COLLECTION

OF

ANCIENT AND MODERN

BRITISH AUTHORS

VOL. CXLIV. 

A

RESIDENCE IN FRANCE;

WITH AN

EXCURSION UP THE RHINE, AND A

SECOND VISIT TO SWITZERLAND. 

BY J. FENIMORE COOPER ESQ. 

AUTHOR OF "THE PILOT, " "THE SPY, " &c. 

PARIS, BAUDRY'S EUROPEAN LIBRARY, RUE DU COQ. NEAR THE LOUVRE;

SOLD ALSO BY AMYOT, RUE DE LA PAIX; TRUCHY, BOULEVARD DES ITALIENS;

THEOPHILE BARROIS, JUN. , RUE RICHELIEU; LIBRAIRIE DES ETRANGERS, RUE NEUVE-SAINT-AUGUSTIN; AND HEIDELOFF AND CAMPE, RUE VIVIENNE. 

1836. 

PREFACE. 

The introduction to Part I. Of the "Sketches of Switzerland, " leavesvery little for the author to say in addition. The reader will beprepared to meet with a long digression, that touches on the situationand interests of another country, and it is probable he will understandthe author's motive for thus embracing matter that is not strictlyconnected with the principal subject of the work. 

The first visit of the writer to Switzerland was paid in 1828; thatwhich is related in these two volumes, in 1832. While four years hadmade no changes in the sublime nature of the region, they had seriouslyaffected the political condition of all Europe. They had also produced avariance of feeling and taste in the author, that is the unavoidableconsequences of time and experience. Four years in Europe are an age tothe American, as are four years in America to the European. Jeffersonhas somewhere said, that no American ought to be more than five years, at a time, out of his own country, lest he get _behind_ it. This may betrue, as to its _facts_; but the author is convinced that there is moredanger of his getting _before_ it, as to _opinion_. It is not improbablethat this book may furnish evidence of both these truths. 

Some one, in criticising the First Part of Switzerland, has intimatedthat the writer has a purpose to serve with the "Trades' Unions, " by thepurport of some of his remarks. As this is a country in which the avowalof a tolerably sordid and base motive seems to be indispensable, evento safety, the writer desires to express his sense of the critic'sliberality, as it may save him from a much graver imputation. 

There is really a painful humiliation in the reflection, that a citizenof mature years, with as good natural and accidental means forpreferment as have fallen to the share of most others, may pass his lifewithout a _fact_ of any sort to impeach his disinterestedness, and yetnot be able to express a generous or just sentiment in behalf of hisfellow-creatures, without laying himself open to suspicions that are asdegrading to those who entertain them, as they are injurious to allindependence of thought, and manliness of character. 

CONTENTS. 

LETTER I. 

Influence of the late Revolution in France. --General Lafayette. --Sketchof his Private Life. --My visits to him. --His opinion of Louis XVI. --Mr. Morris and Mr. Crawford. --Duplicity of Louis XVIII. --Charles X. --MarieAntoinette. --Legitimacy of the Duc de Bordeaux. --Discovery of the Plotof 1822. --Lafayette's conduct on that occasion. --A negro Spy. --GeneralKnyphausen. --Louis-Philippe and Lafayette. --My visit to Court. --TheKing, the Queen, Madame Adelaide, and the Princesses. --MarshalJourdan. --The Duke of Orleans. --Interview with the King. --"_Adieul'Amérique!_"--Conversation with Lafayette. --The _JusteMilieu. _--Monarchy not inconsistent with Republican Institutions. --Partyin favour of the Duc de Bordeaux. 

LETTER II. 

The Cholera in Paris. --Its frightful ravages. --Desertion of the city--Mydetermination to remain. --Deaths in the higher classes. --Unexpectedarrival and retreat. --Praiseworthy conduct of the Authorities. --TheCholera caricatured!--Invitation from an English General. --Atmosphericalappearance denoting the arrival of the Cholera. --Lord RobertFitzgerald. --Dinner at the house of Madame de B----

LETTER III. 

Insecurity of the Government--Louis-Philippe and thePear. --Caricatures. --Ugliness of the Public Men of France. --The Duke deValmy. --Care-worn aspect of Society under the New Regime. --Controversyin France respecting the Cost of Government in America. --Conduct ofAmerican Agents in Europe

LETTER IV. 

Gradual disappearance of the Cholera. --Death of M. Casimir Perier. --HisFuneral. --Funeral of General Lamarque. --Magnificent MilitaryEscort. --The Duc de Fitzjames. --An Alarm. --First symptoms of popularRevolt. --Scene on the Pont Royal. --Charge on the people by a body ofcavalry. --The _Sommations_. --General Lafayette and the _BonnetRouge_. --Popular Prejudices in France, England, and America. --Contest inthe Quartier Montmartre. --The Place Louis XVI. --A frightenedSentinel. --Picturesque Bivouac of troops in the Carrousel. --Criticalsituation. --Night-view from the Pont des Arts. --Appearance of theStreets on the following morning. --England an enemy to Liberty. --Affairat the Porte St. Denis. --Procession of Louis-Philippe through thestreets. --Contest in the Rue St. Méry. --Sudden Panic. --Terror of anational Guard and a young Conscript. --Dinner with aCourtier. --Suppression of the Revolt

LETTER V. 

National Guards in the Court of the Palace. --Unclaimed Dead in theMorgue. --View of the Scene of Action. --A blunderingArtillerist. --Singular Spectacle. --The Machinations of theGovernment. --Martial Law. --Violations of the Charter. --Laughable Scenein the Carrousel. --A refractory Private of the National Guard. 

LETTER VI. 

Aspect of Paris. --Visit to Lafayette. --His demeanour. --His account ofthe commencement of the Revolt. --Machinations of the Police. --Characterof Lafayette. --His remarkable expression to General ----. --Conversationon the Revolution of July. --The _Doctrinaires_. --Popular Sympathy inEngland and on the Rhine. --Lafayette's dismissal from the command of theNational Guards. --The Duke of Orleans and his Friends. --MilitaryTribunals in Paris. --The Citizen King in the Streets. --Obliteration ofthe _Fleur-de-lis. _--The Royal Equipage. --The Duke of Brunswick inParis. --His forcible Removal from France. --His Reception inSwitzerland. --A ludicrous Mistake. 

LETTER VII. 

Public Dinner. --Inconsiderate Impulses of Americans. --Rambles inParis. --The Churches of Paris. --View from the leads of Notre Dame. --ThePlace Royale. --The Bridges. --Progress of the Public Works. --The Palacesof the Louvre and the Tuileries. --Royal Enclosures in the Gardens of theTuileries. --Public Edifices. --Private Hotels and Gardens. --My Apartmentsin the house of the Montmorencies. --Our other Residences. --Noble Abodesin Paris. --Comparative Expense of Living in Paris and NewYork. --American Shopkeepers, and those of Europe. 

LETTER VIII. 

Preparations for leaving Paris. --Travelling arrangements. --OurRoute. --The Chateau of Ecouen. --The_Croisée_. --Senlis. --Peronne. --Cambray. --Arrival at theFrontier. --Change in the National Character. --Mons. --Brussels. --AFête. --The Picture Gallery. --Probable Partition of Belgium. 

LETTER IX. 

Malines. --Its Collection of Pictures. --Antwerp. --The Cathedral. --AFlemish Quack. --Flemish Names. --The Picture Gallery at Antwerp. --Mr. Wapper's Carvings in Wood. --Mr. Van Lankeren's Pictures. --The Boulevardsat Brussels. --Royal Abodes. --Palace of the Prince of Orange. --PrinceAuguste d'Ahremberg's Gallery of Pictures. --English Ridicule of America. 

LETTER X. 

School System in America. --American Maps. --LeaveBrussels. --Louvain. --Quarantine. --Liége. --The Soleil d'Or. --King Leopoldand Brother. --Royal Intermarriages. --Environs of Liége. --The Cathedraland the Church of St. Jacques. --Ceremonies of CatholicWorship. --Churches of Europe. --Taverns of America. --Prayer in theFields. --Scott's error as regards the Language spoken in Liége. --Womenof Liége. --Illumination in honour of the King

LETTER XI. 

Leave Liége. --Banks of the Meuse. --Spa. --Beautiful Promenades. --RobinsonCrusoe. --The Duke of Saxe-Cobourg. --Former magnificence ofSpa. --Excursions in the vicinity. --Departure fromSpa. --Aix-la-Chapelle. --The Cathedral. --The Postmaster'sCompliments. --Berghem. --German Enthusiasm. --Arrival at Cologne. 

LETTER XII. 

The Cathedral of Cologne. --The eleven thousand Virgins. --The Skulls ofthe Magi--House in which Rubens was born. --Want of Cleanliness inCologne. --Journey resumed. --The Drachenfels. --Romantic Legend. --AConvent converted into an Inn. --Its Solitude. --A Night in it. --AStorm. --A Nocturnal Adventure. --Grim Figures. --An Apparition. --TheMystery dissolved. --Palace of the Kings of Austrasia. --Banks of theRhine. --Coblentz. --Floating Bridges. --Departure from Coblentz. --Castleof the Ritterstein. --Visit to it. --Its Furniture. --The RitterSaal. --Tower of the Castle. --Anachronisms. 

LETTER XIII. 

Ferry across the Rhine. --Village of Rudesheim. --The _Hinter-hausen_Wine. --Drunkenness. --Neapolitan curiosity respecting America. --TheRhenish Wines enumerated. --Ingelheim. --Johannisberg. --ConventualWine. --Unseasonable praise. --House and Grounds of Johannisberg. --Stateof Nassau. --Palace at Biberich. --The Gardens. --Wiesbaden. --Its publicPromenade. --Frankfort on the Maine. 

LETTER XIV. 

Boulevards of Frankfort. --Political Disturbances in the town. --_Le petitSavoyard_. --Distant glimpse of Homberg. --Darmstadt. --TheBergestrasse. --Heidelberg. --Noisy Market-place. --The Ruins andGardens. --An old Campaigner. --Valley of theNeckar. --Heilbronn. --Ludwigsberg. --Its Palace. --The late Queen ofWurtemberg. --The Birthplace of Schiller. --Comparative claims of Schillerand Goethe. --Stuttgart. --Its Royal Residences. --The Princess ofHechingen. --German Kingdoms. --The King and Queen of Wurtemberg. --SirWalter Scott. --Tubingen. --Ruin of a Castle of the middleages. --Hechingen. --Village of Bahlingen. --The Danube. --The BlackForest. --View from a mountain on the frontier of Baden. --EnterSwitzerland. 

LETTER XV. 

A Swiss Inn. --Cataract of the Rhine. --Canton of Zurich. --Town ofZurich. --Singular Concurrence. --Formidable Ascent. --ExquisiteView. --Einsiedeln. --The Convent. --"_Par exemple_. "--Shores of the Lakeof Zug. --The _Chemin Creux_. --Water Excursion to Alpnach. --Lake ofLungern. --Lovely Landscape. --Effects of Mists on the prospect. --NaturalBarometer. --View from the Brunig. --Enter the great Canton of Berne. --AnEnglishman's Politics. --Our French Companion. --The Giesbach. --MountainMusic. --Lauterbrunnen. --Grindewald. --Rising of the Waters in1830. --Anecdote. --Excursion on the Lake to Thoun. 

