BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 89 



singing festival. The choruses were admirably sung, notably 

 by the societies from the village of Diesbach; the men tak- 

 ing part were from all the village classes. Their faces were 

 earnest; many looked intelligent; but a serious expression 

 hardened by toil had sapped the life of inspiration. It was 

 as if the soul's spontaneity had been crushed by labor. It was 

 an affecting sight to see this number (400) from all these lit- 

 tle far-away mountain villages, giving themselves up to the 

 influences of music. I felt my heart going out to humanity 

 in sympathy and with ardor. The thought again .returned, 

 when all the promises or creeds are found void, and human- 

 ity is left alone without perhaps even the possibility of attain- 

 ing religion's ideals, what utter misery and despair 1 Cannot 

 those who have already passed through religious and many 

 other silenced ideals do something to lessen the anguish of 

 their poor, bleeding hearts ? Yes, it is a noble ideal to do some- 

 thing to assist this coming pang. The inscriptions on the vil- 

 lage tomb tablets, assuring the toilers on earth that the poor 

 soul is safe in heaven's peace, stand like mocking forms." 



Two days later she went up the Sernfthal to Elms. She says : 

 " A beautiful, clear day; drive romantic; village inn (Elmer's) 

 very clean and so situated as to get a good view of Martin's 

 Loch a round hole in the Tschingelhorner, through which 

 the sun shines only twice a year on the village church spire. 

 It is a wild region, hemmed in by snow mountains, with 

 their saw-edged rugged piles of stone. The spirit of the ter- 

 rible landslide of 1881 hung around the spot. Under some 

 circumstances, how profitable would the spot and scenery have 

 proved for inspiration, the valley of approach passing through 

 Engi and Matt, sombre at times, again opening out to the 

 sunshine, with green fields spreading before the eyes, all in- 

 viting to meditation; but alas the soul-communion with 

 nature was disturbed by inharmonic influences. The breeze 

 blew strong from the west, and brought messages, interrupted, 

 but none the less real, from those that never fail to inspire. 

 The excursion, from the negative thoughts, longings for more 

 complete companionship, and the reflections on the disaster 

 of '8 1, was still a profitable one." 



