492 



SWITZERLAND. 



The diet, which is composed of tbe representatives 

 of the cantons, and which manages such uflkirs of, 

 the confederacy as are committed to it by the 

 M>\criMgn canting (such as the declaring of war and 

 making of peace, the concluding of commercial and j 

 other treaties with foreign states, the regulation of | 

 the federal army, &c.), held every two years, alter- 

 nately at ZQrich, Berne, and Lucerne, which are 

 railed the directing cantons (uororte). The Sc/nil- 

 theiss, or governor of the directing canton in which j 

 i lir M'ssion is held, then takes the name of Landam- 

 tii'iini of Switzerland. Each canton has one vote ! 

 in tbe diet. Military capitulations, and treaties on 

 subjects of police and economical regulation, may 

 be entered into by the separate cantons with 

 foreign states ; but not without the knowledge of I 

 the diet. The revenue of the confederacy, arising I 

 from the contingents of the cantons, is about j 

 450,000. The public debt, fixed by the congress 

 of Vienna, in 1814, at 3,118,330 Swiss francs, has 

 been cancelled by the interest accruing, from 1798 

 to 1814, on the capital (200,000 sterling, and 

 100,000 sterling) invested by the cantons of 

 Berne and Zurich in the bank of England. The 

 property of this sum is, however, reserved to the 

 two cantons, and also the interest accruing since 

 1815. The federal army was fixed (August 5, 

 1816) at 67,516 men, of which half is a reserve. 

 In 1819, an artillery school, or scientific and prac- 

 tical military academy, was established at Thun, 

 by the confederacy; and, in 1820, the first camp 

 for military practice was held at Wohlen. Each 

 canton is governed by its own laws, and the govern- 

 ment is administered by a great council, which 

 holds the legislative power, and the small council, 

 which holds the executive, or by the Landesgc- 

 meinde (or general assembly of citizens), and the 

 Landrath (an executive council). In Uri, Schweitz, 

 Underwalden, Zug, Glarus, Schaffhausen, Appen- 

 zell (Inner and Outer Rhodes), St Gall, Grisons, 

 Aargau, Thurgau, Ticino, Pays de Vaud, Valais, 

 and Geneva, the constitutions are democratic; in 

 the remaining cantons, they are of a mixed aristo- 

 cratic and democratic character. Neufchatel has a 

 monarchical government, with estates. 



The literature of Switzerland is a branch of the 

 German; thatof Geneva, the PaysdeVaudand Neuf- 

 chatel, of the French. There is a university at Basle, 

 and the academies of Berne and Zurich have scientific 

 collections. At Lucerne, Winterthur, Zopfingen, 

 and other cities, there are libraries, and cabinets of 

 natural and artificial curiosities. Several learned 

 societies, particularly those for natural history, are 

 distinguished for activity and zeal. The school of 

 Pestalbzzi (q. v.) at Yverdun, and the agricultural 

 institute of Fellenberg (q. v.) at Hofwyl, are cele- 

 brated. In 1824, appeared at Zurich Kritischc An- 

 zeigen der Schweizerischen Literatur (Critical No- 

 tices of Swiss Literature), containing a notice of 

 the best works printed in and concerning Switzer- 

 land, and of the labours of Swiss literati abroad. 

 The history of Switzerland by John von Mtiller is 

 a classical work; it has been continued by Glutz- 

 Blotzheim to the perpetual peace with France in 

 1516. His valuable labours were interrupted by 

 an early death. Balthasar's Helvetia, oder Denk- 

 wurdigkeiten fur die 22 Freistaaten der Schweizer- 

 ischen Eidgenossenschaft (Helvetia, or Memoirs of 

 the 22 Republics of the Swiss confederacy, 1st vol., 

 Zurich, -1823), may be joined with it. Zschokke's 

 History of the Swiss Nation (in German, Aarau, 

 1822 ; French by Monnier) is a masterly work. 



Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopedia contains a short his- 

 tory of Switzerland. Itaoul-Rochette's Histoire de 

 la Revolution Jlr/r.'titjue de 17981803 (Paris, 

 1823) is less accurate and impartial than Zschokkc's 

 Historical Memoirs of the Helvetic Revolution. 

 On the ancient history of the country, see Hallcr'- 

 Historical and Topographical Account of Helvetia 

 under the Romans (2 vols., 3d edit., Berne, 1H18). 

 On Swiss public law, Usteri's Manual is valuable 

 (2d edit., Aarau, 1821); also the Helvetic Al- 

 manac, and Picot's Statistique de la Suisse (Geneva, 

 1819). Lutz's Complete Description of Switzer- 

 land (in German, alphabetically arranged, 'Jd edit., 

 Aarau, 1827, 3 vols.), is a valuable work. Sec the 

 separate articles, Basle, Berne, Geneva, Lu< 

 Neufcliatel, Chaux dc Fonds, Zurich, &c. 



Travels in Switzerland. This beautiful country 

 is so much visited, that it may, perhaps, be accept- 

 able to our readers to have a tew of the best guide- 

 books pointed out, and a few directions given for 

 the traveller. Ebel's Guide to the most useful 

 and pleasant Way of Travelling in Switzerland (3d 

 ed., ZQrich, 1810, 4 vols., in German) is the best 

 companion. It embraces all Switzerland. The 

 abridgments which have appeared in Geneva and 

 Paris are not satisfactory. Reichard's Guide des 

 Voyageurs en Italic et en Suisse (Weimar, 1819); 

 also Glutz-Blotzheim's Manual for Travellers in 

 Switzerland (in German, 5th ed., Zurich, 1823) ; 

 the Nouveau Guide des Voyageurs dans les XX.11 

 Cantons Suisses, traduit d'un Manuscrit Allemund 

 du Professor H. par R. W.; Simond's Tour in 

 Switzerland; and Dr William Beattie's Switzer- 

 land, with illustrations by W. H. Bartlctt, Esq., 

 deserve to be mentioned. Coxe's Travels describe 

 the state of the country before the French revolu 

 tion. The late numbers of the Helvetic Almanac 

 afford an accurate view of the statistics of the dif- 

 ferent cantons. Of works relating to particular 

 parts of Switzerland, the best are Ebel's Descrip- 

 tion of the Mountaineers of Switzerland (Tub., 

 17981802, 2 vols.), and, above all, Travels in 

 the Bernese Oberland, by J. R. Wyss (Berne, 1816, 

 2 vols.), with excellent maps. The same region is 

 described in Voyage pittoresque d J Oberland, accom- 

 pagnc de Notices historiques et topographiques (Paris 

 and Strasburg, 1812). Of the maps of all Switzer- 

 land, that pubh'shed by Keller and Scheuermann 

 (Zurich, 1815 and 1819) is particularly worthy of 

 attention. The great atlas of Weiss embraces 

 only a part of Switzerland. For the use of natu- 

 ralists, we mention Manuel d'Herboriser en Suisse 

 et en Valais, rcdige selon le Systeme de Linnt (Win- 

 terthur, 1811); and Precis d'un Voi/aye botanique 

 fait en 1811 par Villars, Lauth ct Ncstler (Paris, 

 1812.) For travelling in Switzerland, the months 

 of July, August, and September afford the most 

 settled weather. The most delightful season is in 

 September, and often even in October, when the 

 shores of the lakes of. Geneva, Neufchatel, and 

 Bienne, and the charming scenes in the Pays de 

 Vaud, enchant the visitor. The beginning of 

 summer, and even the close of spring, are often 

 equally favourable. The Alpine meadows, which 

 are then decked with the most beautiful and rarest 

 flowers, delight the eye, and afford rich stores to 

 the botanist. The curious atmospheric phenomena, 

 which are frequently seen, and on elevated moun- 

 tains, even below the spectator, afford a new and 

 sublime spectacle. The mild warmth, and the long 

 days, render travelling, at this period, peculiarly 

 pleasing. May, however, is commonly more beauti- 



