724 



SWITZERLAND. 



" And as a child, when scaring sounds molest, 

 Clings close and closer to the mother's breast; 

 So the loud torrent and the whirlwind's roar, 

 But bind him to his native mountains more." 



The Swiss have a quiet temperament, and mediocrity of genius. The country has produc- 

 ed few men distinguished for genius ; though collectively the 

 people have performed great achievements. They have nothing 

 of the melancholic, poetic character, that distinguishes the 

 Highlanders of Scotland, or their Italian neighbors on the other 

 side of the Alps. They are moral, faithful, industrious, and 

 brave, and they are the only people in Europe, who have habit- 

 ually served as mercenaries in foreign armies. But in every 

 service they have proved their courage and fidelity. They re- 

 tain much of their pastoral simplicity, and may be characterized 

 as a race of heroic husbandmen, worthy to be the countrymen 

 of Tell. They are familiar with the use of arms, and there is 

 a law that no one shall be married, who has not arms, uniform, 

 and equipments. 



At Geneva, the mode of life is extremely social. The soirees 

 are constant, from November till spring. The ladies go to them 

 on foot, preceded by a servant with a lantern, for there are few 

 carriages or sedans at Geneva. These meetings resemble family assemblages, in their freedom 

 from the constraints imposed by etiquette. A stranger is struck with the affectionate terms by 

 which women of all ages address each other, such as mon cceurj ma mignonne, mon ange. 

 These come from the influence of certain " Sunday Societies," in v\'hich children meet at 

 their parents' houses, where they are left to themselves, and have a light supper of fruit, pastry, 

 &Q. The friendships thus formed endure through life, and the youthful expressions of fondness 

 are never dropped. 



At Zurich there is less social visiting. The men are inveterate smokers, and have their own 

 meetings, in an atmosphere of smoke, that no female could endure. In the canton of Berne 

 there is a custom of Saturday night visiting among young people, somewhat resembling a prac- 

 tice unjustly attributed to New England. Young men who are there engaged in agricultural la- 

 bors, have little time for visiting but on Saturday nights. The young women, who generally 

 expect company on that night, are seated at the windows neatly dressed, and they answer the 

 form of salutation, which is in verse, by another verse, either in the affirmative or the negative. 

 The visiter, if not repulsed at this stage of the siege, climbs up to the window of an upper 

 story, on certain projections of the wooden houses, where he sits a while, and further parley is 

 held, when he takes some refreshment, generally cherry-brandy and gingerbread. Sometimes 

 the visiter advances no further than the window, but often he is admitted to the chamber. This 

 proceeding is so open to observation, that it loses some of its indehcacy, while it subjects the 

 accepted swain on his late return, to the cudgels of his less fortunate rivals. For this reason, 

 young men frequently escort one another, on such occasions. 



14. .Amusements. Hunting the chamois is perhaps rather an employment than an amusement 

 in Switzerland ; for many pursue it constantly. The pursuit, though enticing and fascinating, 

 is full of danger, and few hunters attain to age, or receive Christian burial. They go to the 

 mountains and never return ; being crushed by falling ice or stones, or mangled by a fall into 

 some covered gap, or from some giddy and slippery precipice. The hunter must have steadi- 

 ness of nerve, hardihood, and contempt of death. He must climb icy barriers, where a shp 

 of hand or foot would precipitate him down a fathomless abyss, or stand in a gale upon a pin- 

 nacle of a rock, with the confidence of the chamois itself, where, as Gray said, a goat may 

 "dance and scratch an ear with its hind foot, in a place where I could not have stood still for 

 all beneath the moon." 



The chamois is a timid and sagacious animal ; the hunter creeps toward a flock, with his 

 shirt over his clothes, and lies motionless in the snow, for half an hour, if the herd appear 

 alarmed. At the distance of about 250 steps, he aims at the darkest coat, which generally in- 

 dicates the fattest animal. Accustomed to the detonations of the mountains, the chamois some- 

 times stand a second shot, if they do not see the smoke, or scent the powder. The other 

 amusements of the Swiss are dancing, and the sports and games common in Europe. 



Swiss. 