LETTER XVI. 

Conspiracy discovered. --The Austrian Government and the FrenchCarlists. --Walk to La Lorraine. --Our old friend "Turc. "--Conversationwith M. W----. --View of the Upper Alps. --Jerome Bonaparte at LaLorraine. --The Bears of Berne. --Scene on the Plateforme. 

LETTER XVII. 

Our Voiturier and his Horses. --A Swiss Diligence. --Morat. --Inconstancyof feeling. --Our Route to Vévey. --Lake Leman. --Difficulty in hiring aHouse. --"Mon Repos" engaged for a month. --Vévey. --The great Square. --TheTown-house. --Environs of Vévey. --Summer Church and WinterChurch. --Clergy of the Canton. --Population of Vaud. --Electivequalifications of Vaud. 

LETTER XVIII. 

Neglect of the Vine in America. --Drunkenness in France. --Choleraespecially fatal to Drunkards. --The Soldier's and the Sailor'sVice. --Sparkling Champagne and Still Champagne. --Excessive Price ofthese Wines in America. --Burgundy. --Proper soil for theVine. --Anecdote. --Vines of Vévey. --The American Fox-grape. 

LETTER XIX. 

The Leman Lake. --Excursions on it. --The coast of Savoy. --Grandeur andbeauty of the Rocks. --Sunset. --Evening Scene. --American Familiesresiding on the banks of the Lake. --Conversation with a Vévaisan on thesubject of America. --The Nullification Question. --America misrepresentedin Europe--Rowland Stephenson in the United States. --Unworthy arts tobring America into disrepute. --Blunders of Europe in respect ofAmerica. --The Kentuckians. --Foreign Associations in theStates. --Illiberal Opinions of many Americans. --Prejudices. 

LETTER XX. 

The Equinox. --Storm on the Lake. --Chase of a little Boat--Chateau ofBlonay. --Drive to Lausanne. --Mont Benon. --Trip to Geneva in theWinkelried. --Improvements in Geneva. --Russian Travellers. --M. Pozzo diBorgo. --Table d'hôte. --Extravagant Affirmations of aFrenchman. --Conversation with a Scotchman. --American Duels. --Visit at aSwiss Country-house. --English Customs affected in America. --SocialIntercourse in the United States. --Difference between a European and anAmerican Foot and Hand. --Violent Gale. --Sheltered position ofVévey. --Promenade. --Picturesque View. --The greatSquare. --Invitation. --Mountain Excursion. --An AmericanLieutenant. --Anecdote. --Extensive Prospect. --Chateau of Glayrole. 

LETTER XXI. 

Embark in the Winkelried. --Discussion with an Englishman. --TheValais. --Free Trade. --The Drance. --TerribleInundation. --Liddes. --Mountain Scenery. --A MountainBasin. --Dead-houses. --Melancholy Spectacle. --Approach ofNight. --Desolate Region. --Convent of the Great St. Bernard. --OurReception there. --Unhealthiness of the Situation. --TheSuperior. --Conversation during Supper. --Coal-mine on theMountain. --Night in the Convent. 

LETTER XXII. 

Sublime Desolation. --A Morning Walk. --The Col. --A Lake. --Site of a RomanTemple. --Enter Italy. --Dreary Monotony. --Return to theConvent. --Tasteless Character of the Building. --Its Origin andPurposes. --The Dead-house. --Dogs of St. Bernard. --The Chapel. --Desaixinterred here. --Fare of St. Bernard, and Deportment of the Monks. --Leavethe Convent. --Our Guide's Notion of the Americans. --Passage of Napoleonacross the Great St. Bernard. --Similar Passages in formertimes. --Transport of Artillery up the Precipices. --Napoleon's perilousAccident. --Return to Vévey. 

LETTER XXIII. 

Democracy in America and in Switzerland. --EuropeanPrejudices. --Influence of Property. --Nationality of the Swiss. --Want ofLocal Attachments in Americans. --Swiss Republicanism. --Political Crusadeagainst America. --Affinities between America and Russia. --Feeling of theEuropean Powers towards Switzerland. 

LETTER XXIV. 

The Swiss Mountain Passes. --Excursion in the neighbourhood ofVévey. --Castle of Blonay. --View from the Terrace. --Memory andHope. --Great Antiquity of Blonay. --The Knight's Hall. --Prospect from theBalcony. --Departure from Blonay. --A Modern Chateau. --Travelling onHorseback. --News from America. --Dissolution of the Union predicted. --ThePrussian Polity. --Despotism in Prussia. 

LETTER XXV. 

Controversy respecting America. --Conduct of AmericanDiplomatists. --_Attachés_ to American Legations. --Unworthy State ofPublic Opinion in America. 

LETTER XXVI. 

Approach of Winter. --The _Livret_. --Regulations respectingServants. --Servants in America. --Governments of the different Cantons ofSwitzerland. --Engagement of Mercenaries. --Population ofSwitzerland. --Physical Peculiarities of the Swiss. --Women ofSwitzerland. --Mrs. Trollope and the American Ladies. --Affected manner ofspeaking in American Women. --Patois in America. --Peculiar manner ofSpeaking at Vévey. --Swiss Cupidity. 

LETTER XXVII. 

Departure from Vévey. --Passage down the Lake. --Arrival atGeneva. --Purchase of Jewellery. --Leave Geneva. --Ascent of theJura. --Alpine Views. --Rudeness at the Custom-house. --Smuggling. --ASmuggler detected. --The second Custom-house. --Final View of MontBlanc. --Re-enter France. --Our luck at the Post-house in Dôle. --A ScotchTraveller. --Nationality of the Scotch. --Road towards Troyes. --Source ofthe Seine. 

LETTER XXVIII. 

Miserable Inn. --A French Bed. --Free Trade. --French Relics. --CrossRoads. --Arrival at Lagrange. --Reception by General Lafayette. --TheNullification Strife. --Conversation with Lafayette. --His Opinion as to aSeparation of the Union in America. --The Slave Question. --Stability ofthe Union. --Style of living at La Grange. --Pap. --French Manners, and theFrench Cuisine. --Departure from La Grange. --Return to Paris. 

RESIDENCE

IN FRANCE. 

LETTER I. 

Influence of the late Revolution in France. --General Lafayette--Sketchof his Private Life. --My visits to him. --His opinion of Louis XVI. --Mr. Morris and Mr. Crawford. --Duplicity of Louis XVIII. --Charles X. --MarieAntoinette. --Legitimacy of the Duc de Bordeaux. --Discovery of the Plotof 1822. --Lafayette's conduct on that occasion. --A negro Spy. --GeneralKnyphausen. --Louis-Philippe and Lafayette. --My visit to Court. --TheKing, the Queen, Madame Adelaide, and the Princesses. --MarshalJourdan. --The Duke of Orleans. --Interview with the King. --"_Adieul'Amérique!_"--Conversation with Lafayette. --The _JusteMilieu_. --Monarchy not inconsistent with Republican Institutions. --Partyin favour of the Duc de Bordeaux. 

Paris, February, 1832. 

Dear ----, Your speculations concerning the influence of the late revolution, onthe social habits of the French, are more ingenious than true. While themass of this nation has obtained less than they had a right to expect bythe severe political convulsions they have endured, during the lastforty years, they have, notwithstanding, gained something in theirrights; and, what is of far more importance, they have gained in abetter appreciation of those rights, as well as in the knowledge of themeans to turn them to a profitable and practical account. The end willshow essential improvements in their condition, or rather the presenttime shows it already. The change in polite society has been lessfavourable, although even this is slowly gaining in morals, and in ahealthier tone of thought. No error can be greater, than that ofbelieving France has endured so much, without a beneficial return. 

In making up my opinions of the old regime, I have had constant recourseto General Lafayette for information. The conversations and anecdotesalready sent you, will have prepared you for the fine tone, and perfectcandour, with which he speaks even of his bitterest enemies; nor can Iremember, in the many confidential and frank communications with which Ihave been favoured, a single instance where, there has been the smallestreason to suspect he has viewed men through the medium of personalantipathies and prejudices. The candour and simplicity of his opinionsform beautiful features in his character; and the _bienséance_ of hismind (if one may use such an expression) throws a polish over hisharshest strictures, that is singularly adapted to obtain credit for hisjudgment. 

Your desire to know more of the private life of this extraordinary man, is quite natural; but he has been so long before the public, that it isnot easy to say anything new. I may, however, give you a trait or two, to amuse you. 

I have seen more of him this winter than the last, owing to thecircumstance of a committee of Americans, that have been appointed toadminister succour to the exiled Poles, meeting weekly at my house, andit is rare indeed that he is not present on these benevolent occasions. He has discontinued his own soirées, too; and, having fewer demands onhis time, through official avocations, I gain admittance to him duringhis simple and quiet dinners, whenever it is asked. 

These dinners, indeed, are our usual hours of meeting, for theoccupations of the General, in the Chamber, usually keep him engaged inthe morning; nor am I commonly at leisure, myself, until about this hourof the day. In Paris, every one dines, nominally, at six; but thedeputies being often detained a little later, whenever I wish to seehim, I hurry from my own table, and generally reach the Rue d'Anjou insufficient season to find him still at his. 

On quitting the Hôtel de l'Etat Major, after being dismissed sounceremoniously from the command of the National Guard, Lafayettereturned to his own neat but simple lodgings in the Rue d'Anjou. Thehotel, itself, is one of some pretensions, but his apartments, thoughquite sufficient for a single person, are not among the best itcontains, lying on the street, which is rarely or never the case withthe principal rooms. The passage to them communicates with the greatstaircase, and the door is one of those simple, retired entrances that, in Paris, so frequently open on the abodes of some of the mostillustrious men of the age. Here have I seen princes, marshals, anddignitaries of all degrees, ringing for admission, no one appearing tothink of aught but the great man within. These things are permittedhere, where the mind gets accustomed to weigh in the balance all thedifferent claims to distinction; but it would scarcely do in a country, in which the pursuit of money is the sole and engrossing concern oflife; a show of expenditure becoming necessary to maintain it. 

The apartments of Lafayette consist of a large ante-chamber, two salons, and an inner room, where he usually sits and writes, and in which, oflate, he has had his bed. These rooms are _en suite_, and communicate, laterally, with one or two more, and the offices. His sole attendants intown, are the German valet, named Bastien, who accompanied him in hislast visit to America, the footman who attends him with the carriage, and the coachman (there may be a cook, but I never saw a female in theapartments). Neither wears a livery, although all his appointments, carriages, horses, and furniture, are those of a gentleman. One thinghas struck me as a little singular. Notwithstanding his strongattachment to America and to her usages, Lafayette, while the practiceis getting to be common in Paris, has not adopted the use of carpets. Ido not remember to have seen one, at La Grange, or in town. 

