The wakening earth received his beams
With smiles upon her fields and streams,
The scene was charming-for the Night
Had fled before the God of Light.
The foolish man who prates of woe,
My sad existence does not know.

One ceaseless course of changeless bliss

Is worse than varied wretchedness;
And every transport of the heart
Is dear, because it must depart.

Whoever dreams a sluggish life

Not dashed with sorrow nor with strife,"
The dross of pleasure may possess,
But knows not real happiness.

Louisiana, April, 1843.

W -n.

1 In the mythology of the ancients, the butterfly was the representation of Psyche. The animating and immortal principle-filling the corporal existence with sensibility and intelligence, and destined to reappear in another form and new region of being. This metaphorical allusion is yet visible on some of their grave-stones, and formed the device of many of their gems. Like this insect, the nature of man has three modifications of being. It emerges from the woman in the human shape; it reposes in the

grave un

destroyed although dissolved: and it will spring from dust

into an ethereal existence, more perfect, because more expanded, and more glorious, because more capable of enjoy. ing the wonders and felicities of eternal light.

Noi siam vermi

Nati a formar l'angillica forfalla?

Pysche was the divinity of Pleasure. She was the com

EXCURSION TO LAUSANNE AND BERNE.

It was on the morning of the 17th August, 1841, that a one horse carriage, bearing the local denomination of a fiacre, in which was seated your humble servant, set out from that part of the suburbs of Geneva, called l'Evêché, or Bishop's grounds. His object was an excursion for health and observation, to commence with a visit via Lausanne to Berne, a city whose wealth and local position had formerly secured to it a kind of ascendancy in Switzerland. It is regarded, even now, as the capital of the republic, being the residence of the representatives of foreign governments; with the exception of our own consul, however, who is located at Basle, a frontier town at the angle made by

panion of Zephyrus and the mistress of Love. Jupiter France, Germany, and Switzerland.

made her immortal after death.

2 Dew is the nutriment of some insects. fancied that it made them melodious.

The poets

Αρκετ Τεττιγασ μεθυσαῖ δροσοσ, αλλά ποιοντεσ
Αείδειν αυκναν εισι γεγωνότερον

Book 1 of the Anthologia.
In dew that drops from morning's wings,
The gay Cicada sipping floats;
And drunk with dew his matin sings

Sweeter than any Cygnet's notes.-Moore.

Duinque thymo pascentur apes, dum rore Cycada.-Virgil.
3 Imbecillitas de socictate fragilitatis redundat ad mentem.
Lactantius Library.

To please thee I have emptied all my store :
I can invent and can supply no more,
But run the round, against the round I ran before.
Lucretius Liber 3. De Rerum Natura.

Dryden.

5 Lusisti satis, edisti satis atque bibisti Tempus abire tibi est.-Horace. "Menippus, in Lucian, asks Chiron, why he chose death when he might have been divine, Chiron answers that he was disgusted with the identity and continual similitude of the things of life, the same scenes perpetually recurring, and the same actions incessantly exhibited; for he considered Delight a continual vicissitude, not a changeless

monotony.

Ov

The driver, who was also the proprietor of the fiacre, was an individual whom I had had occasion to employ before, and in whose story I had been much interested. He was a Savoyard, who had a passport permitting him to leave his country, for the purpose of pursuing his occupation in Geneva, which city is not more than three miles distant from the frontier of Savoy. Even this man, oppressed as he was at home, and with difficulty procuring permission to leave his country for the purpose of obtaining a livelihood abroad, could not bear to hear a stranger speak in disrespectful terms of his native land; an evidence that Providence has made the love of country a part of our very being. When I had spoken to him of the pain I had experienced while travelling over a country so down-trodden as Savoy is, and alluded to that iron rule which held to the earth a people already bowed down by ignorance and poverty, and by a spiritual despotism worse than either, he seemed to regard my remarks as personal, and replied to them in a manner which showed that there is no cause so bad but some good things may be said in its favor. He pointed to Savoy as the country from which some of Napoleon's bravest generals derived their birth, and eulogised the grandeur of the public edifices of Turin, and the charming aspect of the country

γαρ εν τω αὐτῷ ἀεῖ αλλά και εν τω μετασκευδι' όλως το τερπ- itself, with reference to which, I must confess that his highest eulogies were not excessive. But when

τον ην.

