The Alps, Switzerland, and the North of Italy. With numerous engravings

Preface

. To become intelligently acquainted -with the physical phenomena of Switzerland and Italy; — the spots distinguished for their historical interest — the most remarkable men who have figured on them — and the arts, customs, and general condition of their people — requires no ordinary extent of travel, a careful and sometimes j-epeated observation of extraordinary objects, which demand fami liarity for their just appreciation, and a solicitous application to various sources of knowledge, in converse alike with the living and the dead. To aid such acquisitions, in the prospect of foreign travel through a most interesting part of the globe, this volume has been prepared. It will be found. in addition to its historical details, greatly enriched by the accounts of a large number of visitors, whose pens have faithfully and graphically recorded what they have actuaUy seen, and the thoughts or emotions to which observation gave rise ; a result which could not be secured by any soHtary traveller.

And then, though facilities for travel are absolutely unprecedented, and the thirst to render them available was never so intense, the number of intelligent persons is still large whom circumstances compel to remain at home. They can only follow their sons and daughters, and other endeared relatives, by the aid of imagination ; the materials of whose pictures such works as the present aim to supply ; whde this, volume may serve also as a memorial of travels always remembered with pleasure and gratitude. The numerous engravings which are interspersed through the work, will add greatly, it is believed, to its interest and value. CONTENTS.

CHAPTER PA0E Directions for Travellers . . . . . . . . . . vii I. — Mountain Ranges — Formation of the Clouds — The Desert changed — The Snow-line — ■ Switzerland — The Route taken to the North of Italy . . . . . . 1 II. — Alpine Mountains and Valleys — Snow Fields— Morning in the Alps — Evenin-*** in the Alps — Winter in the Alps— Glaciers — Motion of the Glaciers — Moraines — Avalanches — The People of Switzerland . . . . . . . . 4 III. — The Jura Mountains — Crossed to St. Cergues — Nyon — First Sight of the Lake of Geneva— The City— Its Edifices— Island of Rousseau— Historical Associations of Geneva— Its Eminent Persons .. .. .. .. ..1(3 IV. — Lake Leman — A Voyage on it— Lausanne — Vevay — Festival of the Vine-dressers — The Castle of Chillon, and its Prisoners — Villeneuve — First Sight of Mont Blanc — Lake Leman in a Calm and iii a Storm — Port du Sex and Bovarct — Meillerie — Bons — Pas des Ormonds — Boltigen — Freyburg — Neuchatel — Lake of Bienne . . 24 V. — Route from Geneva to Chamouni — Bonneville — Cluses — Grotto of Balmc — Nant dArpenas — St. Martin — St. Gervais — Col de Bonhomme — Nant Noir — Servoz — Mont Buet— Another Route — Col d'Antcrne — The Valley of Chamouni . . 39 VI. — Mont Blanc — The First Ascent of the Mountain — Subsequent Ascents — The Course taken, and the Peril encountered in the Ascent and Descent . . 64 VII, — Route to Martigny — The Tete Noire — Overflow of the Dranse . . 95 VIII. — The Val dAosta — Magnificent View of Mont Blanc — Ascent of the Col de la Seigue. . 101 IX— The Ascent of the Col du Geant— St. Didier— Pass of the Little St. Bernard— Scene from the Belvidere . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 X. — Route from Martigny to the Hospice of the Great St. Bernard — Its Visitants and Monks — Dogs of the Hospice — the Morgue.

Switzerland a Country of singular Beauty and Diversity — Ascents of Mountains — Phenomena of the Glaciers 124, 144 XL — Animals of the Alpinejtegions — the Chamois, the Marmot, the Lynx, and the Goat — The Eagle — The Lammcrgeycr . . . . . . . . 1G0 XII. — The Valley of the Inn, of the' Rhine, and of the Rhone — The Valais and its People — The Pass of the Simplon .. .. .. .. .. 173 XIII. — A Winter Adventure in the Simplon Pass .. .. .. ..193 XIV.— The Village of Leuk— The Gorge of the Dala— The Baths of Lcuk— The Pass of the Gcmmi .. .. .. .. .. ..199 XV.— Advice to Travellers in Switzerland — The Forests of the Alps — Slides for the Transportation of Timber — The Wood-cutters — Effects on Climate of Removing Trees .. .. .. .. .. .. ..208 CONTENTS.

