594 Bijhop _ B u R N E T ^ Traveh Book IL 
iiot made, except upon great Occafions, which are not 
often given, fo it being the general Intereft of the Citi- 
zens of Ben to make all poffible Advantages of thofe 
Employments, the Cenfure will be but gentle, except 
the Complaint is very crying. 
In Bern there is very little Trade, only what is necef- 
fary for the Support of the Town, They maintain 
Profeffors in the Univerfities of Bern and Laufanne^, 
the one for the German Territory, which is the ancient 
Canton, and the other for the new Conqueft, which is 
the French : In the former there are about three hundred 
Parifhes ; in the latter there are about one hundred and 
fifty ‘ But in the Benefices of the German Side, the an- 
cient Rights of the Incumbents are generally preferved 
fo, that fome Benefices are worth a thoufand Crowns ; 
whereas in the Pais de Valid the Provifions are fet off as 
Salaries, and are generally from one hundred to two 
hundred Crowns. It is vifible that thofe of Bern trufb 
more to the Affeftions and Fidelity of their Subjedls, 
than to the Strength of their Walls ; for as they have 
never finifh’d them, fo what is built cannot be efteem’d 
a regular Fortification ; and is not preferv’d with any 
Care, nor furnifh’d with Cannon ; but if they have 
none on their Ramparts, they have Abundance in their 
Arfenal, in which, they fay, there are Arms for forty 
thoufand Men. 
The Peafants are generally rich, chiefly on the Ger- 
man Side, and are ail well armed. They pay no Du- 
ties to the Publick, and the Soil is capable of great 
Improvements ; in which they fucceed fo well, that I was 
fhewed fome that were by Accident at Bern^ who, as I 
was told, had Efiates to the Value of an hundred thou- 
fand Crowns, but that is not ordinary ; yet ten thoufand 
Crowns for a Peafant is no extraordinary Matter. They 
jive much on their Milk and Corn, which in fome 
Places, as about Payern, yields an Encreafe of fifteen 
for one. They breed many Horfes, which bring them 
in a great deal of Money. The word Thing in the 
Country is the Moifture of the Air, which is occafioned 
by the many Lakes that are in it, and by the neigh- 
bouring Mountains that are cover’d with Snow, fome 
all the Summer long, and the reft till Midfummer, alfo 
by the vaft Quantity of Fir-trees, which feem to fill very 
near the Half of their Soil : And if thefe were for the 
moft Part rooted out, as they would have much more 
Soil, fo their Air would be purer ; yet, till they find 
either Coal or Turf for their Fuel, this cannot be done, 
I was told that they had found Coal in fome Places ; if 
this Cpal is conveniently fituated, fo that by their Lakes 
and Rivers it may be eafily carried over the Country, 
it may fave them a great Extent of Ground, now co- 
ver’d with Wood, and their Air become thereby the 
more clear and the more wholefome. 
They have fome Fountains of Salt Water, but the 
making Salt confumes fo much Wood, that hitherto it 
has not turn’d to Account. 
The Men are generally fincere, but heavy ; They 
think it neceffary to corredl the Moifture of the Air 
with liberal Entertainments ; and they are well fur- 
nifh’d with all neceffary Ingredients ; for as their Soil 
produces good Cattle, fo their Lakes abound in excel- 
lent Fifh, and their Woods in Fowl 5 the Wine is alfo 
light and good. The Women are generally employ’d 
in their domeftick Affairs ; and the Wives, even of the 
chief Magiftrates of Bern, look into all the Concerns 
of the Houfe and Kitchen, as much as thofe of the 
meaneft Peafants. Men and Women do not generally 
converfe together ; and the Women are fo much amu- 
fed with the Management at home, and enter fo little 
into Affairs, that among them, as an eminent Phyfician 
told me, they know not what Vapours are, which he 
imputed to the Idlenefs and the Intrigues that abound 
elfewhere j whereas, he faid, with them the Blood was 
cleanfed by their Labour ; and as that made them fleep 
well, fo they did not amufe themfelves with- much 
Thinking, nor did they know what Amours were. The 
third Adultery is punifh’d with Death ; which is alfo 
the Punifhment of the fifth Aft of Fornication, of 
which I faw an Inftance while I was in Bern : For a 
Woman, who confef&’d herfelf guilty of many Whore- 
doms, and defign’d to be revenged on fome Men that 
did not furnifn her with Money as ftie expeefted, was 
upon that condemned and executed. The Manner was 
folemn ; for the Advoyer comes into a Place prepared 
in the Middle of the Street, and for the Satisfaftion 
of the People, the whole Procefs is read, and Sentence 
pronounced in the Hearing of all •, the Counfellors 
both of the great and lefter Council, ftanding about the 
Advoyer, who, after Sentence, took the Criminal very 
gently by the Hand, and pray’d for her Soul ; and af- 
ter Execution there was a Sermon for the Inflriidtion of 
the People. 
