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A RAMBLE IN SWITZERLAND.

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A RAMBLE IN SWITZERLAND. (By our London Correspondent) Having been in that state of mind with which a used- up traveller, spoken of by the late lamented Albert Smith, of facetious memory, was afflicted-the said traveller being uncertain whether he should go to Algiers or Rlmsgate-I decide on going to neither, but to Switzerland. But this frame of mind is certainly not produced by having been everywhere and seen everything, but rather from the difficulty of seeing something frefsh-to me-in a very brief holiday. Allow me to ask the reader to accompany me. He (of course my companion must be of the masculine gender) need but bring money, a knapsack, and a walking stick for we will pedestrianise as much as may be agreeable—perhaps more—and will not promise to keep to a beaten track of railways and diligences. I cannot offer the reader much instruction I will not bore him with bard, dry facts, nor persecute him with statistics, which are so useful for argument, but for nothing else I cannot promise to be his guide, philo- sopher, and friend but, hoping that I may not prove a thoroughly tedious companion, I merely ask him to read my impressions de voyage, as a solitary rambler, and it may be that one out of many may perchance decide to go and do likewise-and very likely won't do it even if he so decide. Having epent a day in Paris, where I have been requently before, and still will go, some other day, if Fortune smiles, I go by railway to Basle. A pros- perous thriving city it is, and the beauties of nature are evidently not marred, as they are in many places, by the miserable poverty with which people so favoured by natural advantages have to contend. Basle is, in many respects, the chief city in Switzerland the most commercial, the most important, the most political. It is beautifully situated on both sides of the Rbiae. There are great differences observable in various parts of the city; in the newer parts refinement and luxury, or, in other words, high-pressure civilisation in the older parts, laborious industry and harder fare but nowhere are there observable those signs of destitution which are, unhappily, so common in England. What- ever else I may miss, I always like to go to the Cathe- dral, and that of Basle is well worth a visit. Jt may not be regarded as very beautiful-certainly I have seen many far more beautiful-but then it is very ancient and picturesque. It was commenced, they say. in the year 1010, or rather a cathedral that stood here was begun at that time, and some marvellously grotesque figures are pointed out that are some seven or eight centuries old. Like most oil cathedrals, it has two histories, as it were, and the first history (or rather tradition) of Basle Cathedral comes down to an earth- quake, which destroyed great part of the ancient edifice but even the second history dates back for three centuries. There are some splendid views about Basle. The view of the town itself from the rrincipal bridge is a very charming one, but commend me to the extensive command of scenery that you obtain from the Pfalz, or place, which is 80 feet above the Rhine, and which is beautifully laid out with chesnut trees. From this high plateau you have a lovely view of the Rhine and of part of the Black Forest. As I have no inten- tion to serve as a guide to the reader, I will only say that there are plenty of good hotels in Basle, as, indeed, there are in most other towns in Switzerland, the only difficulty being that you usually find out when too late whether such and such an hotel is good, bad, or indii- ferent and there need be no bother, under ordinary circumstances, because you can speak neither French nor German. The Swiss shame us in the matter of language, and at nearly all the hotels some waiter or other speaks English enough to prevent his charging you twice. It is strange how words long familiar to you echo and re-echo in your mind as it were when you find yourself, after long years, in a position identified with those words. By the margin of fair Zurich's waters were the words which recurred to me again and again, in mental connection with an old familiar tune, when I first stood by the lake of Zurich. And Zurich is deservedly called fair, whether allusion be made to the town or the canton. The town, if not beautiful as a whole, is charmingly picturesque in parts, and every- »Wre presents signs of business activity, contentment, and prosp««^yj though it needscareelyloe adaed that an 0-ide observer -it were, can form a very inadequate idea ot the center foment of a people. The dwellers in and about Zurich :'av; at all events, no reason to be dijra'iided with itf r natural position and or Heir political and social laws. The lake of Zurich is with habitations of all classes, and Embody can say by looking about l irq where t!d' town begins or ends ) but po matter; all ir picturesque and benuti- ful, especially to a rare oar who h. been chiefly accustomed to the comparatively dreary and dull citics i of England. I confess I fvlt rather glad that there were no objects of remarkable interest in Zurich, such as one feels he must see, but the cathedral ought to be visited if only because it was here that Zuinglius, the celebrated Reformer, preached and there are some museums, whfre you may, if a lover of antiquity, revel in the remains of distant ages. But for my own part I would rather take a ramble on the Katz bastion and in the Botanical Gardens. This is an elevated promenade, and a favourite alike with visitors and denizens. From it you can see, afar off, the Alps and if this be your first view, as will be probable enough, you will become sentimental accordingly. If you be a lover of the picturesque you may spend hours about here, the views are so varied, and the h.ke and the town appear under such varied aspects through the changes of light or of weather; but they are always interesting. The trip by rail from Zurich to Schaffhausen is a very agreeable one, and a strangely picturesque little town is this same Schaffhausen. It is noted for its marvellous old houses, with oriel windows and anti- quated carvings