1 807.] Letters on the pmfent State of Switzerland. 



52S 



For the Monthly Magazine. 



lETTERS on the PRESENT STATE ((/"SWITZ- 

 ERLAND, addreffed by a traveller in 

 that couNTRv to his friend jVj Lon- 

 don. 



Geneva, 061. 5, 1805. 



FROM Geneva ? you fay. — Yes, Ge- 

 neva ; the place once dillinguilhcd 

 for its political independence, its com- 

 mercial inipoi'tance, its flouriihing ma- 

 nufactures, and literary eminence. Tiie 

 former of thcfe (led from tlie moment 

 it fell under the French ; but its manu- 

 factures and literature arc ftill in a re- 

 fpeftable condition. 



You will, of courfe, willi to know the 

 route I took from Lucerne to this city ; 

 and I will futisfy you by communicating 

 what I faw worth notice on my journey. 



J left Lucerne very early in the morn- 

 ing, dined at Surfee, and llept at jMor- 

 genthal. The next day I fpcnt a few 

 moments at Hindelbank, three leagues 

 from Berne, in viliting the maufoleum of 

 Madame Larghans, the beautiful per- 

 formance of Nahl, which has i'uflered 

 confiderably by time. Then turning a 

 little to the right, 1 entered the diitrict 

 of Soleure, in order to fee a monument 

 in the village of Fraucnbrunneu, com- 

 memorating the victory gained by the 

 antient Bernele over the bands of the 

 Lord of Courcy. This monument is a 

 fimple pillar, with an infcription, now 

 inverted. Here, as well as in Grauen- 

 holz, in the fame route, I beheld a more 

 intereliing fpeftacle, in the tombs of the 

 patriots who peiifhed theie in 1793: for 

 thefe fields were witneflcs, after four cen- 

 turies and a ludf, to the defeat of the de- 

 fcendants of the Bernefe heroes, in fpite 

 of the obftinate rcliltance made by fonie 

 individuals. At Giauenholz, the Thermo- 

 pyla; of Berne, ]-vtlinger and May, both 

 old men, fell among other Swifs refufmg 

 quarter, and refoUing uot to furvive 

 their country's diigrace. At Fraucu- 

 brunnen I was flicwn the ijrave of Ni- 

 colaus Benedict, head peafant ol" that 

 place, who pciilhed fighting with his 

 daughters and fon-in-law. Here alfo relb 

 tlic aliies of Schirtenlicb, an old man of 

 fevcnty, who, though releafcd by age 

 from actual fervice, put himfelf at the 

 head of his company ; and after h:iving 

 ilood the firll attack, finding hinifclf in 

 the fecond alone, and almolt defcrted, 

 refufed to leave the field, and was in a 

 Jliort time cut to pieces by the enemy. 

 No lefs inagnanimous was the death of 

 Captain Gruber, of Kor.igsfelden, who 

 died fighting linglc-handcd agaiiill nuiU- 



AIoMHL^ Mao., Nw. 151. 



bers. Above thirty %vomen and girls had 

 marched out with the Icv'cc en maj[le, 

 armed with fpiked clubs, and fouod on 

 this fpot a glorious death. 



Li a few hours I reached the penin- 

 fula, formed by the Aar, on whicli Bern 

 Hands. Its entrance announces it to ba 

 an opulent, cleanly, and beautiful city. 

 Its principal llreet, which may vie with 

 any in the firfl cities of Europe, is verj 

 long and broad, well-built, and deco- 

 rated with flatues and fountains, from 

 which ilfue ftream.s of pure water. 



Bern, as the capital of Switzerland, 

 and the bafis of its confederacy, was -a 

 mark for the dcligniug invaders, whofa 

 caufe was but too well fupported by the 

 blind and infatuated Swifs, unable to 

 penetrate tlie fchemes of the artful Re- 

 publicans. The fall of Burn was a ne- 

 ceiiary prelude to that of Helvetia ; 

 which, as we have fiiice been told by 

 Carnot in the council of five hundred, 

 was projected with a view of obtnuting 

 its rich trealuries and arfenals. Although 

 the iliort-lighted multitufJe rejoiced in 

 the downfal of tliis powerful canton, un- 

 confcious that it would be fo quickly 

 fuccecded by their own, yet many indi- 

 viduals formed honourable exceptions, 

 and made a noble llruggle for their li- 

 berties. In the battle of the Sd of 

 March, near Lengnau, a ilandard-bearer 

 of the Oberlaud battalion, named Abra- 

 ham Gaffner, being feparated from his 

 comrades, and hard prelfed by fome of 

 the enemy, refolved on running every 

 rilk ratiier than full into 'heir hands with 

 his colours, and tlu^evv himfeif into tlie 

 woods of Jura by Soleure ; here he 

 remained all the night in the bittereft 

 cold, and was fo far fortunate the next 

 fiiOniing as to get over the Aar, and 

 reach his battalion in fat'ety, as they 

 were returning home from Bern. 



Another itandard-bearer, Peter Gluck, 

 after receiving a fevere wound ia his arm, 

 continued in the battle, and kept hi» 

 badiTCs of honour in his poii'eliion until 

 he reached () be rland in fafety. 



On the fame unhappy day the enemy 

 fiercely attacked the little town of Bii- 

 ren, in the canton of iiern, with in- 

 fantry and artillery : the tirll lieutenant, 

 His von Burgdorf, found means of di- 

 minilhing the fire in fome nieafure by 

 planting a heavy hx-pauudor hchmd a 

 dunghill, and taking fuch good aim with 

 a cfiarge of cartridges, as at ttic firfl 

 fliot to kill or wound eight of tlie artil- 

 lery men (landmg by their can. on o|)- 

 poiite to him. Wit'l this fingie piece he 

 3 X coiuiuued 



