1807. J Letters on the present State of Sxisitzerland. 



t!*c ruins of an old calllo. The villas;c of 

 tiiat urtinc is lltiuitcd ut the foot of tlie 

 (jemnii, whicii 1 iifceiidcfi by a narrow 

 and diuigenius p;it!i on tlie brink of prt-- 

 cipicts. Snice tire revolution this pal- 

 )'an,c has been rendered iel's diliicult, by 

 llie coi;ftant pulling and lepafling of men 

 :uid iiorles. 



The road which Bern, in roncert with 

 the V'alais, had made here by the means of 

 ])o\vder through tlie perpendicular rocks, 

 is one of the gieateft curiofities in Suitz- 

 erlaiid, and does honoin- to the boldnefs 

 of human ingenuity. The road is acln- 

 :iJiy hoUowctl into the rock, which is fo 

 perpendicular that you cannot trace it 

 to the bottom with the eye. Defccnd- 

 ing by this road, I anived, in an hoiu- 

 and a half, at the baths of Lcuck, which 

 liave enjoyed fo high a reputation, and 

 iu'e the refort for lo many lick people. 

 Bad inns, great refervoirs ^vhere the 

 lick bathe all togctlier, and hot lireams 

 running in great numbers into the valley, 

 arc the only things I noticed. One lin- 

 gular propel ty was, however, pomted 

 out to me in thcfe fprinsis : namely, that 

 vegetables, greens, herbs, and llowers 

 a! molt withered away, will recover their 

 fi'cilmefs after remaining an hour in wa- 

 ters hot enough, as one niight I'uppol'c, 

 to boil thein. On arriving at the town 

 of Leuck, I was lliewn ;;u aqueduct iu'i- 

 jjcnded above the roaii, formi^d of the 

 tiunks of trees, and lupported by bars 

 of iron againli; the lidcs of tl;e perpen- 

 dicular rock. It is now ui'cd by the in- 

 habitants as a footpath, InTiig a nearer 

 way than the ordinary one. I'aHing 

 along the . delightful banks of a river,, 

 that waters a fruitful country abounding 

 in vines, lig-trccs, and every ricii fruit. 

 I arrived in Brieg, the molt coalidendile 

 place in the country iuound, »\here many 

 traces of the earthr|uake of LilLon are ftill 

 viiible. The tlioek was lo powerfully 

 I'elt in the mountains of Scmplon, that 

 even the vultures Hew from their nells, 

 tJie herds left the acclivities, and the 

 mountains were conculfeO into ruins. 



'l"he diflricts of, Brieg and l.euk (as, 

 in fact, the principal part of live Pays 

 de Vaud) is the country that luftcrcd 

 the nu)(f, materially during the invaiion 

 of 17L>o. Between l^iieg and Scmplon 

 iiiore than -100 biiildnigs were burnt, 

 and in the diftriiit of Leuk 371. Tlie 

 track of land, from .'^empione as far as 

 Sitten, was witnefs to indelcribable hor- 

 rors. [ii the beautiful town of Sitten, 

 thed'fpcratc inhabitants contcndc'd with 

 tliujr c'iicujics, like the Swifb at Zurich 



r,Ti' 



and UiidcTwaldeii. Three oW h'fr^," 

 romantically tltuated on the three pin-' 

 naclcs of the nionntains, wem again the 

 theatre of v.ar.and bloodllicd, as in the' 

 times of feudal revolutions. Plunder- . 

 ings for weeks together, requ^fitmns of 

 every kind, the demolition of houfcs in 

 order to iiiid cimcealed property, difcafe 

 among the cattle, famine and death 

 among men, — thefe were tlie principal 

 features in the Ihockins pictnre which"' 

 this country prefented, while opprelVed by 

 an external and internal war, that has left' 

 the lecds of the bittercit iiatred in tlie 

 minds of the furfivors. I every where met 

 with the widows and orphans of f;uni- 

 lies either (lain or ihii-ved, or othcrwife 

 ruined; and liftencd to their lamentations 

 with the deepelt furrow. One eonfo- 

 lation only remained for the unhappy 

 furterers, that they whom they mourned 

 had dieij, not as traitors and cowards, 

 but nioltly like men honorably lighting 

 for their paternal hearths. 



Va.lais, formerly attached to the can- 

 ton of Bern by conqueft, and afterwards 

 conciliated to it by milil treatment, is 

 now an independent republic ; but not, 

 as may be fairly conchidcd, from the 

 will of the majority. The country peo- 

 ple were Iteady in their adherence to the 

 (^Id Bern government; and m 1798, the 

 faithful legion of lioverca, ns it was 

 called, conlilled of nothing but inhabi- 

 tants from the I'ays de \'aud. A great 

 number of tliefe people are liill animated 

 with thefe feelings, whillt a different Ipi- 

 rit rei'jns in the cities and among the 

 Seigneurs; who, in fact, were the prin- 

 cijial authors of the luifery to which the 

 countrv has been reduced. U'lic Ih-ti-^le 

 of tliei'e faithful fubjeets wasj for a lou^ 

 time, as fueeelsfid as it was honourable, 

 'i'lie victory by Ncueneck, where a hand- 

 ful of the Bern militia repultod the molt 

 experienced and valiant troops, evince 

 what might have been clVected with vi- 

 gour and conlilienc7 ou the part of the 

 government. But wavcu'ing councils, 

 timid ileliberations, and coMtiiuiictory 

 commands, in a moment when action, 

 the molt intrepid action, could r^lone 

 tinn the fcalc, were Calculated to wean 

 the yll'cctions of the |>eople, and con- 

 liruiid the report induliiioully circubifcd 

 by their enemies, that they were betray- 

 ed by their own governnu-nt llcnec 

 the alrocities committed on (jciiera! Kr- 

 lach, and the four colonels, Stcitlcr, 

 Bophiuer, Gumoens, and (jufui/, who 

 fvll by the arms of their <wu iijidiers 

 lor a fuppofed treachery : the Krlb two 

 ;5 X a wore 