VI CHAPTER PAGE XVI.— Untersccn— Interlachcn— Adventure on the Harderberg— Dr. Guggenbiihl, and his Institution at Abendberg . . . . . • • • • • •"-'-' XVII.— Cascade of Giessbach— The Valley of Lauterbrunnen— The Staubbach— The Jungfrau 251 XVIIL— The Valley of Grindelwald— Its Glaciers— The Faulhorn— Passage of the Strahleck 269 XIX.— Valley of Oberhasli— Meyi-ingcn— The Pastures of the Alps— Flax-growing— Amusements of the Peasantry . . . . . . ■ . ■ • 277 XX.— The Pass of the Brunig— The Ascent of the Grimsel— Its Hospice . . . . 296 XXI.— A Day at the " Hotel des Neuchatelois " .. .. .. ..300 XXII. — M. Agassiz and his Companions— Pass of the Strahleck— Ascent of the Abschwung. . 311 XXIIL— The Ascent of the Wettcrhorn .. .. .. .. ..319 XXIV. — Ancient Helvetia — Remarkable Remains of Aventicum — The Feudal System — The Battle of Scmpach— AVilliam Tell . . . . . . . . . . 326 XXV. — Ascents of the Righi — The Lake and Town of Zug — The Canton of Schwitz . . 358 XXVI. — The Council of Constance— Varied History of the Swiss — The Reformation . . 367 XXVIL— The Canton of Berne— Its Capital . . . . . . . . . . 383 XXVIIL— Bale— Soleure— Aarau— The Town and Falls of Schaffhausen . . . . 39S XXIX. — Constance and its Lake— St. Gall — Appenzell .. .. .. .. 411 XXX,— The City of Zurich .. .. .. .. .. ..431 XXXI.— The Lake of Wallenstadt— Glarus— Klonthal— The Baths of Pfeffcrs— The Via Mala 1 10 XXXII. — The Canton of the Orisons — Coiro — Mayenfeld— Country of Davos— Col Fluella . . 460 XXXIIL— The Pass of the Splugcn— The Pass of Bernhardina— The Valley of Misocco . . 471 XXXIV. — The Julier Pass — The Inn — The Engadinc— The Bcrnina Pass . . . . 481 XXXV.— Condition of the People— Arts and Manufactures— Fine Arts— Institutions— Religion 495 XXXVL— The Stelvio Pass— The Ortlcr Spitz— The Valtcline . . . . . . 514 XXXVIL— The City of Trent— Roveredo^The Council of Trent . . 527 XXXV1IL— The City of the Sea . . . . 532 XXXIX.— Lombardy— Verona— Padua— Mantua— Cremona . . 555 XL. — The Lakes of Lombardy : Garda, Como, Maggiorc, aud Lugano 582 XLL— The City of Milan .. . rn.

XLIL— Turin— Mont Ccnis— Monte Rosa— Farewell to the Alps . . 607 XLIIL— Alessandria— The Field of Marcngo— Genoa— Riviera— Nice DIEECTIONS FOE TRAVELLERS. The first requisite for a traveller on the continent is a passport, which we strongly recommend every one to get from the Foreign-office, inasmuch as it will last for life, if countersigned afresh every year by the ministers or consuls of the various countries that may be visited. In order to procure these passports, application must be made, in writing, to her Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, accompanied by a recommendation from a member of Parliament, or some established banking firm in the United Kingdom. The principal bankers have printed forms of recommendation ready, which only require filling up, and which they are willing to give to those who bank with them, or, through them, to any of their friends.