When I show myself at the door, Bastien, who usually acts as porter, andwho has become quite a diplomatist in these matters, makes a sign ofassent, and intimates that the General is at dinner. Of late, hecommonly dispenses with the ceremony of letting it be known who hascome, but I am at once ushered into the bed-room. Here I find Lafayetteseated at a table, just large enough to contain one cover and a singledish; or a table, in other words, so small as to be covered with anapkin. His little white lap-dog is his only companion. As it is alwaysunderstood that I have dined, no ceremony is used, but I take a seat atthe chimney corner, while he goes on with his dinner. His meals arequite frugal, though good; a _poulet rôti_ invariably making one dish. There are two or three removes, a dish at a time, and the dinner usuallyconcludes with some preserves or dried fruits, especially dates, ofwhich he is extremely fond. I generally come in for one or two of thelatter. 

All this time, the conversation is on what has transpired in theChambers during the day, the politics of Europe, nullification inAmerica, or the gossip of the chateau, of which he is singularly wellinformed, though he has ceased to go there. 

The last of these informal interviews with General Lafayette, was one ofpeculiar interest. I generally sit but half an hour, leaving him to goto his evening engagements, which, by the way, are not frequent; but, onthis occasion, he told me to remain, and I passed nearly two hours withhim. 

We chatted a good deal of the state of society under the old regime. Curious to know his opinions of their private characters, I asked a goodmany questions concerning the royal family. Louis XVI. He described asa-well-meaning man, addicted a little too much to the pleasures of thetable, but who would have done well enough had he not been surroundedby bad advisers. I was greatly surprised by one of his remarks. "LouisXVI, " observed Lafayette, "owed his death as much to the bad advice ofGouverneur Morris, as to any one other thing. " You may be certain I didnot let this opinion go unquestioned; for, on all other occasions, inspeaking of Mr. Morris, his language had been kind and even grateful. Heexplained himself, by adding, that Mr. Morris, coming from a countrylike America, was listened to with great respect, and that on alloccasions he gave his opinions against democracy, advising resistance, when resistance was not only too late but dangerous. He did not call inquestion the motives of Mr. Morris, to which he did full justice, butmerely affirmed that he was a bad adviser. He gave me to understand thatthe representatives of America had not always been faithful to thepopular principle, and even went into details that it would be improperfor me to repeat. I have mentioned this opinion of Mr. Morris, becausehis aristocratical sentiments were no secret, because they were mingledwith no expressions of personal severity, and because I have heard themfrom other quarters. He pronounced a strong eulogium on the conduct ofMr. Crawford, which he said was uniformly such as became an Americanminister. 

There is nothing, however, novel in these instances, of ourrepresentatives proving untrue to the prominent feeling of the country, on the subject of popular rights. It is the subject of very frequentcomment in Europe, and sometimes of complaint on the part of those whoare struggling for what they conceive to be their just privileges; manyof them having told me, personally, that our agents frequently standmaterially in their way. 

Louis XVIII, Lafayette pronounced to be the _falsest_ man he had evermet with; to use his own expression, "_l'homme le plus faux_. " He gavehim credit for a great deal of talent, but added that his duplicity wasinnate, and not the result of his position, for it was known to hisyoung associates, in early youth, and that they used to say amongthemselves, as young men, and in their ordinary gaieties, that it wouldbe unsafe to confide in the Comte de Provence. 

Of Charles X he spoke kindly, giving him exactly a different character. He thought him the most honest of the three brothers, though quiteunequal to the crisis in which he had been called to reign. He believedhim sincere in his religious professions, and thought the charge of hisbeing a professed Jesuit by no means improbable. 

Marie Antoinette he thought an injured woman. On the subject of herreputed gallantries he spoke cautiously, premising that, as an American, I ought to make many allowances for a state of society, that wasaltogether unknown in our country. Treating this matter with thediscrimination of a man of the world, and the delicacy of a gentleman, he added that he entirely exonerated her from all of the coarse chargesthat had proceeded from vulgar clamour, while he admitted that she hadbetrayed a partiality for a young Swede[1] that was, at least, indiscreet for one in her situation, though he had no reason to believeher attachment had led her to the length of criminality. 

[Footnote 1: A Count Koningsmarke. ]

I asked his opinion concerning the legitimacy of the Duc de Bordeaux, but he treated the rumour to the contrary, as one of those miserabledevices to which men resort to effect the ends of party, and asaltogether unworthy of serious attention. 

I was amused with the simplicity with which he spoke of his own effortsto produce a change of government, during the last reign. On thissubject he had been equally frank even before the recent revolution, though there would have been a manifest impropriety in my repeating whathad then passed between us. This objection is now removed in part, and Imay recount one of his anecdotes, though I can never impart to it thecool and quiet humour with which it was related. We were speaking of theattempt of 1822, or the plot which existed in the army. In reply to aquestion of mine, he said--"Well, I was to have commanded in thatrevolution, and when the time came, I got into my carriage, without apassport, and drove across the country to ----, where I obtainedpost-horses, and proceeded as fast as possible towards ----. At ----, acourier met me, with the unhappy intelligence that our plot wasdiscovered, and that several of our principal agents were arrested. Iwas advised to push for the frontier, as fast as I could. But we turnedround in the road, and I went to Paris, and took my seat in the Chamberof Deputies. They looked very queer, and a good deal surprised when theysaw me, and I believe they were in great hopes that I had run away. Theparty of the ministers were loud in their accusations against theopposition for encouraging treason, and Perier and Constant, and therest of them, made indignant appeals against such unjust accusations. Itook a different course. I went into the tribune, and invited theministers to come and give a history of my political life; of my changesand treasons, as they called them; and said that when they had gotthrough, I would give the character and history of theirs. This settledthe matter, for I heard no more from them. " I inquired if he had notfelt afraid of being arrested and tried. "Not much, " was his answer. "They knew I denied the right of foreigners to impose a government onFrance, and they also knew they had not kept faith with France under thecharter. I made no secret of my principles, and frequently put lettersunsealed into the post office, in which I had used the plainest languageabout the government. On the whole, I believe they were more afraid ofme than I was of them. "

It is impossible to give an idea, in writing, of the pleasant manner hehas of relating these things--a manner that receives additional piquancyfrom his English, which, though good, is necessarily broken. He usuallyprefers the English in such conversations. 

"By the way, " he suddenly asked me, "where was the idea of Harvey Birch, in the Spy, found?" I told him that the thought had been obtained froman anecdote of the revolution, related to me by Governor Jay, some yearsbefore the book was written. He laughingly remarked that he could havesupplied the hero of a romance, in the person of a negro named Harry (Ibelieve, though the name has escaped me), who acted as a spy, both forhim and Lord Cornwallis, during the time he commanded against thatofficer in Virginia. This negro he represented as being true to theAmerican cause, and as properly belonging to his service, thoughpermitted occasionally to act for Lord Cornwallis, for the sake ofgaining intelligence. After the surrender of the latter, he called onGeneral Lafayette, to return a visit. Harry was in an anteroom cleaninghis master's boots, as Lord Cornwallis entered. "Ha! Master Harry, "exclaimed the latter, "you are here, are you?" "Oh, yes, masserCornwallis--muss try to do little for de country, " was the answer. Thisnegro, he said, was singularly clever and bold, and of sterlingpatriotism!

He made me laugh with a story, that he said the English officers hadtold him of General Knyphausen, who commanded the Hessian mercenaries, in 1776. This officer, a rigid martinet, knew nothing of the sea, andnot much more of geography. On the voyage between England and America, he was in the ship of Lord Howe, where he passed several uncomfortableweeks, the fleet having an unusually long passage, on account of the badsailing of some of the transports. At length Knyphausen could containhimself no longer, but marching stiffly up to the admiral one day, hecommenced with--"My lord, I know it is the duty of a soldier to besubmissive at sea, but, being entrusted with the care of the troops ofHis Serene Highness, my master, I feel it my duty just to inquire, ifit be not possible, that during some of the dark nights, we have latelyhad, _we may have sailed past America_?"

I asked him if he had been at the chateau lately. His reply was verybrief and expressive. "The king denies my account of the programme ofthe Hôtel de Ville, and we stand in the position of two gentlemen, who, in substance, have given each other the lie. Circumstances prevent ourgoing to the Bois de Boulogne to exchange shots, " he added, smiling, "but they also prevent our exchanging visits. " I then ventured to saythat I had long foreseen what would be the result of the friendship ofLouis-Philippe, and, for the first time, in the course of ourconversations, I adverted to my own visit to the palace in his company, an account of which I will extract, for your benefit, from mynote-book. [2]

[Footnote 2: The period referred to was in 1830. ]

 * * * * *

In the morning I received a note from General Lafayette, in which heinformed me that Mr. M'Lane, who is here on a visit from London, wasdesirous of being presented; that there was a reception in the evening, at which he intended to introduce the minister to England, Mr. Rives nothaving yet received his new credentials, and, of course, not appearingin matters of ceremony. General Lafayette pressed me so strongly to beof the party, in compliment to Mr. M'Lane, that, though but anindifferent courtier, and though such a visit was contrary to my quiethabits, I could do nothing but comply. 

At the proper hour, General Lafayette had the good nature to call andtake me up, and we proceeded, at once, for Mr. M'Lane. With thisgentleman we drove to the Palais Royal, my old brother officer, Mr. T----, who was included in the arrangement, following in his owncarriage. 

We found the inner court crowded, and a throng about the entrance tothe great staircase; but the appearance of Lafayette cleared the way, and there was a movement in the crowd which denoted his great personalpopularity. I heard the words "_des Américains_" passing from one toanother, showing how completely he was identified with us and ourprinciples, in the public mind. One or two of the younger officers ofthe court were at the foot of the stairs to receive him, though whethertheir presence was accidental or designed, I cannot say; but I suspectthe latter. At all events the General was received with the profoundestrespect, and the most smiling assiduity. 

The ante-chamber was already crowded, but following our leader, hispresence cleared the way for us, until he got up quite near to thedoors, where some of the most distinguished men of France werecollected. I saw many in the throng whom I knew, and the first minute ortwo were passed in nods of recognition. My attention was, however, soonattracted to a dialogue between Marshal Soult and Lafayette, that wascarried on with the most perfect _bonhomie_ and simplicity. I did nothear the commencement, but found they were speaking of their legs, whichboth seemed to think the worse for wear. "But you have been wounded inthe leg, monsieur?" observed Lafayette. "This limb was a little _maltraité_ at Genoa, " returned the marshal, looking down at a leg that hada very game look: "but you, General, you too, were hurt in America?""Oh! that was nothing; it happened more than fifty years ago, and _thenit was in a good cause_--it was the fall and the fracture that made melimp. " Just at this moment, the great doors flew open, and this _quasi_republican court standing arrayed before us, the two old soldiers limpedforward. 

The King stood near the door, dressed as a General of the NationalGuards, entirely without decorations, and pretty well tricoloured. TheQueen, Madame Adelaide, the Princesses, and several of the children, were a little farther removed, the two former standing in front, andthe latter being grouped behind them. But one or two ladies werepresent, nor did I see anything at the commencement of the evening ofthe Ducs d'Orléans and de Nemours. 

