270. ANNUAL REGISTER, m4. 



halUaiitSi from Gray's Tour 

 througii Germany. 



ZURICH is charmingly situated 

 on the river T/imniat, where 

 h runs from the lake. I'he town 

 has no streets that are regular or 

 well built : the suburbs, towards 

 the lake, are improved by some 

 modern buildings; the environs 

 are very beautil'ul, and the banks 

 of the lake and tiie Limmat areco- 

 vered with houses, many of which 

 are tiie country seats of the gentle- 

 men of Zurich • these derive their 

 chief beauty from their situation ; 

 Iiavingnothingthat corre ponds with 

 our pleasure- garden ; the Swiss, 

 who, on every side, behold the bold 

 and magnilicent features of nature, 

 seem to despise the minute andarti^ 

 filial ornaments by which we mimic 

 her works. 



Though the town has no build- 

 ings distinguished for their beduty 

 of architecture, it has every edifice 

 of importance to the welfare of the 

 people. The town-house is large 

 and commodious ; the granary is 

 well conducted, and, in times of 

 sc3rciiy,allcviatesthepublicdi9tress: 

 the arsenal, where, among the an- 

 cient armour, is preserved, as a va- 

 luable monument of liberty, Wil- 

 liam TelFs cross-bow, seems to be 

 well provided with arms; Les Or- 

 phelines, a charitable institution 

 for the children of the citizens, and 

 which contains from eighty to one 

 hundred, who are instructed, and, 

 at htie^n, are apprenticed to dif- 

 ferent trades, is well supportetl. 

 The Swiss have neither the inclina- 

 tion or the power to spend money 

 in sapcrfluous edifices. Their pri- 

 vate liuUses are furnished with sim- 

 plicity, and veiy liulc ornament : 



their caraiages are for coiivenience> 

 and chiefly open ; their possessor* 

 are not permitted to use them in 

 town ; their sci'vanls seldom wear 

 liveries; and there is but little ap- 

 pearanceof thoserefinements which 

 are too often the indication of cor- 

 ruption of manners. The dress of 

 the highef ranks is extremely plain ; 

 black is the full dress; and the men, 

 who are in any department of go- 

 vernment, wear swords. The dress 

 of the women is unbecoming ; on 

 Sundays they Wear black in the 

 morning, and colours in the even- 

 ing : the hair is dressed in the 

 French and English fashion, but 

 with a loose and ill-shaped negli- 

 gence, appearing what is vulgarly 

 called blowzy ; their shapes are not 

 advantageously displayed, nor do 

 they exhibit any of that flowing 

 and graceful drapery which gives 

 to the lengthened and picturesque, 

 forms of Reynolds and Bunbury, 

 the elegance of the Grecian figure : 

 their squat and urfeminine mon- 

 sters of shoes seemmanufacturedfor 

 downright walking, not to bend 

 with supple pliancy in the dance, 

 or to draw attention in the suc- 

 cession of the well-directed steps. 

 Thestrangcrs who resort here begin 

 to sap a little the simplicity of 

 manners which prevails, by the in- 

 troduction of foreign luxuries ; they 

 intermix indeed, but seldom, with 

 thenatives in convivial intercourse ; 

 but the sight of luxury is infectious, 

 and the genius of the people of 

 Zurich yields to the contagion. 

 Heidegger, the famous arbiter ele- 

 gantiarum, formanyyears, in Eng- 

 land, was the son of a clergyman 

 at Zurich ; and no man ever pre- 

 .sided with greater spirit in the cir- 

 cles of dissipation, or pushed the 



' reveJj 



