part of the stage, it would be impossible for two to pass each other. In this part of the road it is necessary to send a person ahead to stop any carriages from advancing in the opposite direction.

2 Montbovon, which Byron calls "a pretty scraggy village, with a wild river and a wooden bridge:" it is situated in canton Freiburg. A path practicable for mules, over the pass of the Dent de Jaman, descending upon the lake of Geneva above Montreux, will bring the traveller to Vevay in 6 stunden 18 miles, a ride of 5 hours. Byron, who crossed it, describes the whole route as "beautiful as a dream:

=

"The view from the highest points (we had both sides of the Jura before us in one point of view, with alps in plenty) comprises, on one side, the greatest part of Lake Leman; on the other, the valleys and mountain of the canton of Fribourg, and an immense plain, with the lakes of Neufchâtel and Morat, and all which the borders of the lake of Geneva inherit.

"The music of the cows' bells (for their wealth, like the patriarch's is cattle) in the pastures, which reach to a height far above any mountains in Britain, and the shepherds shouting to us from crag to crag, and playing on their reeds, where the steeps appeared almost inaccessible, with the surrounding scenery, realized all that I have ever heard or imagined of a pastoral existence: -much more so than Greece or Asia Minor, for there we have a little too much of the sabre and musket order, and if there is a crook in one hand, you are sure to see a gun in the other: - but this was pure and unmixed-solitary, savage, and patriarchal. As we went they played the Rans de Vaches' and other airs, by way of farewell. have lately repeopled my mind with nature."- - Byron's Journal.

I

bovon, descending the valley of the Saane, and passing at the base of the Moleson (6181 feet), the highest mountain in canton Fribourg.

It

2 Gruyères (German, Greyerz)Inns Stadthaus; Lilie, said not to be good. This dirty little mouldering town of 375 inhabitants, is built on a hill, the top of which is crowned by the Castle, one of the most extensive and best preserved feudal monuments in Switzerland. Its owners, the Counts of Gruyères were sovereigns of the surrounding district down to 1554, when the family became bankrupt, and thus forfeited the lordship, so that their last descendants died in a strange land. is now fast falling into decay, only one portion being occupied as a barrack. The gloomy antiquity of the interior corresponds with the picturesque character of its watch-towers, battlements, loopholes, from without. The walls are 14 ft. thick, the halls vaulted, and dimly lighted by small windows: in one hall is a fireplace at which oxen were roasted whole. The torture chamber still contains (or did till within a few years contain) the rack which had been used since the beginning of the present century, to inflict punishment. If tradition be credited, the castle was founded in the fifth century, by the chief of a Vandal horde. The language spoken by the people of the district, a dialect of the Romansch (called, in German, Gruverin-Welsch), is thought to prove their descent from the Burgundians. It is a subject worthy the attention of travellers. The district is also famous for its cheeses, and supplies from its rich pastures a great part of the 40,000 centners (cwt.) of cheese which canton Fribourg manufactures yearly, and which is chiefly exported under the name of Gruyère. The church of St. Thomas is remarkable for its antiquity. The inhabitants of the town are a lazy set, many of them pensioners of a very

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The watch-tower of La Tour de Treme was an outpost of the Counts of Gruyères.

1 Bulle (Inns Cheval Blanc; Maison de Ville, said to be good;)— one of the most industrious towns in the canton. It contains nearly 1500 inhabitants, and is the chief depôt for the Gruyère cheese, made in the valleys of the Saarine and of Charmey. It is distant about 18 miles from Fribourg, and the same from Vevay. Our course now turns S. along the high road between these two places, skirting the W. base of the Moleson to

4 Chatel St. Denis-(Inn: Maison de Ville;)—a picturesque village, with an elevated castle on the 1. bank of the Vevayse. Half a mile S. of it the road enters canton Vaud.

A paved hill of very awkward and difficult descent towards the beautiful lake Leman, conducts the traveller to 1 Vevay (Route 56.), but an easy approach by a new road will soon be finished.