Lafayette was one of the first that entered, and of course we kept nearhim. The King advanced to meet him with an expression of pleasure--Ithought it studied--but they shook hands quite cordially. We were thenpresented by name, and each of us had the honour of shaking hands, ifthat can be considered an honour, which fell to the share of quite halfof those who entered. The press was so great that there was noopportunity to say anything. I believe we all met with the usualexpressions of welcome, and there the matter ended. 

Soon after we approached the Queen, with whom our reception had a moremeasured manner. Most of those who entered did little more than make adistant bow to this group, but the Queen manifesting a desire to saysomething to our party, Mr. M'Lane and myself approached them. She firstaddressed my companion in French, a language he did not speak, and I wasobliged to act as interpreter. But the Queen instantly said sheunderstood English, though she spoke it badly, and begged he wouldaddress her in his own tongue. Madame Adelaide seemed more familiar withour language. But the conversation was necessarily short, and not worthrepeating. 

Queen Amélie is a woman of a kind, and, I think, intelligentcountenance. She has the Bourbon rather than the Austrian outline offace. She seemed anxious to please, and in her general air and carriagehas some resemblance to the Duchess of St. Leu. [3] She has thereputation of being an excellent wife and mother, and, really, not tofall too precipitately into the vice of a courtier, she appears as ifshe may well deserve it. She is thin, but graceful, and I can wellimagine that she has been more than pretty in her youth. 

[Footnote 3: Hortense. ]

I do not remember a more frank, intelligent, and winning countenancethan that of Madame Adelaide, who is the King's sister. She has littlebeauty left, except that of expression; but this must have made herhandsome once, as it renders her singularly attractive now. Her mannerwas less nervous than that of the Queen, and I should think her mind hadmore influence over her exterior. 

The Princess Louise (the Queen of Belgium) and the Princess Marie arepretty, with the quiet subdued manner of well-bred young persons. Thefirst is pale, has a strikingly Bourbon face, resembling the profiles onthe French coins; while the latter has an Italian and classical outlineof features, with a fine colour. 

They were all dressed with great simplicity; scarcely in high dinnerdress; the Queen and Madame Adelaide wearing evening hats. ThePrincesses, as is uniformly the case with unmarried French girls ofrank, were without any ornaments, wearing their hair in the usualmanner. 

After the ceremonies of being presented were gone through, I amusedmyself with examining the company. This was a levee, not a drawing-room, and there were no women among the visitors. The men, who did not appearin uniform, were in common evening dress, which has degenerated of lateinto black stocks and trousers. 

Accident brought me next to an old man, who had exactly thatrevolutionary air which has become so familiar to us by the engravingsof Bonaparte and his generals that were made shortly after the Italiancampaign. The face was nearly buried in neckcloth, the hair was long andwild, and the coat was glittering, but ill-fitting and stiff. It was, however, the coat of a _maréchal_; and, what rendered it still moresingular, it was entirely without orders. I was curious to know who thisrelic of 1797 might be; for, apart from his rank, which was betrayed byhis coat, he was so singularly ugly as scarcely to appear human. Oninquiry it proved to be Marshal Jourdan. 

There was some amusement in watching the different individuals who cameto pay their court to the new dynasty. Many were personally andfamiliarly known to me as very loyal subjects of the last reign;soldiers who would not have hesitated to put Louis-Philippe _au fil del'épée_, three months before, at the command of Charles X. But timeswere changed. They now came to show themselves to the new sovereign;most of them to manifest their disposition to be put in the way ofpreferment, some to reconnoitre, others to conceal their disaffection, and all to subserve their own interests. It was laughably easy todiscern who were confident of their reception by being of the rulingparty, who distrusted, and who were indifferent. The last class wassmall. A general officer, whom I personally knew, looked like one whohad found his way into a wrong house by mistake. He was a Bonapartist byhis antecedents, and in his true way of thinking; but accident hadthrown him into the hands of the Bourbons, and he had now come to seewhat might be gleaned from the House of Orleans. His reception was notflattering, and I could only compare the indecision and wavering of hismanner to that of a regiment that falters before an unexpected volley. 

After amusing ourselves some time in the great throng, which was densestnear the King, we went towards a secondary circle that had formed inanother part of the room, where the Duke of Orleans had appeared. He wasconversing with Lafayette, who immediately presented us all insuccession. The Prince is a genteel, handsome young man, with a facemuch more Austrian than that of any of his family, so far as one canjudge of what his younger brothers are likely to be hereafter. In form, stature, and movements, he singularly resembles W----, and there is alsoa good deal of likeness in the face, though in this particular thelatter has the advantage. He was often taken for the Duc de Chartresduring our former residence at Paris. Our reception was gracious, theheir to the throne appearing anxious to please every one. 

The amusing part of the scene is to follow. Fatigued with standing, wehad got chairs in a corner of the room, behind the throng, where thediscourtesy of being seated might escape notice. The King soon afterwithdrew, and the company immediately began to go away. Three-fourths, perhaps, were gone, when an aide-de-camp came up to us and inquired ifwe were not the three Americans who had been presented by GeneralLafayette? Being answered in the affirmative, he begged us to accompanyhim. He led us near a door at the other end of the _salle_, a room ofgreat dimensions, where we found General Lafayette in waiting. The aide, or officer of the court, whichever might be his station, passed throughthe door, out of which the King immediately came. It appeared to me asif the General was not satisfied with our first reception, and wished tohave it done over again. The King looked grave, not to say discontented, and I saw, at a glance, that he could have dispensed with this extraattention. Mr. M'Lane standing next the door, he addressed a few wordsto him in English, which he speaks quite readily, and without muchaccent: indeed he said little to any one else, and the few words that hedid utter were exceedingly general and unmeaning. Once he got as far asT----, whom he asked if he came from New York, and he looked hard at me, who stood farther from the door, mumbled something, bowed to us all, andwithdrew. I was struck with his manner, which seemed vexed andunwilling, and the whole thing appeared to me to be awkward anduncomfortable. I thought it a bad omen for the influence of the General. 

By this time the great _salle_ was nearly empty, and we moved offtogether to find our carriages. General Lafayette preceded us, ofcourse, and as he walked slowly, and occasionally stopped to converse, we were among the last in the ante-chamber. In passing into the last orouter ante-chamber, the General stopped nearly in the door to speak tosome one. Mr. M'Lane and Mr. T---- being at his side, they so nearlystopped the way that I remained some distance in the rear, in order notto close it entirely. My position would give an ordinary observer reasonto suppose that I did not belong to the party. A young officer of thecourt (I call them aides, though, I believe, they were merelysubstitutes for chamberlains, dignitaries to which this republican reignhas not yet given birth), was waiting in the outer room to pass, butappeared unwilling to press too closely on a group of which GeneralLafayette formed the principal person. He fidgeted and chafed evidently, but still kept politely at a distance. After two or three minutes theparty moved on, but I remained stationary, watching the result. Room wasno sooner made than the officer brushed past, and gave vent to hisfeelings by saying, quite loudly and distinctly, "_Adieu, l'Amérique_!"

It is a pretty safe rule to believe that in the tone of courtiers isreflected the feeling of the monarch. The attention to General Lafayettehad appeared to me as singularly affected and forced, and the manner ofthe King anything but natural; and several little occurrences during theevening had tended to produce the impression that the real influence ofthe former, at the palace, might be set down as next to nothing. I neverhad any faith in a republican king from the commencement, but this nearview of the personal intercourse between the parties served to persuademe that General Lafayette had been the dupe of his own good faith andkind feelings. 

In descending the great stairs I mentioned the occurrence just relatedto Mr. M'Lane, adding, that I thought the days of our friend werenumbered, and that a few months would produce a schism between him andLouis-Philippe. Everything, at the moment, however, looked so smiling, and so much outward respect was lavished on General Lafayette, that thisopinion did not find favour with my listener, though, I believe, he sawreason to think differently, after another visit to court. We all gotinvitations to dine at the palace in a day or two. 

 * * * * *

I did not, however, touch upon the "_adieu l'Amérique_, " with GeneralLafayette, which I have always deemed a subject too delicate to bementioned. 

He startled me by suddenly putting the question, whether I thought anexecutive, in which there should be but one agent, as in the UnitedStates, or an executive, in which there should be three, or five, wouldbest suit the condition of France? Though so well acquainted with theboldness and steadiness of his views, I was not prepared to find hismind dwelling on such a subject, at the present moment. The state ofFrance, however, is certainly extremely critical, and we ought not to besurprised at the rising of the people at any moment. 

I told General Lafayette, that, in my poor judgment, the questionadmitted of a good deal of controversy. Names did not signify much, butevery administration should receive its main impulses, subject to thecommon wishes and interests, from a close conformity of views, whetherthere were one incumbent or a dozen. The English system certainly made anear approach to a divided executive, but the power was so distributedas to prevent much clashing; and when things went wrong, the ministersresigned; parliament, in effect, holding the control of the executive aswell as of the legislative branches of the government. Now I did notthink France was prepared for such a polity, the French being accustomedto see a real as well as a nominal monarch, and the disposition tointrigue would, for a long time to come, render their administrationsfluctuating and insecure. A directory would either control the chambers, or be controlled by them. In the former case it would be apt to bedivided in itself; in the latter, to agitate the chambers by factionsthat would not have the ordinary outlet of majorities to restore theequilibrium. 

He was of opinion himself that the expedient of a directory had notsuited the state of France. He asked me what I thought of universalsuffrage for this country. I told him, I thought it altogether unsuitedto the present condition of France. I did not attach much faith to theold theory of the necessary connexion between virtue and democracy, as acause; though it might, with the necessary limitations, follow as aneffect. A certain degree of knowledge of its uses, _action_, andobjects, was indispensable to a due exercise of the suffrage; not thatit was required every elector should be learned in the theory ofgovernments, but that he should know enough to understand the generalconnexion between his vote and his interests, and especially his rights. This knowledge was not at all difficult of attainment, in ordinarycases, when one had the means of coming at facts. In cases that admit ofargument, as in all the questions on political economy, I did not seethat any reasonable degree of knowledge made the matter much better, thecleverest men usually ranging themselves on the two extremes of allmooted questions. Concerning the right of every man, who was qualifiedto use the power, to have his interests directly represented in agovernment, it was unnecessary to speak, the only question being who hadand who had not the means to make a safe use of the right in practice. It followed from these views, that the great desiderata were toascertain what these means were. 

In the present state of the world, I thought it absolutely necessarythat a man should be able to read, in order to exercise the right tovote with a prudent discretion. In countries where everybody reads, other qualifications might be trusted to, provided they were low andwithin reasonable reach of the mass; but, in a country like France, Iwould allow no man to vote until he knew how to read, if he were as richas Croesus. 