4. The whole State is difeiplined for War ; for every 
Man that can bear Arms is lifted, and knows his Poll 
and Arms ; and there are Beacons fo laid over the 
Country, that the Signal can run through the whole 
Canton in a Night ; and their military Lifts are fo laid, 
that every Man knows whether he is to come out upon 
the firft or fecond, or not till the general Summons. 
They affured me at Bern, that, upon a general Sum- 
mons, they could bring above eighty thoufand Men 
together. Thefe Men are robuft and ftrong, and ca- 
pable of great Hardftiip, and of good Difcipline, and 
have generally an eager and quick Senfe of Liberty, 
and a great Love to their Country ; but they labour 
under a Want of Officers. And though the Subjedls 
of the State are rich, yet the Publick is poor ; they can 
well refift a hidden Invafion of their Country, but they 
would fbon grow weary of a long War ; and the Soil 
requires fo much Cultivation, that they could not Ipare 
from their Labour the Men neceffiary to preferve their 
Country. They were, indeed, happy as a People 
could be, when the Emperor had Alface on the one 
hand, and the Spaniards had the Franche Comte on the 
other : They had then no Reafon to fear their Neigh- 
bours ; but now that both thofe Provinces are in the 
Hands of the French, the Cafe is quite alter’d ; for as 
Baftl is every Moment in Danger from the Garrifon of 
Hunningen, that is but a Cannon-fhot diftant from it; 
fo all the Pais de Vaud lies open to the Franche 
Comte, and has neither fortified Places nor good Pafies 
to fecure it. Their Error therefore in fuffering this to 
fall into the Hands of the French was fo grofs, that I 
took fome Pains to be informed concerning it, and 
will give you this Account that I had from one who 
was then in a very eminent Poft ; fo that as he cer- 
tainly knev,^ the Secret, he feemed to fpeak fincerely 
to me. He told me, that the Duke of Lorrain had 
often moved in the Councils of War, that the Inva- 
fion of France ought to be made on that Side in which 
France lay open, and was very ill fortified. This he re- 
peated often, and it was known in France ; fo that the 
King refolved to poffefs himfelf of the Comte, but ufed 
that Precaution, that fearing to provoke Bxt Switzers^ 
he offered a Neutrality on that Side ; But the Spaniards 
who judged right, that it was as much the Intereft of 
the Cantons, as it w'as theirs, to preferve the Comte in 
their Hands, refufed to confent to it ; but they took 
no Care to' defend it, and feem’d, for that Reafon, to 
leave that' to the Switzers. 
In the mean while, the French Money went about 
very liberally at Bern *, and after thofe that were moft 
likely to make Oppofition were gain’d, the French Mi- 
nifter laid before them the Neceffity in which his Mafter 
found himfelf to fecure that Side ; but that ftill he 
would grant a Neutrality on their Account, if the Spa- 
niards would agree to it ; and with this, all the Af- 
furances that could be given in Words were offered to 
them, that they ftiould never find the leaff Prejudice 
from the Neighbourhood of the French, but, on the 
contrary, all poffible Protedlion. There was juft Caufe 
given by the Spaniards to confider them very little in 
their Deliberation ; for they would neither accept of the 
Neutrality, nor fend a confiderable Force to preferve 
the Country, fo that it feemed almoft inevitable to give 
Way to the French Propofition. But one propofed that 
which an unbiafs’d Afiembiy would certainly have ac- 
cepted, that they ftiould themfeh'es feize th^ Country, 
and by fo doing fecure the Neutrality, which was ail 
that the French pretended to defire ; and they might 