ROUTE 42.

BERNE TO LAUSANNE, BY FREYBURG. 17 stunden = 553 Eng. miles, reckoned as 183 posts. Post-horses may be obtained on the road, all the way from Berne to Geneva. See Introduction, $ 5.

A diligence runs daily, in about 14 hours. The road is hilly, but an improved line to Freyburg has been completed.

Quitting Berne by the gate of Morat, flanked by its two bears, we traverse a fertile, but not very interesting country. At Neueneck, where there is a good inn (the Hirsch), the stream of the Sense, which separates canton Berne from Freyburg, is crossed. About 4 miles lower down this stream is Laupen, famous for the battle in which the Swiss Confederates, under Rudolph of Erlach, defeated the mailed chivalry of Burgundy and Suabia, in 1339.

At Neueneck a steep ascent commences, to surmount which vorspann are required. The gauze wings and dark dress of the female peasantry of Berne is exchanged for broad-brimmed, flapping straw hats and red petticoats; while the numerous crosses at the road-side announce a Roman Catholic canton.

The appearance of Freyburg from the Berne road is singularly striking and picturesque, as the road, winding round the shoulder of the steep hill overlooking the valley of the Saarine, brings the traveller suddenly in view of its antique battlements and numerous towers, crowning the summit of a precipitous rock on the opposite side of the gorge. Near the top of the hill is seen the Jesuits' Pensionnat, a staring modern building, like a manufactory, with 5 stories and many windows; not far from it the Jesuits' college and convent; next, the Gothic tower and the church of St. Nicho las; beyond appears the suspensionbridge, hung by 4 ropes of iron across the river, and linking together the two sides of the valley. Previous to its construction the only way of reaching the town from Berne was by descending the steep hill on the one side, and following numerous circuitous zigzags which led to the water side. The road then crossed the river 3 times by 3 different low bridges, after which it immediately ascended another slope equally steep. A diligence, or heavy carriage, performing this meandering and difficult route, required not much less than an hour to pass through the town; at present the traveller rolls luxuriously over this beautiful bridge, and, without either ascending or descending, is transported in 2 minutes through a breach formed in the old houses, on the edge of the precipice, into the centre of the town. derate toll of half a batz for every person, and one batz for each horse and carriage, is paid on crossing.

A mo

5 FREYBURG. (Inns: Zähringer

Route 42.

Hof, close to the bridge, good: beds, 2 fr.; table d'hote at 12, 3 fr.; at 4, 4 fr. The view from the platform behind of the two bridges is very striking; tea, 1 fr. Hotel des Marchands, near the church, also good.)

This town, the capital of canton Freyburg, is situated on a promontory formed by the windings of the Saarine (Saane). Many of the houses stand on the very edge of the precipice overhanging the river, and their quaint architecture, the long line of embattled walls stretching up hill and down dale, varied by the chain of feudal watch-towers, and gateways of the ancient fortifications which still exist in a perfect state, together with the singular and romantic features of the gorge of the Saarine, give the distant view of the town an aspect different from that of any other in Europe, which is at once imposing and highly picturesque. The narrow dirty streets and mean buildings of the interior do not altogether correspond with these outward promises of interest.

Freyburg was founded in 1175, by Duke Berchthold of Zähringen. The number of inhabitants at present is about 8484.

180 ft. 22 ft. 11 in.

