innumerable streams rush down from the mountains towards the principal rivers, frequently forming, in their headlong descent, magnificent cascades, such as that of the Reichenbach in the Haslithale, 150 feet, and the Staubbach, at Lauterbrunnen, 1,013 feet in altitude. The lakes of Brienze, Thun, Biel, and part of Neufchatel, are in this canton. The principal mineral springs are those of Weissenburgerbad, Blumensteinerbad, the bath of Neuenhaus at Berne, Sommerhausbad, Langnauerbad, and Gurnigelbad.

Climate and Productions.] The climate is very rough in the S. As we approach towards the N. it becomes gradually milder, and the vine begins to be cultivated near the lake of Thun. The dairy and farming operations in the N. are well-conducted; the cheeses of Berne are celebrated on account of their size and quality; the cattle are excellent; and wine and fruit form a principal article of exportation. The principal manufactures are linen, woollen goods, and watches. The Bernese roads are excellent, and wider than those of England.

Population and Government.] There are about 40,000 Catholics, 900 Mennonites, and 300 Lutherans and Jews in this canton; but the great bulk of the Bernese are of the Reformed Church, and speak a very abominable dialect of German. French, however, is generally spoken by the higher classes in the capital. The government is highly aristocratic, and has reduced the peasantry of the Oberlande almost to the condition of serfs. The constitution is very complicated. The legislative or sovereign council consists of 299 members, 200 of whom are patricians, and 99 country members, and the executive of 27. Berne is one of the wealthiest cantons of the confederacy, but we have no statement of its revenue on which we can depend. The aristocratic feelings prevalent in this canton, have, of late, almost threatened Switzerland with a civil war. The Bernese made great efforts at the congress of Vienna to recover the Pays de Vaud and Argovia, and to deprive these cantons of their independence; but the allied sovereigns happily refused to listen to their representations.

City and Towns.] The chief city which gives its name to the canton is situated on an elevated peninsula, formed by the rapid river Aar, and is said, by Simond, to contain only 12,000 inhabitants, though Stein estimates their number at 18,000; in 1765 it was ascertained to be 13,681. The magnificent slope between the town and the river is in some places covered with turf, supported in others by lofty terraces planted with trees, and commanding beautiful views, over the surrounding rich country, towards the high Alps beyond it. An avenue of lime-trees conducts the traveller into Berne. On entering it he feels as if he were entering an ancient and great city. It is a republic, says Simond, yet it looks kingly, something of Roman majesty appears in its lofty terraces; in the massy arches on each side of the streets; in the abundance of water flowing night and day into the gigantic basins; in its magnificent avenues of trees. In short, of all the first-sight impressions about Berne, that of its being a Roman town would be nearer right than any other. The buildings are of a gray coloured free stone. The public edifices are elegant, particularly the cathedral, founded in 1471. Berne contains a school or college of considerable celebrity, and was the birth-place of the poet and physiologist Haller. Here, as at Basle, there is a Dance of Death' painted on the walls of a convent by Manuel; and in the arsenal are preserved the figure and armour of the patriot Tell. The exclusive spirit of coterie is said to be still more marked here than at Geneva, and political jealousies are more violent.

Thun, on the lake of the same name, is a town of 2,685 inhabitants, with a military academy.-Biel or Bienne, on the lake of Biel, contains nearly 3000 inhabitants. It is eminently a Swiss town. Gateways, fortified with towers, insersect the streets, which are composed of strange-looking houses, built on arcades, like those of bridges, and variously painted,-blue with yellow borders, red with white, or purple and grey, with projecting iron balconies, highly wrought and of a glossy black, and bright green windows. The public fountains are adorned with figures which sufficiently characterize the respective periods of their construction: those of the 15th century having bearded warriors; those of the 16th, angels with wings, and demons with tails. Watchmen perambulate the streets all night, proclaiming, in German recitative, the hour and the state of the weather.-In the neighbourhood of Lauterbrunnen are several remarkable caves, and the magnificent glaciers of the soaring Jungfrau, the summit of which, formerly deemed inaccessible, was lately ascended on this side by two natives of Berne named Mayor. The valley of Oberhasli in Oberlande, is one of the most remarkable in Switzerland; it is surrounded by appalling glaciers, and contains fine imposing cataracts. Its inhabitants derive their descent from a small colony of Swedish settlers, and still speak a dialect resembling the Swedish.

CHAP. VI.-THE CANTON OF LUCERNE.