This form, thus filled up and signed, must then be taken to thp Foreign-office, and on the following day, between the hours of twelve and four, the passport may be obtained, the fee being 7s. 6d. It should then be mounted in a pocket book, containing also several blank leaves for the vise's, as the official signatures are termed ; and the name of the party and the word " Passport " should be stamped on the outside. Lastly, the signatures of the ambassadors or consuls of the countries to be passed through must be obtained ; those of the former are granted gratis, those of the latter at a small charge. The other parties from whom passports may be procured, are foreign ambassadors and consuls of continental states, and English consuls abroad, and in Scotland from the Lord Provost, Edinburgh. For persons who visit the countries described in the present work, the vise's of the French consul (the French ambassador does not grant vise's), "and the Sardinian and Austrian ambassadors, if Switzerland be reached by way of Paris.

If Belgium be passed through, and the Pthine followed, the additional signatures of the Belgian and Prussian ambassadors. It must be remembered, however, that the Austrian ambassador in London vises only Foreign-office passports, and for other passports the rise' of the Austrian ambassador must be obtained in Paris, Frankfort, or some other large continental city. When several members of the same family, or two friends, travel together, they can have their names included in one passport. Luggage. — We recommend that as little luggage as possible should be taken, in conse quence of the expense and trouble likely to be occasioned by the fre.quent custom-house examinations. There is the less necessity for taking much linen, inasmuch as at all the large hotels laundresses are kept who will wash up a few things in a very short time.

Soap is never supplied at hotels on the continent, and, therefore, a tablet should always form part of the luggage. For those who intend to walk, and thus really enjoy Swiss scenery, woollen footed stockings will be found to be the best, as keeping the feet from being cut as they would be by cotton stockings ; a very strong pair of boots or shoes, stout and moderately warm clothes, to withstand the sudden changes of tem peratures, and the heavy showers and storms so common among the mountains. As a general rule, the clear and cold water, so abundant in mountainous districts, will be found by far the most refreshing beverage. By all means avoid taking large quantities of milk when on a journey. A guide book and a map will also be required ; the best are, decidedly, " Murray's Hand-books," and, for Switzerland, " Keller's second Road Map," which may be procured at Geneva, or any other large town.

Travelling. — The means of getting to Switzerland and Lombardy are various. We will mention the principal : — 1. By way of Paris. — From London to Dover, and Boulogne or Calais — to Newhaven and Dieppe — Southampton and Havre— rail to Paris — from Paris by rail to Strasburg, and thence to Bale ; or by rail to Dijon or Chalons sur Saone, and thence by diligence to Geneva or Lausanne ; or by rail and steamboat to Lyons, and thence by diligence to Turin (thirty-six hours) across Mount Cenis. 2. By way of the Rhine.— From London to Ostend by steamer, thence by rail through Ghent, Malines, Aix-la-Chapelle to Cologne— thence by steamer up the Rhine, passing all the beautiful scenery on its banks, to May ence— thence by rail to Frankfort, Heidel- DIRECTIONS FOR TRAVELLERS. berg and Bale ; or you may proceed as far as Mannheim in the steamer — thence by rail to Heidelberg and Bale.

By the mail train, via Calais, from London to Paris, as well as the special tidal service, via Folkstone to Boulogne— your luosgap-c is passed through to Paris unopened. In Switzerland there is but one very short railroad between Baden and Zurich. _ JJili gences run to all parts, and are admirably managed by the government. If the diligence is full, a supplement is put on, and follows the diligence. The rate of travelling is about six miles an hour, at a charge of from one to two francs per hour. Post-horses may be procured on the principal roads, but they arc not allowed to cross the frontier. Carriages for hire, of various descriptions, may be met with in every town and village where there is an hotel, and the charges are moderate ; but bargains should invariably be made respecting the "pour boire," or " trinkgelo," and the back-fare, which is always charged unless the man be returning home.