130

25

The Suspension Bridge, the longest of a single curve in the world, was completed and thrown open in 1834 The engineer who constructed it is M. Chaley, of Lyons. Its dimensions, compared with those of the Menai bridge, are as follows: Length. Elevation. Breadth. Freyburg...941 ft. Menai ......580 It is supported on 4 cables of iron wire, each containing 1056 wires, the united strength of which is capable of supporting 3 times the weight which the bridge will ever be likely to bear, or 3 times the weight of 2 rows of waggons, extending entirely across it. The cables enter the ground on each side obliquely for a considerable distance, and are then carried down vertical shafts cut in

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the rock, and filled with masonry, through which they pass, being attached at the extremity to enormous blocks of stone. The materials of which it is composed are almost ex. clusively Swiss; the iron came from Berne, the limestone masonry from the quarries of the Jura, the woodwork from the forests of Freyburg: the workinen were, with the exception of one man, natives who had never seen such a bridge before. It was completed in 3 years, at an expense of about 600,000f. (25,000l. sterling), and in 1834, was subjected to various severe trials to prove its strength. First, 15 pieces of artillery, drawn by 50 horses and accompanied by 300 people, passed over it at one time, and were collected in as close a body as possible, first on the centre, and then at the two extremities, to try the effect of their concentrated weight. A depression of a metre (39 inches) was thus produced in the part most weighed upon, but no sensible oscillation was occasioned. A few days after the bridge was opened by the bishop and authorities of the town, accompanied by about 2000 persons, who passed over it twice, in procession, preceded by a military band, and keeping step. On this occasion a slight horizontal vibration was produced, but it is very improbable that the bridge in its ordinary service will ever receive such a multitude at once. The passage of 2 or 3 heavy carriages or carts across it does not cause the slightest perceptible oscillation; and nothing is more extraordinary in this beautiful structure than the combination of stability with such apparent fragility. The bridge is well seen from the platform of the Hotel de Zähringue, from the old road below it and from the singular gorge of Gotteron.

Another wire bridge, 640 ft. long and 317 high, has been suspended across the gorge of Gotteron, on the opposite side of the river Saarine. It

was finished 1840. Though not of such large dimensions as that built in 1834, it is more curious, as the wire cables are attached immediately to the solid rock on each side, and the point of suspension is higher on one side than on the other, which gives it the appearance of half a bridge. The object of this mode of construction is economy, the expense of building piers of solid masonry from the bottom of the valley being saved. The new road to Vevay passes this bridge.

The principal Church of St. Nicholas is rather a handsome Gothic building. The portal under the tower is surmounted by a curious bas-relief, representing the Last Judgment. In the centre stands St. Nicholas, and above him is seated the Saviour; on the 1. an angel is weighing mankind in a huge pair of scales, not singly but by lots, and a pair of imps are maliciously endeavouring to pull down one scale, and make the other kick the beam; below is St. Peter, ushering the good into Paradise.

On the rt. hand is the reverse of this picture a devil, with a pig's head, is dragging after him, by a chain, a crowd of wicked, and carries a basket on his back, also filled with figures, apparently about to precipitate them into a vast caldron suspended over a fire, which several other imps are stirring. In the corner is Hell, represented by the jaws of a monster, filled up to the teeth with evil-doers, and above it is Satan, seated on his throne.

The Organ, built by the late Aloys Mooser, a native of the town, is one of the finest instruments in Europe. The organist is allowed to play on it for the gratification of travellers only at hours when the mass is not going on- at past 1 and past 5 in the afternoon, and on fête days not at all.

An arrangement is made with the organist by which strangers may have an opportunity of hearing the instrument after the table d'hôte at

the Zähringer Hof. His fee is

11 fr. for a party, and the valet de place will make an appointment with him. The performance terminates with the imitation of a storm, introducing the howling of the wind, and the roaring of the thunder, interspersed with a few flashes of lightning, from "Der Freischutz.” The instrument has 64 stops and 7800 pipes, some of them 32 ft. long.

