The Portland daily press., 1888-07-27
MARiAsTEIN.
An American Fourth Of july In Castle
and CIolster.
Especial Correspondence of the press.l

lopccidi correspondence OF the freSS.
BERNE. Switzerland, July 6, 1883.
And so it came about that we must decide
what to do on the Fourth" The different
ways In which Americans spend the Fourth
abroad mark them distinctively as American
citizens. 1t probably didn't occur to Adams
and Jefferson when they signed that long
Declaration so many years ago, on no doubt
a very hot Fourth of July, to what extent
they were Matchmaking whole race of
people. n
At first we thought we would unite with
others in big dinner, which is a favorite
way here for Americans to spend the Fourth
And perhaps this is the most characteristic
thing to do, since they say the average
American thinks more Of what he eats than
any other nation. And certainly it is not so
much what other nations eat as what they
drink which concerns them. Well, the usual
method is rousing good dinner, and after
wards spread-eagle speeches, and toasts to
Independence, Liberty. and long life to the
nation and friends at home. with plenty of
good cheer and kindness. This is not a
bad way to spend it, as this sort of thing
makes the ties of country stronger But the
bond between Americans here is already
very strong and amounts to kind of Free
Masonry. But we decided to let the eating
60 and improve our tastes generally-to take
alpicnic dinner and 60 out to Landstrone and
Mariastein. To me what we were going TO
do was considerably indefinite. knew that
Handsome was an old ruin of an ancient
castle; but what Mariastein was had not
the faintest idea. thought it was village
With something more or less curious about
IL with perhaps d Catholic graveyard, for l
had heard that this was Catholic section of
country. We couldn't decide positively
about going, not even the night before, since
we had had nothing but rain for three weeks,
and following the same order it would for the
most part be rainy day; but recalled the
fact that since it had been introduced as
national holiday there had never been but
one rainy Fourth, and that was in 1851 the
year that the Fugitive Slave Law" was
passed, and there had never been any doubt
in anybody's mind but that this indicated
that Providence and the Goddess of Liberty
frowned because Congress had passed and
the PRESIDENT had signed bill which would
weld more strongly the shackles of American
slavery. But 1t finally occurred to somebody
that, since there was no Goddess of Liberty
here to be offended or appeased, and no Dec
larati0D of Independence to be violated, ii
might rain or not just like any other day,
ana SO our courage became little modified,
especially when we walked up in the morn
Ing and heard the rain, and peering out with
half open eyes could see only clouds with
out bit of blue sky nor ray of sunlight,
but as we were to start before eight o'clock,
we must go ahead with our preparations
precisely as II we were certainly going, while
awaiting the signs of the elements. When
the moment came for us to start for the sta
ton, it was still raining a little, as it had
done all the morning periodically, and as
we were to 60 part of the way by rail and
part by Post, we decided to take the part by
rail and wait developments. When we got off
me train, as there had been no particular
change OF weather we made up our minds to
proceed by. Post to Mariastein. Not only the
telegraph here is under the control of the
Post0fnce Department, but passengers by
rost also. There is plenty,of red tape about
IL. one must go to the postoffice and have a
way bill of himself made out to be sent
along with the coach, taking nothing to iden-
tifys himself as the said passenger. But
at last we found ourselves in very neat lit
tle coupe, arranged for four persons, with
cupying all the space above the seats. 1t
was not at all like the stage coach proper.
but more like carriages used in cities, and we
felt quite recUnciled to an hour and half
drive in It through country full Of the very
richest Swiss scenery. 1t took us along
among. valleys between woody hills, and
through gorges in the mountains, with their
great boulders 0verhanging on every side,
some OF the gorges becoming nests for pretty
Swiss villages, which are often the embodi-
ment of peace and contentment. We saw
everywhere along the road women and little
girls busy In the. fields hOeing, with old
handkerchiefs tied over their heads, their
faces bronzed and hardened by toll until in
telligence was almost stamped out of their
visages; this with. their occupation and attire
made it difficult to class them in the same
genus. with beautiful women of society, re-
lined by education and polished by culture.
and fitted for the higher duties Of life by
mingling in scenes of usefulness. 1t recalled
the subject which has been fermenting now
ior good many years in American society
the question of the upward and onward
tendencies OF the age as being the means of
unsexing the sex-of making them more mas
culine and less refined, and we couldn't help
wondering what could more unsex these
women, whom at distance we could not tell
from men, as they assumed the same atti-
tuqe and masculine manner of working. 1t
didn't seem as II they could look or act more
like men with ballot In their hands, on the
way to some quiet ward-room, arranged by
ameliorating of their hard lot.
We passed many villages on the way.
There are no farm houses scattered along
the roadside as at home but the whole rural
population collects into frequent villages,
and cultiyates, near by, the little farms,
garden-plots, as we should call them, never
allowing square inch of ground to be
wasted. After while we saw Mariastein a
little way ahead on cliff high above us,
and we thought we had arrived, for by this
time we had found out that 1t was Catholic
church with various underground chapels,
the windows of one of which we could see
looking so curious in the side of great
mountain crag high above the road over
which we were now driving We thought
we had arrived but how were we ever to
reach re;, place so many feet above usY But
sun we kept driving on, and ascending so
gradually that it seemed hardly the ordinary
ascent asa OF hill finally we turned abruptly
ano went back in the same direction, until
we suddenly stopped in front of the Post
tha sS 9ei9re the church of Mariastein. On
tne whole think it is the most satisfactory
Catholic church which L have ever seen.
though believe there is one more in swift.
ze ria still more unique and curious.
There can be nothing finer in ARCHITECTURE
more beautiful in design, or more aesthetic
In conception than the Catholic religion fnr.
nishes for its places of worship They make