VOL IX-54

I spoke to him of the spirit of a free people, and way of Lausanne, and I wished to see more of the of the moral beauty exhibited in the universal dif- country and obtain a more intimate knowledge of fusion of intelligence in the United States of Ame- the Swiss character in the rich Cantons of Geneva, rica, my remarks seemed not to be comprehended, Vaud, Friburg, Neuchatel and Berne, than I could and the only answer they elicited was, "Elles ap- have done in the hurried transit of a steamer or partierment à l'Angleterre?" ("They," the United diligence. English families, who can afford it, States, "belong to England ?") a question which bring their carriages and travel post through the indicated that our recent history was not made a country. Horses and postilions, or drivers, are subject of study in the towns and villages of Savoy. easily procured at any of the inns of the interior, The carriage had been selected with a particular as elsewhere on the continent. There were three reference to affording a good opportunity for view- very good steamers on the lake, small, and coning the scenery of the country through which my structed á l'Anglaise. They took passengers to proposed jaunt led; for which purpose it was pro- the end of the lake for about 9 francs, "stopping vided with a seat on the back; a fact which it at the intermediate places," as our steamboat advermight be unnecessary to mention, were it not that tisements read. This route, (which I afterwards there is a curious vehicle in common use at Geneva, adopted,) affords an excellent opportunity to view and often selected by Englishmen, in which the the lake, that should be embraced by all travellers. seat occupies one of the sides, instead of the The ride along the northern border, in a pleasant back of the interior, so as to give the traveller day, is as charming as any body could wish; but, an admirable opportunity of riding the whole day it is, for the first twenty-five miles at least, of that along by the lake of Geneva, without seeing any-character of scenery which it is difficult to describe; thing of it. as there is so much that is soothing in the quiet

But we are now entering the Porte de Rive, one waters of the lake, or charming in the green aspect of the south gates of the city, under the middle of the vineyards, or interesting in the numerous archway; on each side are two smaller archways chateaux which crown most of the heights. I was intended for foot-passengers. We have already interested in observing that every Swiss town passed the miniature draw-bridge over the ditch. through which we passed, no matter how small its A soldier stands by the entrance, scanning our size, or plain as regards the construction of its appearance with as much formality as if we buildings, was furnished with a green and level were entering a beleagured city. We must cross promenade, ornamented with stately elms, and prothe city, and then the bridge over the Rhone, vided with seats arranged here and there. in order to get on the northern side of the One is reminded of his approach to Lausanne, lake. All is life and motion among the market by the appearance of well built houses with grounds folks and trades' people, even at this early hour. around them laid out with care. Vineyards, which We rattle over the stone pavements and look upon are said to produce some of the finest wine in the dirty stuccoed walls of stores and dwellings; Switzerland, are to be seen on all the hills, so from the doors and windows of the former, goods planted as to receive the full rays of the sun. A are already displayed, inviting purchasers. Here hilly, is much more favorable than a plain country, and there are shops for the sale of wines. Bidding to the growth of vines, as the soil is kept more adieu to my friend, who had accompanied me thus permanently dry; a state which is necessary for far, I was soon borne across the city to the quay, the maturing of the grapes. and to the bridge over the river Rhone. The color When within four miles of the city, the view of the water of this river, as it issues from the one gets of the Gothic spire of the cathedral, is lake, strikes the stranger with surprise. It has exceedingly imposing; an effect produced both by often been compared to the indigo water, as it issues its own height, and by the commanding position it from a dyer's vat. It is of a bright and beautiful occupies. Indeed, as I subsequently observed, the blue color. Sir Humphrey Davy attributed it to first object the stranger sees, on approaching a the presence of Iodine; but the cause of so singu- Swiss town of any note, rising from amid a mass lar a phenomenon has not yet been explained. of matter that the senses have not yet separated The Rhone enters the lake of Geneva on the east, into the abodes of men and marts of trade, is a a muddy or lime-colored fluid, and leaves it on the dark-looking object surmounting a building whose west, a fluid of the most beautiful bright blue color. immense size and well-balanced architectural proIt was not a work of necessity that led me to portions would astonish the architects of our younger travel for thirty miles along the lake of Geneva country. Indeed, the inquiry often presented itself by land. There were three modes of conveyance, to my mind, where were the funds obtained, or which any one might use for the purpose of travel- where were the people by whom these costly strucling to any point upon the lake, either by Bateau-tures were erected, in their magnificence and proá-vapeur, (steamer,) diligence, or voiture publique, portions contrasting so strangely with the seeming (public carriage.) I chose the last, as my destina- poverty around. The cathedral of Lausanne is a tion was Berne, about 90 miles from Geneva, by very old edifice, dating originally from the year