Char-a-bancs, or, as they have been called, " sofas on wheels," may sometimes be met with, though they seem to be gradually giving way to better vehicles. On the mountains, where there are no clear roads, mules and horses are the only modes of conveyance. They are slow but sure, and will carry very heavy loads along the worst of paths, and by the side of the most frightful precipices. The charge at Chamouni is six francs a day, and the same for the guide ; in Switzerland it is nine francs per diem, including the man who takes care of it. Chaises-a-porteurs, or chairs borne by two men, are provided for invalids. On the lakes of Switzerland and northern Italy steamers run two or three times a day, and touch at various places. The fare is moderate, and very tolerable provisions may be had on board.

In northern Italy there are railroads from Turin through Asti and Novi to Arquata, about forty miles from Genoa — from Como to Milan — from Milan to Treviglio — and from Verona and Mantua to Venice. The charge for luggage is very high on these rails. Hotels. — In Switzerland the hotels are for the most part comfortable and cleanly. In some of the large towns they are on a scale hardly surpassed by any in France or Germany. In some a scale of charges is affixed to the bed-room doors. Beds, from l\ to 2 francs ; breakfast, without meat or eggs, Ifr. 50c, and the same for tea. Table d'hote,' at the regular hour, 3fr. and upwards. The second or 'third table d'hote, intended especially for the English, is 4 or 5fr. Wax candles are frequently supplied for the bed-rooms, and charged dearly for. This should be resisted.

Service, if not charged in the bill, is expected at the rate of lfr. per diem. Hot and cold baths may generally be had. In northern Italy there is not so much cleanliness nor so much attention to the wants of the English traveller. However, persons may be very comfortable who will conform to the habits of the country. Couriers and Guides. — We would strongly advise travellers not to take couriers with them, unless totally unacquainted with French. Guides, though seldom necessary, will generally be found obliging and well-informed, and will, if the traveller be walkino-, carry his luggage for him. . Porters may be obtained at half the expense of guides, and yet will serve as guides. Money.— English sovereigns and French Napoleons will pass almost all over the continent, though the former arenot much known in Italy.

It is, however, preferable for a long journey to procure circular notes from some London banker, which can be cashed in all chief towns. In Switzerland and Piedmont, French francs and centimes are the usual coin at hotels. Maxim. — Be civil and submissive to the custom-house officers, and always have the passport en regie. Part I] TO SE COMPLETED IN TWELVE MONTHLY PAETS Cp lips, SWITZERLAND, SAVOY AND " LOMBARDY. BY THE REV. CHAELES WILLIAMS. COL DE B0MH0MME. LONDON: PUBLISHED BY JOHN CASSELL, LUDGATE HILL AND SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS. J. CASSELL, PRINTER, LUDGATE-BILL, LONDON. PRICE ONE SHILLING. THE ALPS, SWITZERLAND, SAVOY, AND LOMBARDY. e@HTEWTI. Part VI Meyuneen— Falls of the Aar— Grunsel— Glaciers of the " Aar and the Ktione-St. Gothard Road— Tell's Country. VII. Lucerne and its Lake— Berne— the Munsterthal— Bale —Falls of Schaffhausen— Zurich and its Lake.

VIII Lake of Wallenstadt-Baths of Pfeffers— Coire— The " ' Splugen Road— The Via Mala— The Bemardina— The Grisons. IX. Lakes of Como and Lugano— Milan. X. Lago Maggiore— Valleys of Formosa, Anzasca, and Sesia — Monte Rosa. XI. Turin— Mont Cenis— Chambery— Genoa. ' XII The Stelvio Pass — Ortler Spitz— Venice and its His- Part I. Geneva, the City, and its Historical Associations — Lake Leman — Lausanne — Vevay — The Summenthal — Freyburg — Neuchatel — The Lakes of Neuchatel and Bienne — Route to Chamouni— The Valley— the Breven— The Mer de Glace— The Jardin — Col de Balme. ,, II. Mont Blanc — Ascents of the Mountain. „ III. Tete Noire— Grand St. Bernard— Valley of Aosta— Col de Bonhomme. ,, IV. Valley of the Rhone— Simplon Road — Gemmi Pass — Valleys of Kandersteg, Æschinen, and Gasteren — Thun and its Lakes. ,, V. The Bernese Oberland — Interlachen — Lauterbrunen — The Jungfrau — The Faulhorn— Grindewald. torical Associations.

