The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1878-07-13

WHILE M. 1884.
behind it. Some of these snow clad noun
tains reach the height of 49, 900 feet. If
l remember correctly, there are in all seven
of these lofty, tumbling cascades, and the
extreme height of the falls is about 200
feet. In the evening, band of music per-
forms out in the open air in front of the
hotel, and by ten O'Clock at night all the
guests have retired, the lights have been
extingnished, and we have no sound save
the luiljng song sung by the falls, which
soon persuades us to sleep.
l remember one evening, when we were
promised pyrotechnic display. The ex-
hbitor or exhibitoress was a very pretty
little Swiss girl, who was to send up
many colored fire balloon. We were all
awaiting i'll expectancy and secretly hoping
as the young lady was quite pretty and
attractive, and created quite sensation
among the guests, by her natty little Swiss
jacket, and her pretty, little, .iaunty hat.
Now everything was prepared for the great
event. She held the balloon up so that it
might the more readily receive the hot air
from beneath, while great stupid Swiss
attendant was holding a spirit lamp to the
sponge filled with alcohol. He was not
careful with his lamp, for suddenly he
touched the thin tissue paper with the
flame, and instantly the balloon had "gone
where the woodbine twineth," and left no.
thing in the hands of this pretty maiden but
ashes. She gave him such look, as much
as to say, Now, you have gone and done
it, haven't you ~ After recovering from
our disappointment, we tried to find her to
offer our sympathy, but we could not find
her.
The Swiss bell ringers are not so com.
mon in Switzerland as one would suppose.
| never saw but one band of them, and |
have heard far better bands perform in this
country. l think this manner of making
music would be novelty to the Swiss.
They are not musical people. But for
strict honesty, for open hospitality and for
Swiss people take the lead. l cannot bet
ter explain their true character than by
quoting two lines from Longfelow's poem,
"Evangeline," which, think, will explain
their true simplicity. They are in truth
Men whose lives glided on like rivers
that water the wood lands,
Darkened by shadows of earth, but re-
tlecting an image of heaven"
Zurich contains about so, 900 inhabitants.
1t is built on lake of the same name.
Away off can be seen the lofty snow-clad
Alps, with their long range of high, sharp
peaks, SO uniform in appearance, and so
regular in their indentations, that they
look like the teeth of a large cross cut
saw. They say that the mountain range
of the Sierra Nevada SO closely resembles
the teeth of saw. Trench, in his work
on the study of words, says: Many man
had gazed, we may be sure, at the Jagged
and indented mountain ridges of Spain,
before one called them "Sierras or
saws" the name by which they are now
known, as Sierra Moreno, Sierra Nevada;
But that man coined his Imagination into
word, which will endure as long as the
everlasting hills which he named" "Si-
ezra Nevada p" means Snowy saws, "Si-
ezra Morena" means "brown saws" and
- Sierra Madre" means "mother saws"
This is the literal translation of the words,
but presume the more classical transla-
ton would be to render the word SIERRA
fridge" The people of Zurich are very
thrifty and industrious.
There is an air Of neatness throughout
the whole town; their streets are kept
scrupulously clean; their stores, confec-
tioneries and hotels are models of comfort,
and the people seem happy and contented.
You might travel over the whole town, in.
quiring where liquor is sold, but you would
not find it, because ait is not" They
have, however, in the large and commo-
dious arsenal, the bow of William Tell,
with which he shot the apple off his sons
head. | made inquiry for the apple, but
the guide looked at me with such plying
look that l was sorry l had by the least
word led him to think that did not believe
a word of the story. 1t is surprising that
these simple hearted Swiss people cling so
tenacionsly to the fabrication of Schiller.
believe that one might as well try to con-
vince them that the sun does not shine as
that William Tell never existed. wish
for their sakes that he had lived, for they
have expended a great deal of money in
building chapels, monuments, and even
churches to his memory; and | cannot see
any use in making so much fuss about
man who never existed, except in the fer
tile brain and vivid Imagination of Schil-
Ter. The dress of the people is just the
same as that of Americans. They have no
theater. On Sunday, every place of bust
ness is closed, the streets are quiet, every
person has got on the best attire procura.
BILE, and they all go to church, and after
service the promenades around the city and
along the borders of the lake are thronged
with promenaders, until ten o'clock at
night.
My next letter will contain short de-
scriptiou of the Mount Gents Tunnel, and
possibly description of the scenery around
the tunnel. r. II.
For The Cecil Wing.
RPOt DRRIu,S LITTER From PARIS