464. 



THE LIVING RACES OF MANKIND 



Vaud has been called the paradise of peasant-proprietors, and here the agricultural Swiss may 

 perhaps be seen at their best. In contrast with their French neighbours the Vaudois are 

 thrifty and intelligent in their husbandry. Their cottages are not only picturesque, but 

 scrupulously clean. They supplement the living they obtain from the soil by such industries 

 as clock- and watch-making. In this business they have shown their extraordinary aptitude for 

 delicate and minute workmanship. In La Vallee, the centre of the industry, the inhabitants 

 are said to have taken to this employment on account of the hard winters and short summers, 

 which made a purely agricultural life rather precarious. Agriculture, which can alone be carried 

 on in the valleys, is not sufficient to support the whole community; and even with the rapid 

 growth of their commercial industries the Swiss are obliged to go abroad in large numbers 

 and look for employment in other countries. As servants, couriers, hotel-keepers, and waiters, 

 they are found in nearly every great city of Europe and America. In the summer months 

 the country is invaded by a large army of tourists, who contribute largely to the support of 

 the people. In spite, however, of their financial difficulties the Swiss are free from pauperism 

 as it is known in England. They set a good example to the rest of the world by assisting 

 each other in times of distress. Every commune has its fund out of which the children of 

 parents who have died have their education paid for, and the old folk who are past working 

 are maintained from the same source. The smallness of the commune makes it easier for 

 public opinion to enforce a high standard of self-respect. 



Each canton has its own manners and its own institutions. Taken as a whole the Swiss 

 are undoubtedly democratic. As in Greece, there are no hereditary titles, and the only trace 

 of anything approaching to an aristocratic state is to be found in the canton of Bern. Here 

 many of the citizens are descended from the lords of Bern who ruled that republic in former 

 days with the majesty of the doges and princes of Venice and Florence. These are held by 

 their less illustrious brethren in great honour. But although a democratic people, the Swiss 

 are conservative in clinging to old customs. The little commune of Gersau, now incorporated 

 in the canton of Schwytz (from which Switzerland takes its name), was at one time an 



Photo by G. So 



THE " TARANTEI.LE " IN NAPLES 