1000; though it was rebuilt in 1300. It is of the the city, the deep and rugged clefts in the hills which usual stone for cathedrals, a dark brown sandstone; divide the latter, to the luxuriant vineyards which and is provided with enormous buttresses, grace- form a carpet of green, sloping down to the lake. fully carved windows, and numerous niches and Though the general aspect of the town is not of so points characteristic of the order. This cathedral, modern a character as some parts of Geneva, and like others of the same age, is made the resting- though it has to contend with unevenness in the place of certain individuals once distinguished. ground which do not favor the progress of "public Among other tombs is that of Victor Amadeus of improvements," yet these difficulties presented by Savoy, who united in his person the characters of nature have been so vigorously combatted by an Duke, Bishop of Geneva and Pope, and finally died a Monk in a convent of Savoy.

industrious population, that the architectural merit of Lausanne is by no means inferior. But it is the Lausanne, the capital of the Canton Vaud, one natural beauty thrown with such profusion around of the few strongholds of Protestantism in Switzer- Lausanne, and that of the lake of Geneva within land, stands about three quarters of a mile from the her view, which constitutes the attraction for many lake of Geneva, on the side of a slope, probably English people of taste, who make it a place of from three to four hundred feet above the lake. residence through the summer: but the great maAbove, and at each side of the city, the ground jority of these go to Geneva for that purpose; or seems to defy any attempt at regularity of outline, else, penetrating into the interior of Switzerland, by the graceful forms of numerous little hills; while seek the sequestered retirement of Intutaken. It the slope beneath the city presents a broad surface may be premature to institute in this place, a comof green, broken only here and there by the taste-parison respecting the relative merits of the three. ful mansion of some gentleman, and by luxuriant Geneva, after some few objects have been visited, vineyards which cover the whole like a carpet. The has little to interest the stranger. The mountains city is built on two principal ridges, with a ravine of Switzerland are all distant, and nothing would between, through which flows a rapid stream of water. On one of these ridges, stands the cathedral, and near to it the castle, an old building with high walls, round towers, and a heavy archway, once the residence of the bishops of Lausanne. There are several churches besides the cathedral, both of Protestant and Catholic denominations. The cathedral is used by the former as a place of worship. The population of the city is about 14,000; that of the Canton is estimated at 17,700. To the stranger conversant with the leading works of English literature, Lausanne is interesting as having been the city where Gibbon, the historian, finished his grand work of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. The first hotel one sees on entering the city from Geneva, is the hotel Gibbon, a new and elegant edifice. The private house of the historian is still pointed out, and is visited with interest by travellers.

After passing through a fine avenue of trees, which constituted a public promenade, I entered the city, and driving up hill and down hill over stone pavements, with here and there a stone fountain emitting graceful jets d'eau, I stopped at the Hotel de la Canorme. Preliminaries being adjusted, I sallied forth with Joseph as guide, who had been here before to see the city.

indicate to the stranger, that he was in a country of high mountains, save the distant prospect of Mt. Blanc, (which, however, is in Savoy.) The lake, narrowing in the shape of a horn, as it approaches the city, becomes simply a plain sheet of water, whose banks contain no features of extraordinary interest. Another consideration, that hotel charges are rather high there, might not be without its weight, other things being equal. Intutaken, too, labors under the latter objection. Buried in the heart of Switzerland, between the lakes of Thun and Buinz, it has a distant view of some of the noblest of the Obuland mountains, and its streets and walks are laid out in so regular a manner as to afford abundant delight to the eye of taste. But Lausanne enjoys a position from which one takes in, at a bird's eye view, nearly the whole of the lake of Geneva; and it has charming environs which the stranger can never tire of visiting. It is the centre of Protestant influence in Switzerland, and the capital of one of its richest Cantons. I could not but mark the contrast, as I stood on an eminence, subsequently, from which I could view the numerous thriving villages of the Canton Vaud and its rich fields, and then look over into Savoy where the villages are more rare amid the wrecks of baronial towers and castles. One meets with comparatively few of the latter in the Canton Vaud, as in other parts of Switzerland, where nature seems to have given to the landscape generally a rugged character, more congenial with the wild spirit of the feudal barons.