and ornaments. Here and there you may see some fresco paintings on the walls, but they are more curious than beautiful. The whole town will well repay you for a long ramble about it, noting the antiquities and curiosities of the place. You can to a great extent read the history of the town on the walls oil its houses. Or if you prefer the beauties of nature to the memorials of antiquity (though nature's handi- work is after all infinitely older than men's) you will find some lovely walks on the outskirts of the town. One thing you must do; you must have an agreeable ride (I can't help using so many adjectives, but really they are deserved) for a franc to the Rhine Falls some three miles from the town, there the scenery is delight- ful, and you see the lovely Rhine in a sportive humour. From Schaffhausen you may well spend a few hours in an excursion to the Freudenberg, or in a railway trip to St. Gallen, the latter a busy little town noted for its muslins and its cottons the former a mountain commanding a most extensive view, the chief objects of interest being the mountains of St. Gall and the Ap- penzell, and the beautiful lake of Constance. From Gallen you may go to Ragatz by rail, and thfn, as a matter of course, you will go to the baths of Pfeffers. I did so, and found the walk, of an hour or so, about the most romantic walk I ever had. The little water- falls are perhaps more picturesque than convenient, but that matters little. You have some fresh sensations, and that is worth something. The baths are natural hot baths, about 98 deg. Fahrenheit, and are praised up to the skies by all who have any connection with them. Altogether it is a strange, weird, wild-looking place, but not particularly attractive except as a curiosity. Leavin Ragatz you go-st least I did-to Rapper- Ecbwyl by rail, and you find it-at least I did—a curiously picturesque old place, with an old castle, old walls, and an old church—in fact an old place alto- gether and if you come away without memories of that marvellously lonsr, narrow, and apparently unsafe bridge—nearly 5,000 feet long—it will be a wonder. From Rapperschwyl to Horgen by steamer is an agree- able trip from Horgen to Arth by steamer and from Arth to the RighL There I did a stupid thing—as- rended a pied towards the Righi, and had a toilsome fxcthior walk of more than an hour, when I could have gone by omnibus in twenty minutes for a franc but then, during this wearisome ascent, I kept consoling lD) self that I was ascending the Righi! When I reached Goldau I had had quite enough of it, and joined a party to ascend to the summit on mules. ( So much has been written about the Righi that, rathtr than record my own impressions, I prefer, for once, to quot", from an authority, Mu;ray," whose red-covered books you see now and again wherever you go on the Continent. From this I learn that the Righi is 5,910 feet above the sea level. No wondtr, therefore, that at such an elevation the charges at the inn on the summit should be also very high. About 1:0,000 persons are said to visit this hotel in a year. the arrangements are generally good, but complaints d inattention and incivility are Eometimes made. It is fair to remember that the const.ant presence of a crowd of hungry and impatient guests must try to the very utmost the patience and activity of the entire household. Travellers not on foot should bring cloaks with them, as the cold is often intense and the thermo- meter, marking 76 deg. in Lucerne at mid-dav, was 37 deg. on the Righi at sunset and 31 deg. at sunrise. The house is warmed with stoves even in summer. The following notice is hung up in every room- (I give the translation) :— Travellers are warned that it is for- bidden to take the bed-clothes on going out to visit the luncmit." After a description of the noise, confusion, and excittment of this inn (which I can vouch to be unexargerated) my guide says: "Whether the innate have slept or not, he, together with the whole household, is roused about an hour before sunrise by the grating sounds of a long v,, ..e;i horn v.l.'ch is played untill very particle of 8?eep is dispelled from tc« household. Then com- mences a general stir and commotion, and everybody hastens out with shivering limbs and half-open eyes to gaze at the glorious prosptct of » auoriae from the Righi. Fortunate are they for whom the view is not I marred by clouds and rain, a. very common occurrence, as the leaves of the album kept in the inn will testify. Indeed the following verses describe the fate of a large majority of those who make this expedition:— Nine weary uphill miles we sped, The setting sun to see Sulky and grim he went to bed, Sulky an,l grim went we. Seven sleepless hours we tossed, and then, The rising sun to see, Sulky ar.d grim we rose again, Sulky and grim rose he. Long before dawn, an assemblage of between 200 and 300 persons is often collected on the Righi Culm, awaiting the sunrise, to enjoy this magnificent prospect in the cold. A glare of light in the East, which gra- dually dims the flickering of the stars, is the first token of the morning it soon becomes a streak of gold along the horizon, and is reflected in a pale pink tint upon the snows of the Bernese Alps. Summit after summit slowly catches the same golden hue the dark space between the horizon and the Righi is next illumi- nated forests, lakes, hills, rivers, towns, and villages gradually become revealed, but look cold and indis- tinct, until the red orb surmounts the mountain top, and darts his beams across the landscape. The shadows are then rolled back, as it were, and in a few momenta the whole scene around is glowing in sun- shine." I am fortunate in being able to add that I do not think this stirring description is at all exaggerated; but whether others are equally fortunate or not, to ascend the Righi to see the sun rise is one of the many correct things to do when you have a ramble in Swit- zerland.

ONE OF THE WORLD'S NOBILITY.

-----THE ANGLO-AMERICAN BOAT-RACE.

LETTER OF THE QITEEN TO MR.…

------A CONVICT SENTENCED…

TRIAL OF A FARMER FOR WIFE…

[No title]

[No title]

SHOCKING ATTEMPT TO MURDER…

THE LAW OF DOG STEALING. --

--------A DISCOVERY IN VENICE.…

Illisttllimcoiis ,|ntc[[ixjcua,