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Chapter I. Mountain-ranges Formation Of The Clouds The Desert Changed The Snow-line

— ■ SWITZERLAND THE ROUTE TAKEN TO THE NORTH OF ITALY. The impression produced by the beauty, grandeur, or sublimity of a chain of lofty moun tains, is ordinarily unaccompanied by a sense of their vast importance in the entire economy of the globe. Contemplated, indeed, when these eminences are attired in their beautiful verdure, when they appear dotted with human habitations, or when flocks graze on their sides, the idea of their utility may be apparent, especially when the marks of culture are scattered over their surface. But when they lift their bare summits to the cold, clear sky ; whett they are wrapped in a mantle of drifted snow ; when a dense mist renders them invisible ; when their scanty clothing is a poor and stunted herbage ; and when there is no trace either of the feet of animals, or the traversings and toils of human kind ; — then the only purpose of these immense elevations, as they tower aloft from the rich and fertile plain, appears to be to add a charm of loveliness or majesty to the scene, as the light fades on their azure coverings, as they are radiant in the sunshine, or they are thickly veiled by the storm.

And yet, " God is on the mountains," scattering there and around, with all his munificence, his rich" and precious gifts on the children of men. Had they not existed, and had the earth's surface presented only one mass of granite or lava, the limestone, clay, and sandstone, now so admirably intermixed to secure the beauty and fertility of the globe, and the welfare of man as its inhabitant, would have found no place ; while the inestimable treasures of minerals, salt, and coal, would have been wholly inaccessible, and of all these essential elements of industry and civilisation we should have been utterly destitute. The mountain-ranges — an immense and exhaustless depository of instruments for man's advancement in the scale of being — are as certainly bulwarks of defence to the outspreading valley and the plain.

For when his lot is cast on the face of countries near the poles, they form a grateful screen from b]asts of fatal bitterness ; and when he is. a dweller in tropical climes, they mitigate the wasting and scorching intensity of thc solar beams. It should also be distinctly remembered, that to thc existence of mountains we owe the springs and thc rivers indispensable to all life ; and, to a great extent, the rains which supply their loss and swell their volume. The intelligent observer, while traversing a mountainous country, may readily observe the operation of some eminence, not only m collecting together the clouds of heaven, but in forming them from an atmosphere which would appear to be destitute of moisture. And the feelings of which he is conscious may be shared, in some degree, by all who tarry at home, and will attentively consider this remarkable process.

A transparent current of air begins to deposit vapour as soon as it approaches the summit of the mountain, and increases till the whole becomes involved in a cloud as low down as the relative specific gravities of this vapour and the air will admit. Often will such a cloud appear to be fixed, though a strong wind is blowing, but, in this instance, the vapour which had been precipitated on the windward, is dissolved on the leeward side. Thc more common result, however, is a progressive addition to the cloudy atmosphere, until the whole sky is obscured, and there is a plentiful fall of rain. And when, also, the high land simply attracts the clouds which may be sailing through the air, its influence becomes frequently a source of rain, not merely on itself alone, but on all the country around.

The transformation would, indeed, be immense, could elevations now arise, among some extensive plains on the surface of the globe. As thc great, arid, and almost barren deserts of Asia and Africa require only mountains to render them as luxuriantly productive as are the equally extensive plains of South America, so coidd another Mont Blnnc, or Chimborazo arise amidst the Great Sahara, that immense and desolate tract would immediately acquire the elements of fertility. For that stony country, with here and there some cultivable land, yet literally surrounded by a sea of sand, which, being agitated by strong easterly winds, appears like the surface of the ocean, and often rises info the air in the form of sand-spouts, requires only water to effectuate so wondrous a transformation. As the rock of thc Great Sahara is that of Cheshire, and the soil essentially the same, so, could water be distilled on the vast wilderness, by some " cloud capt" eminence, plants would spring up, and a succession of vegetation would make it to rival that comity of Britain, so long remarkable for the richness of its verdure and the luxuriance of its pastures.