Physical Features.] Stosch has calculated the superficial extent of this canton at 36 German square miles; perhaps the calculation which has been made by others of 31 square miles is nearer the truth. The northern districts of this canton present fertile plains and extensive fields; the southern part, or the Entlibuch as it is called, partakes of the scenery of the adjacent southern district of Berne. In the N. the Mons Pilatus offers a singular curiosity. At the elevation of 5,000 feet, and in the most perpendicular part of the mountain, is observed, in the middle of a cavern hollowed in a black rock, a colossal statue, which appears to be of white

It presents the standing figure of a man in drapery, leaning one elbow on a pedestal, and with one leg crossed over the other; " and is so regularly formed," says Coxe, "that it cannot be a lusus naturæ." This statue is called Dominic by the peasants, who frequently accost it from the only place in which it can be seen; and when their voices are reechoed from the cavern, they will say in the simplicity of their hearts: Dominic has answered us.' In order to bring down to the lake of Lucerne the wood from a large pine-forest, on the skirts of Mount Pilatus, £9000 were expended in erecting a slide of singular construction. Its length is about 44,000 English feet, and the difference of its level at its two extremities is about 2600 feet. It is a wooden trough, five feet broad and four deep. The large pines, with their branches cut off, are placed, one at a time, in the slips, and, descending by their own gravity, they acquire such an impetus in their progress through the first part of the slide, that they perform their journey of 8 miles and a quarter in six minutes, and, in wet weather, in three minutes. The principal river is the Reuss, which receives the Entlen from the Entlibuch. The Wigger, and Sur or Suren, flow to

Its proper name is Mons Pileatus, or the cloud-capped mountain, which the common people have corrupted to Pilatus, from Pontius Pilate, who, they pretend, came to drown himself in the lake of the Brundlen Alp.

wards the Aar. Besides the lake of Lucerne, there are here the Mauersee, the Rothsee, the Valdecker, and the Heideckersee. The climate is temperate and healthy, and more corn is grown than supplies the home consumption.

Government and Revenue.] The government is aristocratic; the legislative power being vested in a council of 100, and the executive in a committee of 36, chosen from the council. The president is called the Schultheitz. The revenue is small, perhaps not exceeding 100,000 florins, and the Catholic clergy consume two-thirds of it.

City and Towns.] The city of Lucerne, situated on the lake of the same name, contains, according to Stein, 6,855 inhabitants. Here is shown a singularly exact model of part of Switzerland, executed in relief by general Pfyffer, on a scale of about a square foot to 24 English miles. Its centre is the lake of Lucerne, its length is 20, and its breadth 12 feet. Near the village of Sempach, on the lake of the same name, is a chapel built to commemorate the splendid victory obtained by the Swiss over the Austrians in 1386, and in which an anniversary sermon is preached every year on the 9th of June.

CHAP. VII.-THE CANTON OF URI.

Physical Features—the Gotthard.] Schöpf estimates the superficial surface of this canton at 24 German square miles; according to Meyer's chart, published in 1804, its area is nearer 34 square miles. The whole canton consists of the two valleys of the Reuss and the Urseren. The most remarkable Alp is the St Gotthard, over which one of the main roads to Italy is led. The summit of this passage is a small plain 6,790 English feet above the level of the Mediterranean. The chain of mountains which immediately surround this place, takes the general appellation of St Gotthard, but each summit has its own particular name. On the N. is the Ursino; on the E. are the Sella, Prosa, and Surecha; on the S. the naked rocks of the Val Maggia; and on the W. the Fieudo, the Petina, and the Locendro. No spot in Europe gives birth to so many noble rivers as this does. From it the Reuss flows towards the N.; the three sources of the Rhine towards the E.; the Tessino towards the S.; and the Rhone towards the W.7

Government.] The sovereign power in this canton is in the hands of the people; every male above 20 years of age is a member of the general assembly, which is held once a year to choose the officers of the executive department. The revenue is small, there being almost no taxes, and little trade; yet it is surprising how three such poor cantons as Lucerne, Uri, and Underwalden, can raise sums sufficient for the execution of their share of the superb carriage-road now executing over the St Gotthard. The expenses of Uri already amount to 300,000 francs for this road, from Amsteg to Geschenen; and it is estimated that it will cost this canton 400,000 francs more.

Towns.] The chief town is Altorf, with 3,000 inhabitants. In the

The greatest heat at the summit of this pass in 1784, were 6140, the greatest cold 84° of Fahrenheit. The average state of the thermometer at nine in the morning was 28°, and at midday 32o. In the same year it snowed during some part of 118 days, rained 78, thundered 22, and was serene 87 days.

village of Burglen there is a chapel called Tell's chapel. Allinghausen was the native-place of Walter Furst, one of Tell's gallant compatriots.

CHAP. VIII.-THE CANTON OE SCHWEIZ.

