air of Switzerland so readily palliates
fatigue, that we were bright and CHEEKY
rs the birds when we took the hand of
the proprietor of the. Hotel Angleterre
and said our last farewell te the glory
crowned valley.
We walked eleven miles without so
much as moments rest, and l can as
sure you that felt not the least fatigue
as we entered a wayside inn for refresh
ments, only footsore, that was all. That
eleven miles had an ever-changing piano.
rama of nature in store for us. We saw
Mont Blanc as we had seen it before.
From CbamouniX one looks at its sugar
loaf peak and finds it hard to convince
ones self that il is over three miles high,
but as we saw it in the eleven mile tramp
credulity reasserted itself, and, had we
been told If was five miles high, we
should not have found il difficult TO
stretch credulity that far. The sun shad-
ows danced along our pathway and the
oil of Ip hff-s4c
to us-all nature seemed gleeful but we
had not fairly taken our first sip of wine
at the wayside inn, ere one and then an
other of our party muttered over our sore
feet. We took off our shoes, and still
they ached, and then swelling set in and
we could not bear the shoes again; so
we ordered great tub of cold water,
and soaking our feet in it, we looked at
each other with a look that said, what
fools we have been! 1t took two hours
to reduce the swelling, and then we went
hobbling off and walked nine miles to
Sallanche, where we put up our trotters
on hard nattrass beds and found Swiss
bugs not averse to American blood.
When we settled our bill Saturday, we
told the landlord in English he could not
understand, that we had been bled all
night by the bugs, and twas too bad
that he should bleed US at the purse. At
ter five hours of delightful ride, by dill
gence we reached Geneva shortly after
noon.
Towards evening, without so much as
premonition of an ache, a fever parched
my lips and my pulse beat rapidly, and
all CT the night ! was troubled; some
such ailment as travellers experience af-
/ ter their return from the summit of
Mount Blanc 1t was the result of 50
1 much rarified air in mountain attitudes.
We saw but little of Geneva, but
enough to form an idea of its beauty,
and to visit the beyy of jewelry stores,
where we found gold watches and
chains in profusion. but such prices
! asked that we turned our backs in dis
gust. Noon of Monday found us aboard
| a gay boat on Lake Geneva, with band
| of music TO enliven our sail to Lausanne,
where we put up for the night. After
Como and MaggioTe, we found Lake
Geneva decidedly tame. Lausanne is a
beautiful spot, an dthe hotel at which we
stopped fine in its appointments, except
that English was not spoken. A waiter
came to cur apartments and in joYial
way. not thinking that he knew word
of German, | asked, :Speichen sic
Deutch ?" be promptly responded
'sYah!'' ''Ah, indeed!" / said ''Vas
list das p responded Dutchy, and the
boys had a good laugh. Tuesday, by
railway, we went to Berne, and saw the
bears at their midday ablution, and AS
nightfall approached We entered Lu-
zerne. There is no need of entering in
to descriptive detail of what we saw In
1 Switzerland. for it has become a COM
monplace and trite subject these past
few wears. The deepest impression
Switzerland makes upon me, aslae from
the UNSURPASSED grandeur OF her NOUN
tain scenery is the peculiarly ana no.
biIitv of her people. A little republic,
l hemmed in by the everlasting hills, she
seems SET apart for distinct and pecu-
| I;or nationality. as such she is. Who
has not heard of the noble struggles for
/ Swiss independence There are those
who would have us believe that Tel was
an image of Schiller's brain. Thus me
skepticism of our age, not content WIN
its attacks upon things sacred, rectdessly
assaults national traditions and human
history, ever careful to berate the most
/ ennobling characters. Ii there was nc
/ Tell crowned with the valor OF virtue,
and no Gesler, the tiend incarnate, why
\ not leave the monument tradltlon has
wrought for the emulation OF lne race |!
+ The history of Tel is SO completely ln
Il l-aa,,;,,I. nth. the Swiss character that