I felt convinced the present system could not continue long in France. It might do for a few years, as a reaction; but when things wererestored to their natural course, it would be found that there is anunnatural union between facts that are peculiar to despotism, and factsthat are peculiarly the adjuncts of liberty; as in the provisions of theCode Napoleon, and in the liberty of the press, without naming amultitude of other discrepancies. The _juste milieu_ that he had soadmirably described[4] could not last long, but the government wouldsoon find itself driven into strong measures, or into liberal measures, in order to sustain itself. Men could no more serve "God and Mammon" inpolitics than in religion. I then related to him an anecdote that hadoccurred to myself the evening of the first anniversary of the presentreign. 

[Footnote 4: When the term _juste milieu_ was first used by the King, and adopted by his followers, Lafayette said in the Chamber, that "hevery well understood what a _juste milieu_ meant, in any particularcase; it meant neither more nor less than the truth, in that particularcase: but as to a political party's always taking a middle course, underthe pretence of being in a _juste milieu_, he should liken it to adiscreet man's laying down the proposition that four and four makeeight, and a fool's crying out, 'Sir, you are wrong, for four and fourmake ten;' whereupon the advocate for the _juste milieu_ on system, would be obliged to say, 'Gentlemen, you are equally in extremes, _fourand four make nine_. '" It is the fashion to say Lafayette wanted_esprit_. This was much the cleverest thing the writer ever heard in theFrench Chambers, and, generally, he knew few men who said more wittythings in a neat and unpretending manner than General Lafayette. Indeedthis was the bias of his mind, which was little given to profoundreflections, though distinguished for a _fort bon sens_. ]

On the night in question, I was in the Tuileries, with a view to see thefireworks. Taking a station a little apart from the crowd, I foundmyself under a tree alone with a Frenchman of some sixty years of age. After a short parley, my companion, as usual, mistook me for anEnglishman. On being told his error, he immediately opened aconversation on the state of things in France. He asked me if I thoughtthey would continue. I told him, no; that I thought two or three yearswould suffice to bring the present system to a close. "Monsieur, " saidmy companion, "you are mistaken. It will require ten years to dispossessthose who have seized upon the government, since the last revolution. All the young men are growing up with the new notions, and in ten yearsthey will be strong enough to overturn the present order of things. Remember that I prophesy the year 1840 will see a change of governmentin France. "

Lafayette laughed at this prediction, which, he said, did not quiteequal his impatience. He then alluded to the ridicule which had beenthrown upon his own idea of "A monarchy with republican institutions, "and asked me what I thought of the system. As my answer to this, as wellas to his other questions, will serve to lay before you my own opinions, which you have a right to expect from me, as a traveller rendering anaccount of what he has seen, I shall give you its substance, at length. 

So far from finding anything as absurd as is commonly pretended in theplan of a "throne surrounded by republican institutions, " it appears tome to be exactly the system best suited to the actual condition ofFrance. By a monarchy, however, a real monarchical government, or one inwhich the power of the sovereign is to predominate, is not to beunderstood, in this instance, but such a semblance of a monarchy asexists to-day, in England, and formerly existed in Venice and Genoaunder their Doges. La England the aristocracy notoriously rules, throughthe king, and I see no reason why in France, a constituency with a basesufficiently broad to entitle it to assume the name of a republic, mightnot rule, in its turn, in the same manner. In both cases the sovereignwould merely represent an abstraction; the sovereign power would bewielded in his name, but at the will of the constituency; he would be aparliamentary echo, to pronounce the sentiment of the legislativebodies, whenever a change of men or a change of measures becamenecessary It is very true that, under such a system, there would be noreal separation, in principle, between the legislative and the executivebranches of government; but such is to-day, and such has long been theactual condition of England, and her statesmen are fond of saving, theplan "works well. " Now, although the plan does not work half as well inEngland as is pretended, except for those who more especially reap itsbenefits, simply because the legislature is not established on asufficiently popular basis, still it works better, on the whole, for thepublic, than if the system were reversed, as was formerly the case, andthe king ruled through the parliament, instead of the parliament rulingthrough the king. In France the facts are ripe for an extension of thisprinciple, in its safest and most salutary manner. The French of thepresent generation are prepared to dispense with a hereditary andpolitical aristocracy, in the first place, nothing being more odious tothem than privileged orders, and no nation, not even America, havingmore healthful practices or wiser notions on this point than themselves. The experience of the last fifteen years has shown the difficulty ofcreating an independent peerage in France, notwithstanding the effortsof the government, sustained by the example and wishes of England, havebeen steadily directed to that object. Still they have the traditionsand _prestige_ of a monarchy. Under such circumstances, I see nodifficulty in carrying out the idea of Lafayette. Indeed some suchpolity is indispensable, unless liberty is to be wholly sacrificed. Allexperience has shown that a king, who is a king in fact as well as name, is too strong for law, and the idea of restraining such a power by_principles_, is purely chimerical. He may be curtailed in hisauthority, by the force of opinion, and by extreme constructions ofthese principles; but if this be desirable, it would be better to avoidthe struggle, and begin, at once, by laying the foundation of the systemin such a way as will prevent the necessity of any change. 

As respects France, a peerage, in my opinion, is neither desirable norpracticable. It is certainly possible for the king to maintain a chosenpolitical corps, as long as he can maintain himself, which shall act inhis interests and do his bidding; but it is folly to ascribe theattributes that belong to a peerage to such a body of mercenaries. Theyresemble the famous mandamus counsellors, who had so great an agency inprecipitating our own revolution, and are more likely to achieve asimilar disservice to their master than any thing else. Could theybecome really independent, to a point to render them a masculine featurein the state, they would soon, by their combinations, become too strongfor the other branches of the government, as has been the case inEngland, and France would have a "throne surrounded by aristocraticinstitutions. " The popular notion that an aristocracy is necessary to amonarchy, I take it, is a gross error. A titular aristocracy, in someshape or other, is always the _consequence_ of monarchy, merely becauseit is the reflection of the sovereign's favour, policy, or caprice; but_political_ aristocracies like the peerage, have, nine times in ten, proved too strong for the monarch. France would form no exception to therule; but, as men are apt to run into the delusion of believing itliberty to strip one of power, although his mantle is to fall on thefew, I think it more than probable the popular error would be quitelikely to aid the aristocrats in effecting their object, after habit hada little accustomed the nation to the presence of such a body. This issaid, however, under the supposition that the elements of an independentpeerage could be found in France, a fact that I doubt, as has just beenmentioned.. 

If England can have a throne, then, surrounded by aristocraticalinstitutions, what is there to prevent France from having a throne"surrounded by republican institutions?" The word "Republic, " though itdoes not exclude, does not necessarily include the idea of a democracy. It merely means a polity, in which the predominant idea is the "publicthings, " or common weal, instead of the hereditary and inalienablerights of one. It would be quite practicable, therefore, to establish inFrance such an efficient constituency as would meet the latterconditions, and yet to maintain the throne, as the machinery necessary, in certain cases, to promulgate the will of this very constituency. This is all that the throne does in England, and why need it do more inFrance? By substituting then a more enlarged constituency, for theborough system of England, the idea of Lafayette would be completelyfulfilled. The reform in England, itself, is quite likely to demonstratethat his scheme was not as monstrous as has been affirmed. The throne ofFrance should be occupied as Corsica is occupied, not for theaffirmative good it does the nation, so much as to prevent harm from itsbeing occasionally vacant. 

In the course of the conversation, I gave to General Lafayette thefollowing outline of the form of government I could wish to give toFrance, were I a Frenchman, and had I a voice in the matter. I give itto you on the principle already avowed, or as a traveller furnishing hisnotions of the things he has seen, and because it may aid in giving youa better insight into my views of the state of this country. 

I would establish a monarchy, and Henry V. Should be the monarch. Iwould select him on account of his youth, which will admit of his beingeducated in the notions necessary to his duty; and on account of hisbirth, which would strengthen his nominal government, and, by necessaryconnexion, the actual government: for I believe, that, in their hearts, and notwithstanding the professions to the contrary, nearly half ofFrance would greatly prefer the legitimate line of their ancient kingsto the actual dynasty. This point settled, I would extend the suffrageas much as facts would justify; certainly so as to include a million ora million and a half of electors. All idea of the _représentation_ ofproperty should be relinquished, as the most corrupt, narrow, andvicious form of polity that has ever been devised, invariably tending toarray one portion of the community against another, and endangering thevery property it is supposed to protect. A moderate property_qualification_ might be adopted, in connexion with that ofintelligence. The present scheme in France unites, in my view of thecase, precisely the two worst features of admission to the suffrage thatcould be devised. The qualification of an elector is a given amount ofdirect contribution. This _qualification_ is so high as to amount to_représentation_, and France is already so taxed as to make a diminutionof the burdens one of the first objects at which a good government wouldaim; it follows, that as the ends of liberty are attained, itsfoundations would be narrowed, and the _représentation_ of propertywould be more and more assured. A simple property qualification would, therefore, I think, be a better scheme than the present. 

Each department should send an allotted number of deputies, the pollsbeing distributed on the American plan. Respecting the term of service, there might arise various considerations, but it should not exceed fiveyears, and I would prefer three. The present house of peers should beconverted into a senate, its members to sit as long as the deputies. Isee no use in making the term of one body longer than the other, and Ithink it very easy to show that great injury has arisen from thepractice among ourselves. Neither do I see the advantage of having apart go out periodically; but, on the contrary, a disadvantage, as itleaves a representation of old, and, perhaps, rejected opinions, tostruggle with the opinions of the day. Such collisions have invariablyimpeded the action and disturbed the harmony of our own government. Iwould have every French elector vote for each senator; thus the localinterests would be protected by the deputies, while the senate wouldstrictly represent France. This united action would control all things, and the ministry would be an emanation of their will, of which the kingshould merely be the organ. 

I have no doubt the action of our own system would be better, could wedevise some plan by which a ministry should supersede the presentexecutive. The project of Mr. Hillhouse, that of making the senatorsdraw lots annually for the office of President, is, in my opinion, better than the elective system; but it would be, in a manner, liable tothe old objection, of a want of harmony between the different branchesof the government. France has all the machinery of royalty, in herpalaces, her parks, and the other appliances of the condition; and shehas, moreover, the necessary habits and opinions, while we have neither. There is, therefore, just as much reason why France should not rejectthis simple expedient for naming a ministry, as there is for our notadopting it. Here, then, would be, at once, a "throne surrounded byrepublican institutions, " and, although it would not be a throne aspowerful as that which France has at present, it would, I think, be morepermanent than one surrounded by bayonets, and leave France, herself, more powerful, in the end. 

The capital mistake made in 1830, was that of establishing the _throne_before establishing the _republic_; in trusting to _men_ instead oftrusting to _institutions_. 

