The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-07-04
nr;s AS Seen BY The
Eyes of An Alabamian

get to Florence" has been In italy.
You take q branch road and never 20
out OF q walk like pace. but gradually
you ascend and after two hours Of be-
Ing held on to cogs and other latest
invention contrivances. you md your
self at the foot Of the purest, cleanest
looking snow covered mountains in the
world. and In the NEST disgusting1y
dirty little village. Even Egypt would
be ashamed to claim such. and Swift
zerland seems proud to advertise IL In
all Of the where to go guides" The
Swiss chalets that you have heard 50
much about and which are 80 attrac-
tive to send home on postal cards, are
built In layers. First there IL q layer
OF dirt--real dirty dirt-then q layer
Of dogs and horses and cows. then q
layer Of logs-picturesque ones--and
another layer OF dirt-real dirty dirt
and so on until the roof few stories
up, is arrived at.
These log cabin chalets are quite up In
the air like the mountains and the
former are built so that the avalanches
and snow can pass beneath them with
out doing damage. The mountains
were evidently constructed though to
give employment to the avalanches Of
sight seers who are gradually ap-
preaching Paris, via. Switzerland. You
can stop OF at almost any of the Swiss
villages situated on Lake Geneva and
there go by boat for the same fare but
almost all the world. and his brother
simpler and quicker method Of train.
You pass the Castle of Chiffon SO near
to that you can get yourself in real
Byronic state of mind here when
breathing cinders and smoke.
A Dear" Little City.
Once Geneva was a dear little city
prettily located on the lake. 1t Is dear
in more ways than one now but still
prettily situated on the same lake
and on clear days. which Average at
this season about one In every hundred.
Mount Blanc exhibits itself In the
distance.
No doubt long before another TWEEN
ty years have rolled by Mount Blanc
will be made to do so by clock work
for every thing else works that way
In Switzerland-Geneva of course Is
the home of clocks and watches. any
wav the selling place to the tourists.
The clocks have been ctykooing for
years. nay centuries. and the watches
a plain round gold face one. like our
grand parents used to wear. until now
they appear in the windows in any,
thing but watch like shapes. Every
thing from an enamel flower to a
beetle or pig appears to have the time
keeping ticking habit and IL you wish
to buy one you have to do so on time
for these days II takes a mechanical
purse. the kind which .emits gold coin
In standard club quantities to buy any
thing in Geneva. The worst of 1t is
that everything in Switzerland has
been made mechanical except the purse
string.
Things go like clock work and to-
wards June Switzerland Is wound
up and put ON its tourist like face
Telescopes are cleaned, slot machines
oiled, Alpine stocks and hats and
watches and clocks all on exhibition
in the shop windows and the music
boxes all in tune. And no one leaves
Geneva without one of the aforesaid
musical arrangements. Tunes are
captured and enslaved In chairs and
cannot get a hearing until you sit on
them. They are also put into all other
kinds and forms and shapes. You can
buy O powder box which. when the lid
Is opened plays Beauties Eyes," In
stead or nose, a loving cup which
when lifted to the lips where 1t should
be gives snatches of a wedding march
In close proximity to the Merry Widow
and a miniature automobile that emits
q funeral dirge when going at fe-
rociouS gait. And yet they say the
Swiss have no sense of humor!
The very incest part OF Geneva is
that II Is so near to Paris. you can
have your luncheon there and a late
supper at Maxims. Besides the trip is
a pleasant one and lust touches the
border land of the Chateau country
which is the fad for motoring just now
OF course If Paris didn't have a few
draw backs you could not altogether