Evening star., 1925-08-15
THE LIBRARY TABLE
By the BookLouer.

by Clarence Rook, with illustrations
from paintings by Eff1e Jardine. gives
much attention to the history Of the
little republic always renowned for
its patriotism. Swiss history really
begins with the lake dwellers. or pile
builders, whose former existence was
discovered only In 1853. when, near
Zurich, workmen found below the bed
of the lake a large number of piles
and then antlers, bones, weapons and
implements of many kinds. Archie.
ologists have since made a STUDY of
these remains and others similar and
deduced from them much probable
history. Evidences Of such prehistoric
lake settlements have been found in
the Lakes OF Constance. Geneva and
Zurich and many other smaller low
lakes. but none have been found in
the high Alpine lakes. Known Swiss
history extends from Roman rule,
Wnen Helvetia was @ settled commu.
nifty whose inhabitants fought Julius
Caesar. down through the Middle Ages
when the tyrants of Austria oppressed
the vigorous small republic and VIII.
helm Tell became the national hero,
to modern times, when Switzerland
mas become an example OF an almost
interesting chapter of the book de.
scribes the present Swiss form of gov
ernment and constitution. There are,
Mr.. Rook says, four occupations in
winch the Swiss have won distinction
recognized the world over. They have
always been good soldiers, often mer.
cenaries in the service of alien causes,
as the famous Swiss Papal Guard at
the Vatican; and though they are to.
aay a very peaceful people, every man
ls trained potential soldier Swiss en-
sineers. struggling to conquer the
mountains which hem them in, have
accomplished triumphs Of engineering
Wnich stand as a monument of the
Victory OF human skill over physical
obstacles The Swiss have aiways had
feritable passion for education and
seem to possess the pedagogic instinct
swiss schools and teachers are among
the pest in the world. Finally, the
SWISS are a nation of hosts--a more
courteous and more accurate wav OF
expressing 1t than to say that thev
are nation OF walters or of hote1
keepers. Everywhere in Switzerla nd
the traveller meets fairness kindli.
ness consideration, but no obseoui
BUSINESS.
X X X
work of native Swiss who loves his
fatherland and often returns there fo
nnd renewed health and strength
among the snow-covered Alps" This
oook would be especially useful to q
traveller in Switzerland, because II de.
scrloes the country geographically &C.
coroing to its sections; as Bern and
us environs. Lucerne, the Bernese
ooerland, Geneva and its lake. Cha.
MONK and Mont Blanc lin France. but
continuous with the Swiss Alps), and
the heart OF the Alps about Zermat
ana tne Matterhorn. One of the most
delightful chapters is on Mountain
Passes, Railroads and Tunnels" The
various Alpine passes have been trav.
erseo nrst by footpaths, then by mule
tracks. then by fine carriage roads and
now by tunnels beneath. The train
rushing through the tunnel under a
pass conveys a tourist to a destina.
ton most quickly but to one who
cares more for beauty than for speed
II Is sorry substitute for the old dill
gence crawling slowly up the steep
graoes on one side and descending the
other with creaking brakes. All tun
neis look much alike, but there is in.
finite variety in the passes of Switzer.
iand. Some of the finest passes are
the Simplon, the Great st. Bernard
the Little st. Bernard, the Mont Cents
the st. Gotthard. the SpIugen. the
Brenner, the Grimsel, the Furka, the
Gemmi. the Scheidegg and the Theo.
dule. The chapter I'm the Heart OF
the Alps" describes the country about
the great peak of the Matterhorn, sur.
rounded by its ring of glaciers. In the
deep valley outside this ring lies the
little village of Zermatt, one of the
Oldest of Alpine villages, for it is first
mentioned in document Of the wear
1880 and was then apparently an old
place. From Zermatt, the highest rail
road in Europe, next to the Jungfrau
road, carries one to the top of the
Corner Graf, from which it is possible
to look across the Corner glacier di
rectly at the summit of the Matter
horn and. on clear days, with a glass
even to discern climbers on the icy
face of the horn.
More purely descriptive than either
OF the two preceding books Is Swift.
zeriand in Sunshine and Snow" by Ed.
mund B. D'Auvergne. The author is
more enthusiastic over Bern, the
Swiss capital, than are most tourists
who rush through 1t on their way to
Lucerne or Interlaken. He does not
care for Neuchatel, which he calls "a
dull place with an interesting his
tory" nor for "sedate, scholastic Iau.
same, q town suited for schol
ars and old maids" From Lausanne to
Montreux the shores Of Lake Geneva
merit the name of the Swiss Riviera,
The mountains come down close To
the water, and villas and hotels, with
gardens and balconies, line the road
and perch on the fianks of the noun.
tains. The Castle of Chillon, jutting
out into the blue water near Mon.
treuX, is cheerfully shown by an elder
ly gendarme to crowds of tourists
who have, or have not, read Byron's
Prisoner of Chillon.'' The Gruyere
Valley is spoken Of as "the Switzer.
land of romance, not the Switzerland
OF the climber and the artist" The
Canton Valais is long, narrow
trench excavated by the Rhone and its
parent glaciers, and is completely shut
out from the rest of the world by
gigantic mountain walls, which ap.
proach so closely toward the bend in
the river as almost to forbid egress' -
In modern, times IT has become a great
international highway, along which
rush the express trains from London
and Paris, Germany and the far
north, to Italy. Nowhere else in
Switzerland do the mountains soar so
high or are the glaciers so numerous
and large. The Matterhorn and Monte
Rosa dominate this Rhone Valley.
Lucerne and Geneva, centers of Ca
tholocism and Professionalism, are
called the gayest and most frivolous of
Swiss cities. OF Switzerland as a Win
ter resort Mr.. D'Auvergne, who is an
Englishman, by the way, says ironic-
ally: The English discovered Switzer.
land in Winter, and have wrapped
themselves in it's robes to find them
warm and health-giving. Doctors In
vented the cold cure. Invalids were
dragged from their stuffy f1resides at
Bournemouth and Mentone and sent