I do not tell you that Lafayette assented to all that I said. He hadreason for the impracticability of getting aside the personal interestswhich would be active in defeating such a reform, that involved detailsand a knowledge of character to which I had nothing to say; and, asrespects the Duc de Bordeaux, he affirmed that the reign of the Bourbonswas over in France. The country was tired of them. It may appearpresumptuous in a foreigner to give an opinion against such highauthority; but, "what can we reason but from what we know?" and truthcompels me to say, I cannot subscribe to this opinion. My ownobservation, imperfect though it be, has led to a different conclusion. I believe there are thousands, even among those who throng theTuileries, who would hasten to throw off the mask at the first seriousmisfortune that should befall the present dynasty, and who would rangethemselves on the side of what is called legitimacy. In respect toparties, I think the republicans the boldest, in possession of the mosttalents compared to numbers, and the least numerous; the friends of theKing (active and passive) the least decided, and the least connected byprinciple, though strongly connected by a desire to prosecute theirtemporal interests, and more numerous than the republicans; the Carlistsor _Henriquinquists_ the most numerous, and the most generally, butsecretly, sustained by the rural population, particularly in the westand south. 

Lafayette frankly admitted, what all now seem disposed to admit, that itwas a fault not to have made sure of the institutions before the Kingwas put upon the throne. He affirmed, however, it was much easier toassert the wisdom of taking this precaution, than to have adopted it infact. The world, I believe, is in error about most of the politicalevents that succeeded the three days. 

LETTER II. 

The Cholera in Paris. --Its frightful ravages. --Desertion of the city--Mydetermination to remain. --Deaths in the higher classes. --Unexpectedarrival and retreat. --Praiseworthy conduct of the Authorities. --TheCholera caricatured!--Invitation from an English General. --Atmosphericalappearance denoting the arrival of the Cholera. --Lord RobertFitzgerald. --Dinner at the house of Madame de B----. 

Dear ----, We have had little to occupy us since my last letter, but the cholera, which alighted in the heart of this great and crowded metropolis like abomb. Since the excursion on the frontiers last year, and our success inescaping the quarantine, I had thought little of this scourge, until thesubject was introduced at my own table by a medical man who was amongthe guests. He cautiously informed us that there were unpleasantconjectures among the faculty on the subject, and that he was fearfulParis was not to go unscathed. When apart, he privately added, that hehad actually seen a case, which he could impute to no other disease butthat of Asiatic cholera. 

The next day a few dark hints were given in the journals, and, withfrightful rapidity, reports followed that raised the daily deaths tonear a thousand. The change in the appearance of the town was magical, for the strangers generally fled, while most of the _habitués_ of thestreets in our immediate vicinity were soon numbered with the dead. There was a succession of apple-women seated at the corners, between theRue St. Dominique and the Pont Royal, with whose faces I had becomeintimate in the course of P----'s traffic, as we passed to and fro, between the hotel and the Tuileries. Every one of these disappeared; thelast, I was told, dropping from her chair, and dying before those whocame to her aid had reached the nearest hospital. 

One case, among multitudes, will serve to give you a faint idea of thesituation of Paris, at this moment of severe affliction. Returning froma walk through the deserted streets one morning, I saw a smallcollection of people around the _porte-cochère_ of our hotel. Amatchseller had been seized with the disease, at the gate, and was thensustained on one of the stone seats, which are commonly used by theservants. I had her carried info the court, and made such applicationsas had been recommended by the faculty. The patient was a robust womanof middle age, accompanied by her mother, both having come in from adistant village, to raise a few sous by selling matches. In making theapplications, I had occasion to observe the means by which these poorpeople sustain life. Their food consisted of fragments of hard driedbread, that had been begged, or bought, in the course of their progress. 

While two or three of us were busied about the daughter, the motherknelt on the pavement, and, with streaming eyes, prayed for her child, for us, and for herself. There was something indescribably touching inthis display of strong natural ties, between those who were plunged sodeep in misery. A piece of five francs was put into the hands of the oldwoman, but, though she blessed the donor, her look was not averted aninstant from the agony depicted in her daughter's face, nor did sheappear conscious of what she possessed, a moment after. The carriersfrom the hospital bore the sick woman away, and the mother promised toreturn, in a day or two, to let me know the result. Not appearing, aninquiry was made at the hospital, and the answer was, that they wereboth dead!

In this manner some ten or fifteen thousand were swept away in a fewweeks. Not only hotels, but, in some instances, nearly whole streetswere depopulated. As every one fled, who could with convenience orpropriety quit the town, you may feel surprised that we chose to remain. When the deaths increased to eight or nine hundred a day, and our ownquarter began to be visited, I felt it to be a duty to those under mycharge, to retire to some of the places without the limits of thedisease. The trunks were packed, the carriage was in the court, and mypassports were signed, when A---- was suddenly taken ill. Although thedisease was not the cholera, I began to calculate the chances of any oneof us being seized, myself for instance, in one of the villages of theenvirons, and the helpless condition of a family of females in a foreigncountry, under such circumstances. The result was a determination toremain, and to trust to Providence. We have consequently staid in ourapartments through it all, although two slight cases have occurred inthe hotel, and hundreds around it. 

The manner in which individuals known to us have vanished, as it were, from before our eyes, has been shockingly sudden. To-day the report maybe that the milkman is gone; yesterday it was the butcher's boy; theday before the poulterer, and presently a new servant appears with amessage from a friend, and on inquiring for his predecessor, we learnthat he is dead. Ten or fifteen cases of this sort have occurred amongthose with whom we are in constant and immediate connexion. 

The deaths in the higher classes, at first, were comparatively few, butof late several of the most distinguished men of France have beenseized. Among them are M. Perier, the prime minister, and the GeneralLamarque. Prince Castelcicala, too, the Neapolitan Ambassador, is dead, in our neighbourhood; as, indeed, are very many others. There is oneshort street quite near us, out of which, it is said, between seventyand eighty dead have been carried. The situation of all this faubourg islow, and that of the street particularly so. 

Dr. S----, of North Carolina, who, with several other young physicians, has done credit to himself by his self-devotion and application, broughtin the report of the appearance of things, once or twice a week, judgingof the state of the disease more from the aspect of the hospitals, thanfrom the published returns, which are necessarily and, perhaps, designedly, imperfect. He thinks of the first hundred that were admittedat the Hotel Dieu, all but one died, and that one he does not think wasa case of Asiatic cholera at all. 

All this time, the more frequented streets of Paris presented, in theheight of the usual season too, the most deserted aspect. I havefrequently walked on the terrace of the Tuileries when there were not adozen others in the whole garden, and driven from my own hotel in theRue St. Dominique to the Place Vendôme without meeting half a dozenvehicles, including _fiacres_ and _cabriolets de place_. 

I was returning one day from the Rue de la Paix, on foot, during theheight of the disease, at the time when this gay and magnificent part ofthe town looked peculiarly deserted. There was scarcely a soul in thestreet but the _laquais de place_, the _garçons_, and the chambermaidsof the public hotels, that abound in this quarter. These were at thegateways, with folded arms, a picture in themselves of the alteredcondition of the town. Two travelling carriages drove in from the Rue deRivoli, and there was at once a stir among those who are so completelydependent on travellers for their bread. "_On part_" was, at first, thecommon and mournful call from one group to another, until the mud on thecarriage-wheels caught the attention of some one, who cried out "_Onarrive_!" The appearance of the strangers under such circumstances, seemed to act like a charm. I felt no little surprise at seeing them, and more, when a hand beckoned to me from a carriage window. It was Mr. H----, of New York, an old schoolfellow, and a friend of whom we hadseen a good deal during our travels in Europe. He had just come fromEngland, with his family, and appeared astonished to find Paris sodeserted. He told me that Mr. Van Buren was in the other carriage. Hehad chosen an unfortunate moment for his visit. I went to see the H----snext morning, and it was arranged that they should come and pass thesucceeding day in the Rue St. Dominique; but they disappointed us. Theday following I got a letter from H----, dated Amiens, written on hisway to England! They had been imprudent in coming, and wise in hurryingaway from the frightful scene. I believe that Mr. Van Buren remained buta day or two. 

Although most of our acquaintances quitted the town, a few thought itsafer to remain in their own comfortable apartments, than to run thehazards of travelling; for, in a short time, most of the north of Francewas suffering under the same grievous affliction. The authoritiesconducted themselves well, and there have been very many instances ofnoble self-devotion, on the part of private individuals, the Frenchcharacter never appearing to better advantage. In this respect, notwithstanding the general impression to the contrary, I am inclinedto believe, after a good deal of inquiry, that Paris has acquitteditself better than London. The French, certainly, are less disposed, asa rule, to "hide their light under a bushel, " than most other people;but, on the spot and a looker-on, my respect for their feelings andphilanthropy has been greatly raised by their conduct during thisterrible calamity. 

Notwithstanding the horror of the disease, some of the more prominenttraits of national character have shown themselves lately. Among otherthings, the artists have taken to caricaturing the cholera! One gets tobe so hardened by exposure, as to be able to laugh at even these proofsof moral obtuseness. Odd enough traits of character are developed byseeing men under such trying circumstances. During one of the worstperiods of the disease, I met a countryman in the street, who, thoughotherwise a clever man, has the weakness to think the democracy ofAmerica its greatest blot. I asked him why he remained in Paris, havingno family, nor any sufficient inducement? "Oh, " said he, "it is adisease that only kills the rabble: I feel no concern--do you?" I toldhim that, under my peculiar circumstances, I felt a great deal ofuneasiness, though not enough to make an unreflecting flight. A few daysafterwards I missed him, and, on inquiry, learned that he had fled. Some_nobleman_ had died in our faubourg, when he and one of a fellowfeeling, finding a taint "between the wind and their nobility, "forthwith beat a retreat!

During the height of the malady, an old English general officer, who hadserved in India, and who was now residing near us, sent me an invitationto dinner. Tired of seeing no one, I went. Here everything was astranquil as if we were living in the purest atmosphere in Europe. Sir----, my host, observed that he had got seasoned in India, and that hebelieved _good living_ one of the best preventives against the disease. The Count de ---- came in just before dinner was announced, andwhispered to me that some twelve or fifteen hundred had been buried theprevious day, although less than a thousand had been reported. Thisgentleman told a queer anecdote, which he said came from veryrespectable authority, and which he gave as he had heard it. About tendays before the cholera appeared, a friend of his had accompanied one ofthe Polish generals, who are now in Paris, a short distance into thecountry to dine. On quitting the house, the Pole stopped to gazeintently at the horizon. His companion inquired what he saw, when, pointing to a hazy appearance in the atmosphere, of rather an unusualkind, the other said, "You will have the cholera here in less than tendays; such appearances always preceded it in the North. " As M. De ----observed, "I tell it as I heard it. "

Sir ---- did me the favour, on that occasion, to introduce me to a mildgentleman-like old man, who greatly resembled one of the quiet oldschool of our own, which is so fast disappearing before the bustling, fussy, money-getting race of the day. It was Lord Robert Fitzgerald, abrother of the unfortunate Lord Edward, and the brother of whom he sopleasantly speaks in his natural and amiable letters, as "Plenipo Bob. "This gentleman is since dead, having, as I hear, fallen a victim to thecholera. 