In like manner, were the fiat of the Almighty to give rise to mountains, the sands of Africa would equal in fruitfulness, the declivities of the Atlas range ; the salt plains of thc Caspian would be covered with the wealth of Caucasus ; and every desert on the face of the earth become an appropriate and desirable home for man. It is worthy of remark, that while the atmosphere is in itself neither warm nor cold, it has the quality of becoming heated by the sun's rays. Thc degree of heat thus imparted depends partly on the length of time during which the solar beams act upon the air, and partly on the degree of its density ; so that thc heat is less where the air is rarer, and greater where it is denser. Places which arc only raised a little above the level of thc sea, are much warmer than those which stand some thousand feet higher than its surface.

As, then, the mountain-range is ascended, places are reached, at length, where the atmosphere is so rare that the low degree of heat imparted to it forbids water to continue in its fluid state, and it is therefore converted into ice, or, if it be in the form of vapour, into snow. The stratum of air where any such change occurs is called the snow-line, and this i^ regarded as a natural boundary. It might be supposed that the snow-line would be found at precisely the same distance from the earth's surface at every Tlllo ROUTE TAKEN. ■i part of the globe; but considerable differences are observable in this respect. Thus, on the Alps the snow-line is from 9,300 to 9, GOO feet above the sea-level, whereas on the Himalaya it is 16,000 feet. In the space, however, between the snow-line and the surface of the earth, organic operations take place.

Here it is that the vegetable tribes germinate and grow, that animals find their food, and man discovers what is requisite for his subsistence ; and though it is too cold for him to settle permanently near thc snow-line, yet, in the season of summer, he visits its vicinity as a grazing-place for his herds. .The phenomena of mountain-ranges arc observable in many parts of the globe; but to enjoy such scenery in its perfection, there must be a yielding to the glowing words of thc poet :— •■ The Switzer's land ! where grandeur is encamped Inipregnably in mountain-tents of snow, Realms that by human foot-prints ne'er were stamped, "Where the eagle wheels, and glacial ramparts glow. Seek, Nature's worshipper, these landscapes ! Go, Where all her fiercest, fairest charms are joined ; Go to the land where Tell drew freedom's bow ; And in thc patriot's country thou shalt find A semblance 'twixt thc scene and his immortal mind.-' But even to this land, glorious as it is, we do not intend that our footprints should now be restricted.

The neighbouring regions of Savoy and Piedmont, with their towering elevations, are to form part of the route which we design to pursue. Nor shall we terminate our wanderings, until we have tracked the northern part of Italy, of which we have heard so much in history and in song, and gathered, whether ascending or descending lofty elevations, or traversing the valley or the plain, much, we trust, to enlighten and delight the mind. * Campbell. b2 CHAPTER IT. ALPINE MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS— SNOW FIELDS MORNING IN THE oVLPS EVENING IN THE ALPS WINTER IN THE ALPS GLACIERS MOTION OF THE GLACIERS MORAINES AVALANCHES THE PEOPLE OF SWITZERLAND. Europe is traversed in its entire breadth by an almost continuous chain of mountains, bearing different names in different parts. Thus, between France and Spain are the Pyrenees, and in Turkey are the Balkhan mountains.

The loftiest and most extensive portion of the great continental backbone is the well-known chain of the Alps lying between Germany and Italy, and covering almost the whole of Switzerland with their ramifications. The Alps extend from the banks of the Rhone in France on the west, to the rivers Verbas and Narenta on the east ; of which the former falls into the Save, a confluent of the Danube, and the latter into the Adriatic. They form a vast semi-circular bulwark, which encompasses on the north Italy and the Adriatic Sea. They are divided into the Mont Blanc range, the Pennine, and the Lepontine Alps. There is also a great lateral chain — the Bernese Alps — many of the summits of which almost equal those of the parent range in height ; and the Rhoetian Alps, which, extending into Austria, may be considered as four minor lateral chains.