Birmingham age-herald., 1895-09-02
BY GENEVA'S LAKE
PAUL MUSES AND WAKES POLITICAL The Delightful Calm After the Turmoil of Lon don and aris-lnteresting Bits of
 Description.

ence.)-DuflnS a two WeehS SloS 0'"
 alone in Paris I sad become tolerabiy
 we'll acquainted with the place and had
 seen a great many of the beauties and
 wonders of this city, said to be the Mecca of Americans, and yet it was noticeable to me that there were not nearly so many Americans in Paris as we had ob- served in London, though, no doubt, the fact is attributable to its being the height of the season in London, While in Paris everything is dreadfully quiet during the summer season. Every one of note is away at the various summer resorts, and the city becomes quiet and uneyentful as in our own southern cities It is remarkable, too, how very much less of traffic seems to be carried on In Paris than in London. There are none of the large, heavy truck wagons that really made our sightseeing burden in London, though l believe there are just as many cabs in Paris, and l thought 1t must be my imagination when believed they really curved out of their course to see how nearly they can come to running over you. Pedestrians stand no show in Paris at all. When l learned that II you are run over it's the pedestrians that pay fine of $2 and not the cabman, knew it was not my imagination.
 I started on the Sth of August from Paris to Switzerland. As is my invaria- Die eXDeT1Snce dITlNeu dI lle dS pOl over an hour too soon, and while l had no difficulty in getting my ticket stamped and attending to necessary arrange ments, I must confess to my inability to understand the answers to my questions If you have ever tried to wrestle with time table and your experience is like mine that you always arrive at your destination before you have started, you may have some idea of my predicament when l saw four trains pull out and l could not for the life of me tell where this train was bound for or what train it could be. But, suffice 1t to say, l eventually got on the right train and started at the proper time. English trains are noticeable for their lack of noise and the engines don't indulge in any of the superf1uous whistling that I've always believed in our country was done just to startle the passengers from
 a quiet nap and for the engineers per sonal amusement I wish they could take a few lessons on this particular
 point from the English, but I don't want them to learn any new tricks from the French whistles. I believe they do whis- tie in French. I think I distinguished much of the shrll, widely modulated tone of the Frenchman's language in the | terrific noise of the whistle, and even the animals speak French. Now, isn't it pitiful that even the dogs in the street l understand French and we can't? But | cry In French-just the same old spoiled. | bad cry we hear at home. It sounds real l familiar.
 Continental trains are not so fast nor | so comfortable as English trains and maybe you think I won't appreciate a | dear old good Pullman sleeper when l reach America again. sleeper here | only costs $S I tell you, I think I'll ap preciate dear old America when I return
 more than ever before. She just has the best of every ything-the best looking peo- | pie and the best talking people, too. l | can understand everything they say, and | that's more than I can say for the En- glish and the French. Coming over to | Switzerland there were some English | women in the compartment, and their fussing over the tea basket (hard a) and fidgety ways were very wearsome. Don't ever say again we have all the | nerves. They may stand aghast at the amount of ice water we drink, but I for | one stand amazed" at the amount of tea" they deVour, and tea as strong as aqua fortis.
 But now, seriously, I want to tell you | about Geneva and the wonderful Mont Blanc. Of course you never heard of | all these sights, and so it would be un- pardonable in me did I not tell you some | thing of them.
 After the hustle and hurry and fatigue of sightseeing in Paris, Geneva seems so restful and peaceful. The air Is so in vigorating and the scenery so picturesque and grand that we are charmed with the entire place. The first morning we took | a drive all over the city, which is quite | a good sized place, having about S0,000 | inhabitants. Geneva is situated on the | banks of a picturesque lake, whose east ern waves bathe the somber walls Of Chiffon Castle, where Bonivard, the pro l tagonist of Genevans' liberties, lay i'm prisoned six years to satisfy the ven geance of the Duke of Savoy-Bonivard. | whose heroism three centuries later in- | spired Byron with his immortal poem. l This lake, with its beautiful and lnde- scribable blue tint, lends a Wondrous charm to the scene, as 1t lay in peace and restful quiet. in strong contrast to | the surrounding brilliant and varied yer dure The blue waters of the Rhone | emerge from it with the swiftness or an arrow, dividing the city into two parts | the Old Town, which is the seat of gov ernment and center of traffic, and the Quartier St. Gervai.
 Our first afternoon we had kindly given us a card of admission to the grounds of "Rothschild's villa" so we hurried to | take advantage of the kindness of the opportunity.
 | It is the chateau of Baroness Adolphe l he Rothschild, and l verify believe 1 they must have looked the world over | for the most beautiful spot and pitched l their tent here upon the high, sloping banks of lake Geneva, facing the Alps, and towering high above all snowy, ma | jestic Mount Blanc. The chateau rests ] upon the highest point, surrounded by | the loveliest grounds that are, am surei all that money could produce. Just in front of the chateau one has an extended 1 magnificent view In the valley the blue | no, the green-no, blue-well, greenish | blue lake, the gently sloping hills, rich l ly clothed with vineyards and orchards,
 the noble background Of mountains the graceful lateen sails used by the boats, | peculiar to this lake, all combine to form
 l most entrancing view-"So wondrous l wild the whole might seem the scenery
 | of a fairy dream" We were very fortu-
 nate in seeing Mount Blanc in all Its 1 splendor and distinctness for two days.
 | as we were told one might stop here for
 l weeks and never gain sight of it. But then I told you we were lucky.
 | Next day we went to church. the old | cathedral in the Romanesque style, com
 l pleted in 1924 by the Emperor Conrad II.
 1 Of course I must go Calvin's old church. | I heard a fine sermon and good singing; l so, naturally, must tell you all about it.