I went to one other dinner, during this scene of destruction, given byMadame de B----, a woman who has so much vogue, as to assemble, in herhouse, people of the most conflicting opinions and opposite characters. On this occasion, I was surprised to hear from Marshal ----, one of theguests, that many believe the cholera to be contagious. That such anopinion should prevail among the mass, was natural enough, but I was notprepared to hear it from so high a quarter. 

A gentleman mentioned, at this dinner, that the destruction among theporters had been fearful. A friend of his was the proprietor of fivehotels, and the porters of all are dead!

LETTER III. 

Insecurity of the Government. --Louis-Philippe and thePear. --Caricatures. --Ugliness of the Public Men of France. --The Duke deValmy. --Care-worn aspect of Society under the New Regime. --Controversyin France respecting the Cost of Government in America. --Conduct ofAmerican Agents in Europe. 

Dear ----, The government is becoming every day less secure, and while it holdslanguage directly to the contrary, it very well knows it cannot dependon the attachment of the nation. It has kept faith with no one, and themass looks coldly on, at the political agitation that is excited, in allquarters, by the Carlists and the republicans. The bold movement of theDuchess of Berri, although it has been unwise and unreflecting, hasoccasioned a good deal of alarm, and causes great uneasiness in thiscabinet. [5]

[Footnote 5: Louis-Philippe has been more singularly favoured by purelyfortuitous events than, probably, ever fell to the fortune of one in hissituation. The death of the Duke of Reichstadt, the arrest and peculiarposition of the Duchess of Berri, the failure of the different attemptsto assassinate and seize him, and the sudden death of the young NapoleonBonaparte, in Italy (the son of Louis), are among the number. ]

In a country where the cholera could not escape being caricatured, youwill readily imagine that the King has fared no better. The lower partof the face of Louis-Philippe is massive, while his forehead, withoutbeing mean, narrows in a way to give the outline a shape not unlike thatof a pear. An editor of one of the publications of caricatures being ontrial for a libel, in his defence, produced a large pear, in order toillustrate his argument, which ran as follows:--People fancied they sawa resemblance in some one feature of a caricature to a particular thing;this thing, again, might resemble another thing; that thing a third;and thus from one to another, until the face of some distinguishedindividual might be reached. He put it to the jury whether such forcedconstructions were safe. "This, gentlemen, " he continued, "is a commonpear, a fruit well known to all of you. By culling here, and here, "using his knife as he spoke, "something like a resemblance to a humanface is obtained: by clipping here, again, and shaping there, one gets aface that some may fancy they know; and should I, hereafter, publish anengraving of a pear, why everybody will call it a caricature of a man!"You will understand that, by a dexterous use of the knife, such ageneral resemblance to the countenance of the King was obtained, that itwas instantly recognised. The man was rewarded for his cleverness by anacquittal, and, since that time, by an implied convention, a rude sketchof a pear is understood to allude to the King. The fruit abounds in amanner altogether unusual for the season, and, at this moment, I makelittle doubt, that some thousands of pears are drawn in chalk, coal, orother substances, on the walls of the capital. During the carnival, masquers appeared as pears, with pears for caps, and carrying pears, andall this with a boldness and point that must go far to convince the Kingthat the extreme license he has affected hitherto to allow, cannot verywell accord with his secret intentions to bring France back to agovernment of coercion. The discrepancies that necessarily exist in thepresent system will, sooner or later, destroy it. 

Little can be said in favour of caricatures. They address themselves toa faculty of the mind that is the farthest removed from reason, and, byconsequence, from the right; and it is a prostitution of the term tosuppose that they are either cause or effect, as connected with liberty. Such things may certainly have their effect, as means, but every goodcause is so much the purer for abstaining from the use of questionableagencies. _Au reste_, there is really a fatality of feature andexpression common to the public men of this country that is a strongprovocative to caricature. The revolution and empire appear to havegiven rise to a state of feeling that has broken out with markedsympathy, in the countenance. The French, as a nation, are far fromhandsome, though brilliant exceptions exist; and it strikes me that theywho appear in public life are just among the ugliest of the wholepeople. 

Not long since I dined at the table of Mr. De ----, in company with Mr. B. Of New York. The company consisted of some twenty men, all of whomhad played conspicuous parts in the course of the last thirty years. Ipointed out the peculiarity just mentioned to my companion, and askedhim if there was a single face at table which had the placid, dignified, and contented look which denotes the consciousness of right motives, afrank independence, and a mind at peace with itself. We could notdiscover one! I have little doubt that national physiognomy is affectedby national character. 

You may form some idea, on the other hand, of the perfect simplicity andgood taste that prevails in French society, by a little occurrence onthe day just mentioned. A gentleman, of singularly forbiddingcountenance, sat next us; and, in the course of the conversation, hementioned the fact that he had once passed a year in New York, of whichplace he conversed with interest and vivacity. B---- was anxious to knowwho this gentleman might be. I could only say that he was a man of greatacuteness and knowledge, whom I had often met in society, but, as to hisname, I did not remember ever to have heard it. He had always conductedhimself in the simple manner that he witnessed, and it was my impressionthat he was the private secretary of the master of the house, who was adignitary of the state, for I had often met him at the same table. Herethe matter rested for a few days. 

The following week we removed into the Rue St. Dominique. Directlyopposite to the _porte-cochère_ of our hotel was the _porte-cochère_ ofan hotel that had once belonged to the Princes of Conti. A day or twoafter the removal, I saw the unknown gentleman coming out of the gatewayopposite, as I was about to enter our own. He bowed, saluted me by name, and passed on. Believing this a good occasion to ascertain who he was, Icrossed the street, and asked the porter for the name of the gentlemanwho had just gone out. "Mais, c'est Monsieur le Duc!" "Duke!--whatDuke?" "Why, Monsieur le Duc de Valmy, the proprietor of this hotel!" Itwas the younger Kellerman, the hero of Marengo![6]

[Footnote 6: He is since dead. ]

But I could fill volumes with anecdotes of a similar nature; for, inthese countries, in which men of illustrious deeds abound, one is neverdisturbed in society by the fussy pretension and swagger that is apt tomark the presence of a lucky speculator in the stocks. Battles, unlikebargains, are rarely discussed in society. I have already told you howlittle sensation is produced in Paris by the presence of a celebrity, though in no part of the world is more delicate respect paid to thosewho have earned renown, whether in letters, arts, or arms. Like causes, however, notoriously produce like effects; and, I think, under the newregime, which is purely a money-power system, directed by a mind whoseambition is wealth, that one really meets here more of that swagger ofstocks and lucky speculations, in the world, than was formerly the case. Society is decidedly less graceful, more care-worn, and of a worse toneto-day, than it was previously to the revolution of 1830. I presume theelements are unchanged, but the ebullition of the times is throwing thescum to the surface; a natural but temporary consequence of the presentstate of things. 

While writing to you in this desultory manner, I shall seize theoccasion to give the outline of a little occurrence of quite recentdate, and which is, in some measure, of personal interest to myself. Acontroversy concerning the cost of government, was commenced some timein November last, under the following circumstances, and has but justbeen concluded. As early as the July preceding, a writer in theemployment of the French government produced a laboured article, inwhich he attempted to show that, head for head, the Americans paid morefor the benefits of government than the French. Having the field all tohimself, both as to premises and conclusions, this gentleman did notfail to make out a strong case against us; and, as a corollary to thisproposition, which was held to be proved, he, and others of his party, even went so far as to affirm that a republic, in the nature of things, must be a more expensive polity than a monarchy. 

This extravagant assertion had been considered as established, by agreat many perfectly well-meaning people, for some months, before I evenknew that it had ever been made. A very intelligent and a perfectlycandid Frenchman mentioned it one day, in my presence, admitting that hehad been staggered by the boldness of the proposition, as well as by theplausibility of the arguments by which it had been maintained. It was socontrary to all previous accounts of the matter, and was, especially, somuch opposed to all I had told him, in our frequent disquisitions onAmerica, that he wished me to read the statements, and to refute them, should it seem desirable. About the same time, General Lafayette made asimilar request, sending me the number of the periodical that containedthe communication, and suggesting the expediency of answering it. Inever, for an instant, doubted the perfect right of an American, or anyone else, to expose the errors that abounded in this pretendedstatistical account, but I had little disposition for the task. Having, however, good reason to think it was aimed covertly at GeneralLafayette, with the intention to prove his ignorance of the America heso much applauded, I yielded to his repeated requests, and wrote a hastyletter to him, dissecting, as well as my knowledge and limited accessto authorities permitted, the mistakes of the other side. This letterproduced replies, and the controversy was conducted through differentchannels, and by divers agents, up to a time when the varying andconflicting facts of our opponents appeared to be pretty well exhausted. It was then announced that instructions had been sent to America toobtain more authentic information; and we were promised a fartherexposure of the weakness of the American system, when the other sideshould receive this re-enforcement to their logic. [7]

[Footnote 7: No such exposure has ever been made; and the writerunderstood, some time before he quitted France, that the informationreceived from America proved to be so unsatisfactory, that the attemptwas abandoned. The writer, in managing his part of the discussion, confined himself principally to the state of New York, being inpossession of more documents in reference to his own state, than to anyother. Official accounts, since published, have confirmed the accuracyof his calculations; the actual returns varying but a few sous a headfrom his own estimates, which were in so much too liberal, or againsthis own side of the question. ]

I have no intention of going over this profitless controversy with you, and have adverted to it here, solely with a view to make you acquaintedwith a state of feeling in a portion of our people, that it may beuseful not only to expose, but correct. [8]

[Footnote 8: See my _Letter to General Lafayette_, published by Baudry, Paris. ]

LETTER IV. 

Gradual disappearance of the Cholera. --Death of M. Casimir Perier. --HisFuneral. --Funeral of General Lamarque. --Magnificent MilitaryEscort. --The Duc de Fitzjames. --An Alarm. --First symptoms of popularRevolt. --Scene on the Pont Royal. --Charge on the people by a body ofcavalry. --The _Sommations_. --General Lafayette and _the BonnetRouge_. --Popular Prejudices in France. England, and America. --Contest inthe Quartier Montmartre. --The Place Louis XVI. --A frightenedSentinel. --Picturesque Bivouac of troops in the Carousel. --Criticalsituation. --Night-view from the Pont des Arts. --Appearance of theStreets on the following morning. --England an enemy to Liberty. --Affairat the Porte St. Denis. --Procession of Louis-Philippe through thestreets. --Contest in the St. Mary. --Sudden Panic. --Terror of a nationalGuard and a young Conscript. --Dinner with a Courtier. --Suppression ofthe Revolt. 

