The Portland daily press., 1886-03-11

be feared his head was turned by the adula-
ton Of the simple people, and he forgot he
was not the head of the church militant, but
only servant. Although some say his memo
nv is abhorred to-day In Switzerland, future
historians may esteem the good he accom-
plished by his preaching far greater than the
evils arising from the mistaken methods
adopted by frail humanity
At Geneva the tourist finds most exquisite
jewelry; and If he can pass for an English
man, most likely will have Waltham watches
recommended to him. Here we are intro
duced for the first time to the multltudinous
varieties of Swiss wood-carving One thinks
he cannot be happy to go away without buy
ing cuckoo clocks, musical boxes and every
nameable ornament from life-sized bears
worth five hundred francs, down to six Swiss
chalets all for one franc, they are so irresist-
able: but after he gets one trunk loaded
with these articles, and has to have them
weighed and paid for at each railroad sta
ton. besides seeing thousands of duplicates
in every Swiss village, he counts his treas
ures trash.
1t does not take long to eat breakfast of
roll, Swiss honey and cup of coffee, so we
were at the rendezvous long before the dill
gence started for Chamounix, as we were
told these drivers magnify their Office and
wait for no man. We mounted the ban
quette, overlooking the coupe; fortunately
most of the travellers chose the inside, pre-
ferring security from rain and wind in case
of foul weather to fine outlook. Our only
companions were native woman and her
two daughters, apparently too familiar
or Indifferent to the beautiful panorama
spread before us, who sat in front, and for
no possible reason, except the proverbial
peryersity of womanBind, could we divine,
chose to pin a thick canvass curtain
before their faces; which kept off the
gentlest of zephyrs laden with the odors of
new-mown hay and sweet ferns, and shut
out from our view every bit of green foliage
and blue sky. They might have passed it
off for their non-ability to understand Eng
fish when we condoled each other over the
disappointment to take only once in life
time such drive and see absolutely nothing,
had not one of the daughters been deeply in
terested in an English novel. When once a
fresh mountain breeze tore the curtain from
its pin, we all exclaimed with excessive joy
at the loneliness of the snow-shrouded noun
tain peaks, rising from emerald swards stud
ded with silky purple crocusses. Mademoi-
selle worked some minutes against he odds
of summer gale and the jolting of the dill
gence over the stony road to secure the cur
tain beyond possibility of loosing again from
its fastening. When she sat down and found
her novel and satchel had slipped from the
top of the coupe while she was breaking the
golden rule, and she dared not ask the in
corrigible driver to halt, we could not feel
much pity.
We came none too soon to see the proyin-
cial types of dress and domestic habits, which
have made these peasants peculiar people
from time immemorial. We must deplore
the advance of civilization and commercial
enterprise that sends Buttericks patterns
into all the hamlets and mountain recesses,
tempting the Swiss maidens to discard the
flowing robes of their grandmothers and deck
themselves in society Styles The old cos
tunes and customs are fast disappearing
which have given European life half its
charm. The unalterable characteristics of
nature alone will remain; but of these there
are but few features, such as the grandeur
of the Alps, the extraordinary coloring Of
the lakes, and the picturesque ruins to dis
tinguish them from the western world. When
we started we were willing to endure petty
annoyances, and even hardships, for the
sake of seeing quaint places and experience
ing the odd adventures related by early tray
elers, but reaching Sallanches, a musty town,
filled with lazy Italian and French idlers, we
lost our love Of romance, and gladly sat on
the sidewalk to eat lunch we had fortu-
nately provided rather than dine at hotel
from which anyone having common delicacy
of taste would revolt. From here the road
winds around the mountain sides, over rush
ing, tearing streams, through many tunnels,
where the steep deelivities afforded no pos
sibe foothold on which to hang a road.
Nowhere has nature raised obstacles suffi-
GENTLY obdurare to intimidate the Swiss. Up
to the tip-top of the cliffs. wherever the
winds have blown basket full of soil, and
the crumbling hills have added their mite, he
has built his chaletsand borne his household
gods, on his own back if the task was too ar
duous for his mule. M. G. T. b.