A HIGH ridge of mountains runs through Schweiz or Schyoytz in the form of a crescent. In the valleys the soil is tolerably fertile. The principal rivers are the Linth, the Sihl, and the Mütte or Mutta. The climate is milder than that of Uri; but there is little agriculture, almost the whole population being engaged in herding cattle. The constitution is a pure democracy, in which every male above 16 years of age has a voice. In ⚫his canton the land is not exposed to that minute subdivision which prevails in some other cantons, as the management of it is by law given exclusively to the younger son.- -The borough of Schwyz or Schweiz has a population of 4,798 inhabitants.-The Benedictine chapel of Maria Ensiedeln, situated near the Sihl, was visited in 1817 by no fewer than 30,000 pilgrims. Kusnacht, near the spot where the tyrant Gessler fell by the hands of Tell, contains 1560 inhabitants.-Gersau, once an independent republic, the smallest in Europe, contains 160 houses, and 1294 inhabitants.

CHAP. IX.-THE CANTON OF UNDERWALDEN.

THIS is one of the finest Alpine districts of Switzerland. The climate is temperate and serene in the lower regions. The productions are fruit, chesnuts, and potatoes which serve the population instead of corn. The rearing of cattle is the only employment of the Underwaldens, who are a simple but superstitious race of people, fanatically attached to the Catholic faith, and extremely ignorant. The government is purely democratic, every male being a member of the general assembly at 20 years of age. Sarnen, the chief borough of this canton, contained 2789 inhabitants in 1743.-Engelberg is the seat of an ancient Benedictine Abbey, founded in the 9th century, which possesses a college, and a library of 8,000 volumes.

CHAP X.-THE CANTON OF GLARUS.

GLARUS consists of two valleys lying between lofty ridges of glaciers. The principal river is the Linth. A canal is executing between the Wallenstatter lake and that of Zurich. This canton abounds in slate-quarries; and formerly supplied Britain with writing slates. The inhabitants are a tall, vigorous, and industrious race of Germans, of whom seven-eighths are Catholics. The constitution is nearly the same as that of Schweiz. Glarus, the chief borough, at the foot of the Glärnisch, contains 3000 inhabitants, and is a place of animated industry.-Näfels is celebrated as having been the scene of the battle in 1388.

CHAP. XI.-THE CANTON OF ZUG.

THIS is wholly a mountainous district, with a few patches of fertile land in the valleys. The climate, though Alpine, allows of the cultivation of

the vine. The constitution is democratic, and the revenue is trifling. Zug, on the lake of the same name, contains 2500 inhabitants.-Morgarten is celebrated for the battles fought there in 1345 and 1798.

CHAP. XII.-THE CANTON OF FRYBURG.

THE canton of Fryburg or Freiburg is very mountainous, but contains some large plains. The principal river is the Saane. The inhabitants are of German descent, and German is the official language; but throughout a great part of the country a French patois is spoken. The Jesuits have great influence here, and possess a large college at Fryburg, with 1500 students; the government is aristocratic; and the inhabitants are an ignorant and discontented race. Fryburg, the chief city of the canton, is remarkable on account of its singular situation, which is thus described by Coxe: "It stands partly in a small plain, partly on bold declivities on a ridge of rugged rocks, half-encircled by the river Saane; and is so entirely concealed by the circumjacent hills, that the traveller scarcely catches the least glimpse, until, from the overhanging eminence, he has at one glance a view of the whole town. The fortifications, which consist of high stone walls and towers, enclose a circumference of about four miles; within which space the eye comprehends a singular mixture of houses, rocks, thickets, and meadows, varying instantly from wild to agreeable, from the bustle of a town to the solitude of the deepest retirement. The Saane winds in such a serpentine manner as to form, in its course, within the space of two miles, five obtuse angles, between which the intervening parts of the current are parallel to each other. On all sides, the ascent to the town is extremely steep: in many places the streets even pass over the roof of the houses. Many of the edifices are raised in regular gradations, like the seats of an amphitheatre; and many overhang the edge of a precipice in such a manner, that, on looking down, a weak head would be apt to turn giddy." In 1811, the number of houses in Fryburg was 1079, and the inhabitants 6,461.-Morat or Murten, on the lake of the same name, was the scene of a battle on the 22d of June, 1476. The French revolutionary army, in 1798, destroyed the monument which had been erected to commemorate a victory so dear to the liberties of Switzerland; but we believe an obelisk was erected in 1822, to perpetuate the remembrance of the gallant and successful resistance which the Swiss patriots here offered to the duke of Burgundy.

CHAP. XIII.-THE CANTON OF SOLEURE.

THE canton of Soleure or Solothurn is of a very irregular shape, and is intersected by branches of the Jura. The principal river is the Aar. The government is a mixture of aristocracy and democracy; and the revenue is said to amount to 180,000 florins. The town of Soleure contains 4,115 inhabitants, occupying 533 houses. There is here a magnificent cathedral, a library of 8,000 volumes, a monastery of Capuchins, and 3 nunneries Olten is a town of 1,061 houses, with 6,530 inhabitants.