Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1874-12-23
Switzerland.
Editor r publican :

|
the conclusion of a. General Postal Union
in ihe form of treaty signed by the dele
gates of all the European States, except
| France, and of Egypt and the United
States. The Leading features of the treaty
are the establishment of uniform rates OF
| portage, of low transit rates and the abol-
ishmeut of all international accounts. The
effect wi be great qualification of the
| p,CSept IN ricate arrangements now govern
ing the exchange Of correspondence with
foreign countries and very great saving
o The q. S. Treasury, as large amounts
were yearly paid by US to foreign postal
al STATIONS, as their share Of hostages
collected. This will be better understood
when ii is borne in mind that, under ex st-
ing postal conventions with the leading
administrations of Europe the total amount
| Of ,tagns collected in either country is
equally divided, and that very large sur
| plus is 20 'lected IN the United Sta ties. As
The nrcJe.t of the convention originated
with Tie Ce man Director General of
| Posts, SO also is the result Of the deljbera-
ions IN very great measure due to The
energetic etfor,s of that officer. Under the
glidarce of DR.. Heinrich Stephan, Director
General oil Posts of Germany, the German
| Post Office bias of late years risen to the
leading posi- on npostal matters the world
over. Beginning his career as an Office
| boy at the pos, Office in Stet,in, Mr.. Stephan
Las gradua ly risen 10 be, at the age of
only Is years. the head Of Depar tment
whitn stands second to none in the world.
His energy, activity, complete knowledge
of postal affairs and his ,onst ant watch
fulness has given him name that few men
enjoy at his age. Among the delegates,
nearly all the heads of the several Post
Office Departments, the best of feeling has
prevailed during the session ofthe Congress,
and whel on the evening Of the last day
{ fter dinner party rendered TO the Con-
| CreSs by the President of the Swiss Con-
federation, the members of the congress
shool hands for the last time and parted
with The best wishes for future happiness
| ard prosperity, it was not without regret
of GiSsolvhy the ties that ueI rly for 4
weeks :, d hid them together in business
and so, ial Intercourse. The FIRST Pos'a
| Congress WI be remembered as one of the
btlg 1test episodes in life.
You core spondents left Berle on the
| morning Of Oc'ober 10.h for an excursion
| 10 The lake ieman anG to the Alps from
| wh:ca be uas just re. urned to this charm
ng city. As duricg our whole stay in
Swiszel land so also here the weather has
been most favorable. AS we leave Berue
we pass through some of ,he finest farming
oouDvry of Switzerland, the undulating
beautiful green surface dotted with neat
pic. ure Sque cottages, the whole set in a
frame To- med by mountain ridges, on the
one side rough and stony, on the other
green aud wooded over which far in the
DIS ance the snow clad peaks Of the Bernese
Alps, our CID friends the Jungfrau, WeHer-
horn, M@ach, &c. that we have already ex-
pored, greet the eye. We pass through
The Interesting old city of Freiburg found
Cd in 1l75 and very picturesquely built !;
gradually the mountains ia front of US rise
up, the white tops of The Alps begin % be
seen, e can dis. inctly see the top of M
Elarc, the raj: DAD makes sharp .urn and
suddorly, as il brought forth by magic, is
sp1e@d peIote our eyes, almost al our fee. !,
tie beautinu, oiue waters OF the price CT
Swi zelland, he lake Of Geneva. The
gu. is one neve- 20 be forgotten as tie
.ahe fl ST bnrs,s 3on GU. view, $50 smooth
{ al ~, as # Il M ror was 50 cad berore
| - L uE al &c 81 pLlO LIZA. oduHSS s. Ell
as ai2g. aid tle LAKE a9oc4 small to
ouA view although 55 miles ,on.y. Its shape
:, nat CT I. hall moon with the ho:rs to-
wl,us lhe Sou b, ana ouc & st view IS rom
pc a. uearjy in the middle of the North
sno e. We are high above the lake, as we
| sea IL first, aC1 the railroad winds through
| To-. 1 me:ao!e vineyards Gown TO Lausanne,
st,da, e. on the lake shore Ouc time is
| oh for ~
middle of the grape harvest As far as the
eye Can reach in all directions along the
shore, it meets VITA nothing but vineyards,
busy ga herring the golden grapes glitter
ing in the bright sun light. The women
pick the grapes aud put them in long, fat
baskets, which The men carry on their
packs to the large casks on tue wagons,
Whence hey ere carried home % the wine
press. TO describe the scenery ana the
lite from the banks of the lake seems an
.mpossibiliyy, and my feeble pen shall no
longer au,empt it.
At Lausanne: instead of gong direct TO
| Geneva, we turn 20 the left and follow the
railroad along the North shore of the lake
as far as Vevey, charming little place
described by Rousseau, where we take car
| Rage for Vllleneuve, at the head of the
| lake, SO as to enable US to get nearer view
of the lake and give US an opportunity to
visit the cas- tie Of Chillou, built on a small
island in the lake and connected with the
snoie by bridge. This castleis celebrated
flom Byrac's description in the "Prsoner
OF Chillou," Francis Downward, who was
here iucarcecated for years. The mas
sive walls and towers of the castle made it
a good prison, and the dark cells are We t
shown together with the pillars to which
the prisoners were chained. The place OF
execution of the prisoners and the stone
bed on which they rested during their last
night on earth are yet to be seen, but the
Instruments of torture and of execution
have been removed. The castle is sup
posed to date nom time previous to the
year $50, and is now used as a military
arsenal by the authorities of the Canton.
The shore along the lake here from Vevey
10 Villeneuve is dotted with hotels and
pensions boarding houses), which are
crowded the whole year around, the climate
being deemed particularly favorable for
consumptives. Vineyards cover the noun.
| q bo