The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1874-05-09
Ghe Grareller.
Correspondence Of the Ner FORK Obserrcr.
SWITZERLAND & HER PEOPLE.
ny HENRY DAY, ESQ.,, OF rnr NEW YORK BAR

No country affords more constant de-
light to the traveller than Switzerland
The wonders Of nature, the original char
acter Of her people, their history, their
novel habits Of life, and their great public
works, are all constant pleasure. Here
the lover Of nature finds scenes every hour
Of the picturesque and beautiful, Of lonely
grandeur and awful sublimity. The dar
ing enterprise of the people has made them
all accessible and enjoyable. Here, day
after day, you may wind your way up her
narrow valleys, along the foaming noun
tain torrents, through dark, deep gorges
which never see the rays Of the sun, where
the rocky walls of the awful cliffs frown
down in everlasting shadows you may
wend your way along the shores Of bcauti-
full lakes, which sleep like pets at the base
Of the giant mountains, or wind themselves
lovingly at their feet from valley to valley;
you may ascend dizzy heights, lofty passes,
and behold mountains, valleys, lakes, cit
les, and hamlets grouped in glorious pic
lures at your feet you may Chamber still
higher over the lofty, barren crags, or
across the glacier, cleaning on the noun
tain's brow; or you may ascend far up
amid eternal SHOWS, to some giant summit,
and stand alone in the awful presence of
Nature and of God.
Go where you will, every hour discloses
scenes new, beautiful, and sublime. Here
the burdencd brain will find repose and
comfort The grandeur of nature is sooth.
ing to the overtasked mind The bracing
air which sweeps these mountain heights
viii give new life and vigor to the worn
out man. We do not hesitate to advise
every man-especially every professional
man-worn by labor and caro- to renew his
mental and physical strength among the
beautiful valleys of Switzerland.
Surrounded by great powers, such as
France, Italy, Austria, and Germany, and
her government a constant protest against
tyranny, Switzerland has preserved intact
her territory, her government, aud her
honor. She has been sort of breakwater
between great opposing powcrs-such as
Austria and France, Germany and Italy
and has been peacemaker between
them. Switzerland has to-day, as a polit-
ical power, the most profound respect of
every government In Europe and she is
the admiration of every American, who,
as he wends his way through her roman
tic valleys and over her lofty mountains,
will study the character of her people, and
will look little into her history, her gov.
ernmeDt and her progress; they are all
worthy of our notice. The first thing which
strikes traveller, after he has recovered
from these emotions Of sublimity inspired
by the wonders of nature around him, is,
how can any people wiring out an existence
from these sterile mountain tops, or cope
with the awful forces of nature opposed to
them. What compensation has Provi-
dence given people, who have no sunny
skies, no wide-spreading valleys, and no
rich bottom lands? Their compensation
is mostly moral one. Nature has dis.
played her mightiest forces and reared her
most stupendous works not in vain. They
purify and exalt the character of the peo-
pie. Here dwell poor but contented,
hardy, liberty-loving race of men whose
love for their native hills amounts to
passion. Whether they cultivate the vine
on the smiling slopes of Lake Geneva,
watch their cattle on the high upland pas
lures, or feed their goats on the scanty
herbagc up under the glacier, they love
their country with an ardent passion. One
reason for this attachment is, that almost
every man has some interest in the soil
1t is estimated that out of two million six
hundred thousand inhabitants, only one
half a million have no landed possession
In Switzerland almost every man, woman
and child, is producer, Nearly one-half
the inhabitants are engaged In agricultu-
raj pursuits; nearly one-third Of all their
land is occupied by lakes, rivers and noun
tains one-ifth of it is fit only for pasture,
and one-tenth of it only is arabic. The
traveller will find almost every kind of in
dustry pursued among this people. The
herdsmen tend their cattle far up on the
mountain pastures the farmer ploughs
his little meadow in the bottom of the
harrow valleys; every house has hand
loom the women are making butter, and,
in spare moments, lace.
The traveller cannot fail to admire the
force and pluck of this people, whose mag
nihcent masonry has spanned the foaming
torrents, pushed their zigzag roads up the
steep mountain sides or along the dizzy
heights Of awful chasms overhung by aw-
full cliffs above. They have to contend
with rocks and mountains, the glacier, the
avalanche, the cloud-breaks and floods,
SHOWS and torrents; amid these mighty
forces arrayed against them, their life is
continued struggle for existence. The
traveller constantly sees how they grapple
with these mighty powers of nature, and
control them for their own use and his
respect and admiration for them as con-
stautly increases. All their country is
accessible; every spot where goat may
climb and browse is made available. Eight
hundred and twenty miles of railways
through the valleys and thousands Of miles
of post-roads unite all the cantous, and
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