Canton Freyburg presents a remarkable instance of a state with a constitution purely democratic, in which the chief influence is exercised by the hierarchy. The town of Freyburg is a stronghold of the Romish priesthood: it is the see of a bishop, who still styles himself Bishop of Lausanne, although since the Reformation, the canton Vaud is cut off from his diocese. It contains no less than 9 convents (5 for monks and 4 for nuns), 12 churches, and 10 chapels. The Jesuits, while interdicted from most other states of Europe were here openly tolerated, having been recalled, in 1818, by a decree of the Grand Council of the canton. The Jesuits' Convent, or college, was founded in 1584 by Father Canisius, who died in the odour of sanctity at the age of 77, and is interred in the Jesuits' church, awaiting the honours of canonisation, which have been, it is said, long promised to his remains. Henry IV. of France subscribed towards the building of the church, and presented the high altar, little aware of his coming fate from the dagger of a Jesuit. The college supports 60 brothers, chiefly teachers and professors, who instruct the pupils of the Pensionnat, and lecture at the Lyceum, a college recently erected. The building of the convent is of very humble kind, rather mean than otherwise, and contains nothing remarkable. Its walls are lined with bad portraits of the generals of the order of Jesus, and of the rectors of the establish

ment.

The Pensionnat, or Jesuits' School, the most conspicuous building in the

town, situated on a spot overlooking the other edifices, is destined for the reception of about 400 pupils, many of them children of the Roman Catholic noblesse of France and Germany, who are sent hither for their education. The establishment is said to be very well conducted. In the summer holidays the boys, in little troops, headed by a tutor, make the tour of Switzerland.

Among the curiosities of Freyburg is the ancient trunk of a Lime-tree, planted, according to tradition, on the day of the battle of Morat, in 1476. The story relates that a young Freyburgois, who had fought in the battle, anxious to bring home the good news, ran the whole way, and arrived on this spot, bleeding, out of breath, and so exhausted by fatigue, that he fell down, and had barely time to cry 66 Victory!" when he expired. The branch of lime which he carried in his hand was immediately planted and grew into the tree, of which this decayed trunk, 20 feet in circumference, is the remains. Its branches are supported by stone pillars.

Near to it is the ancient Rathhaus, a building of no consequence, but standing on the site of the Duke of Zähringen's castle.

A long flight of steps leads from this down to the lower town, and river side: it is called the Rue Court Chemin, and the roofs of some of its houses serve as pavement for the street above it, called Rue Grande Fontaine.

The canton Freyburg is singularly divided between the German and French languages, and the line of separation, extending from the S. E. corner to the N.W., passes through the town of Freyburg-so that in the upper town French is spoken, and in the lower German. This distinction, however, is wearing out.

The walls and gates of the town are singularly perfect specimens of ancient fortification, and contribute,

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along with the general air of antiquity, to carry back the spectator to a remote state of society. One tower, near the Préfecture (thrown across the street, and now converted into a prison), has acquired the name of La Mauvaise Tour, because it contains the rack. Though the torture had been disused in the canton for many years, it was not legally abolished until 1830!

The singularly romantic character of the winding gorge of the Saarine, on whose margin Freyburg is planted, has been before alluded to. Close to the old bridge of Berne, another gorge, deep sunk between rocks of sandstone, called Gorge de Gotteron, opens into the Saarine. It is a singularly wild spot, and the wire bridge, spanning the ravine high over head with its web-like filaments, increases its picturesque character. The larger suspension bridge is also well seen from it.

About three miles lower down the valley of the Saarine, is the Grotto of St. Magdalene, a hermitage and chapel cut out of the sandstone rock, by a native of Gruyères, named Dupré, between 1670 and 1680. Its won

ders have been exaggerated by the guide-books, and it is scarce worth a visit.

Morat is about 10 miles from Freyburg (Route 43). Coaches run

to and fro in correspondence with the steamer navigating the lake to Neuchâtel. There is now a good road from Freyburg to Vevay by Bulle (Route 41.).

The shortest way to Lausanne is by Romont, but the road is so bad that it is rarely followed. Instead of it, the circuitous route by Payerne, in canton Vaud, is usually taken: it is hilly and not very interesting.

4 Payerne-Germ. Peterlingen(Inns: Bär, is newer, but not better than the Hotel de Ville). There are two churches in this walled townthe one, now turned into a warehouse, is in the round style, and very an