The language principally used at Lausanne is the French; though the German is the prevailing language of the Canton. Every thing about the city strikes the stranger favorably. It has a location highly favored by nature. Surrounded by every thing that is picturesque in natural scenery, Having learned from my host, that the finest from the pines and cedars that cover the brow of the point of view about Lausanne was the signal, an signal (a hill overlooking the city and suburbs) or elevation of several hundred feet back of the town, the abundant foliage of elms and ash trees back of I proceeded thither, taking the "cocher" for a guide,

as he had been here before. Going up back of the In the centre of the ring, stood the master of town, we found a path which promised to lead us ceremonies with the band of music. A number of more directly to the point. We followed the path soldiers, the never failing accompaniment of any heedlessly, till we found ourselves within a gentle-public celebration in Switzerland, were seen near man's vineyard, the vines of which, trained with by. Around the whole, were tables containing care upon a thousand short poles, were hanging wine, fruits, and other refreshments. Near by, with clusters of grapes. We had proceeded but a a stream of water was pouring in a lively jet from little way, when my eye was caught by a notice at the trunk of a vigorous elm. the side of the path, to which I called the attention of Joseph. The latter had no sooner read it,* than sneaking from the path, he worked his way most stealthily to the nearest fence, over which he leaped, and carefully searching with his eye to see if he was noticed by any one, put on an innocent air, and walked along composedly. I followed, though not with equal precipitancy. I thought that he displayed the genuine spirit of a Savoyard, who, having led another into a difficulty, would leave him to bear the penalty. Observing several ladies and gentlemen taking a path that seemed to lead up the hill, I followed suite, thinking that they were safer guides than Joseph. As we proceeded, I was astonished to see so many persons moving up and down the hill, and all attired in holiday dresses. It struck me that there must be something unusual to give rise to all this movement. The forest became denser and denser as we ascended. An equally dense mass of foliage covered a long hill on the opposite side of the ravine. A winding and well made walk told that this must be a great resort for the pleasure-seeking part of Lausanne.

I went out for a few moments, to the end of this ridge, called the Signal Point, from which the view is unrivalled. First, looking to the South, you see the lake of Geneva, from its eastern end to its bend, in the manner of a horn, before reaching Geneva; the mountains on the borders of the lake above Lausanne, as they rise bold and rocky, and some of them capped with snow; the "arrowy Rhone," as it empties into that extremity of the lake, after emerging from the narrow valley which, as it retires from the lake, is lost amid enormous mountains in the distance; the city of Lausanne, seeming to be almost on a level with the water of the lake, with its numerous spires and cathedral ; the rich country on the right, thickly studded with villages; the deep ravine on the left, winding beneath the hills; and the road from Lausanne to Berne, making its way up the opposite hill, and lost amid a thick forest of pines.

The exercises on the hill closed with sunset. The boys, with the aid of their marshals, whom somebody had "tied to swords," formed a line; each one carrying a bow and quiver of arrows. Falling into a path on the opposite side of the hill from the one by which we had ascended, they marched down towards the city. Glad of an opportunity to see more of the town, I followed them; their joyous faces appearing in strange contrast

bishop, under the arches of which they passed.

At length, the top was gained, and the great attraction to so many idlers ascertained. The young people of Lausanne, of both sexes, were holding a festival, called the "Fete des Ecoliers. We pressed forward to the ring formed by the spectators. My claims were not opposed; but Joseph, who was with the sombre looking walls of the castle of the just after me, received a severe rebuke from a gen d'arme for his forwardness, accompanied with an It was at 5 o'clock, on the morning of one of intimation to step back a little; which the Savoyard the finest days in August, that I set out in Joseph's obeyed, at the same time touching his hat very res"facre" for Berne, distant from Lausanne about pectfully. Within the ring, the youth of both 50 miles: I soon got out of the carriage, and sexes were waltzing, many couples whirling around walked up the long ascent immediately back of the close after others, without disturbing the harmony town. Market-men and women were bringing, of each other's movements. It was a beautiful thus early, milk in huge tubs on their heads, or in sight. The fair obtained from this exercise that deep wooden vessels strapped to their backs. Here vigor and sprightliness of motion, which lent them and there, a cart, loaded with vegetables, was grace and dignity of carriage. Their complexions slowly moving to town. There was a delightful were clear and beautiful. I had not expected to freshness and purity in the morning air, at this meet so much beauty out of America; but, without elevation. I turned back and gazed upon that prosmaking any confessions, I must be pardoned for pect which I had before beheld from the “Signal." saying that the occasion was enough to have fasci- It seemed a view too beautiful for earth. The sun nated a Zeno; and if love could ever dart his was just gilding some points about the lake, in arrows with fatal effect, it might have been under-striking contrast with the dark shades thrown upon neath the trees of that grove where nature had as- the waters by the mountains. The whole course sumed her most pleasing attitudes. of the lake was visible as far as Geneva. If I lived at Lausanne, I would walk up to one of those eminences every day, and gaze, to my heart's content, upon a scene like that. The only abatement to my full satisfaction was the consciousness that I

The notice was, "On est défender d'aller

par ici, sur la peine d'amende," one is prohibited from passing here, under penalty of being fined. The latter term sufficiently explains the cause of Joseph's consternation.