Dear ----, Events have thickened since my last letter. The cholera graduallydisappeared, until it ceased to be the subject of conversation. As soonas the deaths diminished to two or three hundred a day, most peoplebecame easy; and when they got below a hundred, the disease might besaid to be forgotten. But though the malady virtually disappeared, thepublic was constantly reminded of its passage by the deaths of thosewho, by force of extraordinary care, had been lingering under its fatalinfluence. M. Casimir Perier was of the number, and his death has beenseized on as a good occasion to pass a public judgment on the measuresof the government of the _juste milieu_, of which he has been popularlysupposed to be the inventor, as well as the chief promoter. Thisopinion, I believe, however, to be erroneous. The system of the _justemilieu_ means little more than to profess one thing and to do another;it is a stupendous fraud, and sooner or later will be so viewed andappropriately rewarded. It is a profession of liberty, with a secretintention to return to a government of force, availing itself of suchmeans as offer, of which the most obvious, at present, are thestagnation of trade and the pressing necessities of all who depend onindustry, in a country that is taxed nearly beyond endurance. Neither M. Perier, nor any other man, is the prime mover of such a system; for itdepends on the Father of Lies, who usually employs the most willingagents he can discover. The inventor of the policy, _sub Diabolo_, isnow in London. M. Perier had the merits of decision, courage, andbusiness talents; and, so far from being the founder of the presentsystem, he had a natural frankness, the usual concomitant of courage, that, under other circumstances, I think, would have indisposed him toits deceptions. But he was a manufacturer, and his spinning-jennies werevery closely connected with his political faith. Another state of themarket would, most probably, have brought him again into the liberalranks. 

The funeral obsequies of M. Perier having been loudly announced as atest of public opinion, I walked out, the morning they took place, toview the pomp. It amounted to little more than the effect which thepatronage of the ministry can at any time produce. There was a displayof troops and of the _employés_ of the government, but little apparentsympathy on the part of the mass of the population. As the deceased wasa man of many good qualities, this indifference was rather studied, proceeding from the discipline and collision of party politics. As anattempt to prove that the _juste milieu_ met with popular approbations Ithink the experiment was a failure. 

Very different was the result, in a similar attempt made by theopposition, at the funeral of General Lamarque. This distinguishedofficer fell also a victim to the cholera, and his interment took placeon the 4th of June. The journals of the opposition had called upon itsadherents to appear on this occasion, in order to convince the King andhis ministers that they were pursuing a dangerous course, and one inwhich they were not sustained by the sentiment of the nation. Thepreparations wore a very different appearance from those made on theprevious occasion. Then everything clearly emanated from authority; now, the government was visible in little besides its arrangements tomaintain its own ascendency. The military rank of the deceased entitledhim to a military escort, and this was freely accorded to his friends;perhaps the more freely, from the fact that it sanctioned the presenceof so many more bayonets than were believed to be at the command of theministers. It was said there were twenty thousand of the National Guardspresent in uniform, wearing, however, only their side-arms. This numbermay have been exaggerated, but there certainly were a great many. Thewhole procession, including the troops, has been estimated at a hundredthousand men. The route was by the Boulevards to the Jardin des Plantes, where the body was to be delivered to the family of the deceased, inorder to be transported to the South of France for interment. Havingother engagements, I merely viewed the preparations, and thecommencement of the ceremonies, when I returned to our own quiet quarterof the town to pursue my own quiet occupations. 

The day passed quietly enough with us, for the Faubourg St. Germain hasso many large hotels, and so few shops, that crowds are never common;and, on this occasion, all the floating population appeared to havecompletely deserted us, to follow the procession of poor Lamarque. I donot remember to have alluded to the change produced in this particular, by the cholera, in the streets of Paris. It is supposed that at leastten thousand of those who have no other abodes, except the holes intowhich they crept at night, were swept out of them by this fell disease. 

About five o'clock, I had occasion to go to the Rue de Rivoli, and Ifound the streets and the garden with much fewer people in them than wasusual at that hour. There I heard a rumour that a slight disturbance hadtaken place on the Boulevard des Italiens, in consequence of a refusalof the Duc de Fitzjames, a leading Carlist, to take off his hat to thebody of Lamarque, as he stood at a balcony. I had often met M. DeFitzjames in society, and, although a decided friend of the old regime, I knew his tone of feeling and manners to be too good, to credit a taleso idle. By a singular coincidence, the only time I had met with GeneralLamarque in private was at a little dinner given by Madame de M----, atwhich Monsieur de Fitzjames was also a guest. We were but five or six attable, and nothing could be more amicable, or in better taste, than thespirit of conciliation and moderation that prevailed between men sowidely separated by opinion. This was not long before Gen. Lamarque wasattacked by his final disease, and as there appeared to me to beimprobability in the rumour of the affair of the Boulevards, I quiterightly set it down as one of the exaggerations that daily besiege ourears. It being near six, I consequently returned home to dinner, supposing that the day would end as so many had ended before. 

We were at table, or it was about half-past six o'clock, when the drumbeat the _rappel_. At one period, scarcely a day passed that we did nothear this summons; indeed, so frequent did it become, that I make littledoubt the government resorted to it as an expedient to strengthenitself, by disgusting the National Guards with the frequency of thecalls; but of late, the regular weekly parades excepted, we had heardnothing of it. A few minutes later, François, who had been sent to the_porte-cochère_, returned with the intelligence that a soldier of theNational Guard had just passed it, bleeding at a wound in the head. Onreceiving this information, I left the hotel and proceeded towards theriver. In the Rue du Bac, the great thoroughfare of the faubourg, Ifound a few men, and most of the women, at their shop-doors, and_portes-cochères_, but no one could say what was going on in the moredistant quarters of the town. There were a few people on the quays andbridges, and, here and there, a solitary National Guard was going to hisplace of rendezvous. I walked rapidly through the garden, which, at thathour, was nearly empty, as a matter of course, and passing under thearch of the palace, crossed the court and the Carrousel to la Rue deRichelieu. A profound calm reigned in and about the chateau; thesentinels and loungers of the Guards seeming as tranquil as usual. Therewas no appearance of any coming and going with intelligence, and Iinferred that the royal family was either at St. Cloud, or at Neuilly. Very few people were in the Place, or in the streets; but those whowere, paused occasionally, looking about them with curiosity, and almostuniformly in a bewildered and inquiring manner. 

I had reached the colonnade of the Théâtre Français, when a strong partyof _gendarmes à cheval_ went scouring up the street, at a full gallop. Their passage was so swift and sudden, that I cannot say in whichdirection they came, or whither they went, with the exception that theytook the road to the Boulevards. A _gendarme à pied_ was the only personnear me, and I asked him, if he could explain the reason of themovement. "_Je n'en sais rien_, " in the _brusque_ manner that the Frenchsoldiers are a little apt to assume, when it suits their humours, wasall the reply I got. 

I walked leisurely into the galleries of the Palais Royal, which I hadnever before seen so empty. There was but a single individual in thegarden, and he was crossing it swiftly, in the direction of the theatre. A head was, now and then, thrust out of a shop-door, but I never beforewitnessed such a calm in this place, which is usually alive with people. Passing part of the way through one of the glazed galleries, I wasstarted by a general clatter that sprung up all around me in everydirection, and which extended itself entirely around the whole of thelong galleries. The interruption to the previous profound quiet, was assudden as the report of a gun, and it became general, as it were, in aninstant. I can liken the effect, after allowing for the difference inthe noises, to that of letting fly sheets, tacks, and halyards, on boarda vessel of war, in a squall, and to a sudden call to shorten sail. Theplace was immediately filled with men, women, and children, and theclatter proceeded from the window-shutters that were going up all overthe vast edifice, at the same moment. In less than five minutes therewas not a shop-window exposed. 

Still there was no apparent approach of danger. The drums had almostceased beating, and as I reached the Carrousel, on my way back to theRue St. Dominique, I saw nothing in the streets to justify all thisalarm, which was either the result of a panic, or was calculated forpolitical effect; artifice acting on apprehension. A few people werebeginning to collect on the bridges and quays, and there was evidently agreater movement towards the Pont Neuf, than in the lower parts of thetown. As I crossed the Pont Royal, a brigade of light artillery came upthe quays from the Ecole Militaire, the horses on the jump, and the menseated on the carriages, or mounted, as belongs to this arm. The noiseand hurry of their passage was very exciting, and it gave an impulse tothe shopkeepers of the Rue du Bac, most of whom now began to close theirwindows. The guns whirled across the bridge, and dashed into theCarrousel, on a gallop, by the _guichet_ of the Louvre. 

Continuing down the Rue du Bac, the street was full of people, chieflyfemales, who were anxiously looking towards the bridge. One _garçon_, ashe aided his master in closing the shop-window, was edifying him withanathemas against "_ces messieurs les républicains_, " who were believedto be at the bottom of the disturbance, and for whom he evidentlythought that the artillery augured badly. The next day he would be readyto shout _vive la république_ under a new impulse; but, at present, itis "_vive le commerce_!"

On reaching the hotel, I gave my account of what was going on, pacifiedthe apprehensions that had naturally been awakened, and sallied forth asecond time, to watch the course of events. 

By this time some forty or fifty National Guards were collected on thequay, by the Pont Royal, a point where there ought to have been severalhundreds. This was a sinister omen for the government, nor was theappearance of the crowd much more favourable. Tens of thousands nowlined the quays, and loaded the bridges; nor were these people rabble, or _sans culottes_, but decent citizens, most of whom observed a grave, and, as I thought, a portentous silence. I make no manner of doubt thathad a thousand determined men appeared among them at that moment, headedby a few leaders of known character, the government of Louis-Philippewould have dissolved like melting snow. Neither the National Guard, thearmy, nor the people were with it. Every one evidently waited the issueof events, without manifesting much concern for the fate of the presentregime. Indeed it is not easy to imagine greater apathy, or indifferenceto the result, than was nearly everywhere visible. A few shopkeepersalone seemed troubled. 

On the Pont Royal a little crowd was collected around one or two men ofthe labouring classes, who were discussing the causes of thedisturbance. First questioning a respectable-looking by-stander as tothe rumours, I mingled with the throng, in order to get an idea of themanner in which the _people_ regarded the matter. It would seem that acollision had taken place between the troops and a portion of thecitizens, and that a charge had been made by a body of cavalry on someof the latter, without having observed the formalities required by thelaw. Some of the people had raised the cry "_aux arms_;" several _corpsde garde_ had been disarmed, and many thousands were rallying in defenceof their liberties. In short everything wore the appearance of thecommencement of another revolution. The point discussed by the crowd, was the right of the dragoons to charge a body of citizens withoutreading the riot act, or making what the French call, the"_sommations_. " I was struck with the plain common sense of one or twoof the speakers, who were of the class of artisans, and who uttered moregood reason, and displayed more right feeling, in the five minutes Ilistened, than one is apt to meet with, on the same subjects, in a year, in the salons of Paris. I was the more struck by this circumstance, inconsequence of the manner in which the same topic had been broached, quite lately, in the Chamber of Deputies. 

In one of the recent affairs in the east of France, the troops had firedon a crowd, without the previous _sommations_, in consequence, as wasalleged, of some stones being hurled from the crowd against themselves. Every one, who has the smallest knowledge of a government of laws, understands its action in an affair of this sort. Ten thousand peopleare in a street, in their own right, and half a dozen of them commit anoutrage. Military force becomes necessary, but before it is appliedcertain forms are required, to notify the citizen that his ordinaryrights are suspended, in the interests of public order, and to warn himto go away. This is a provision that the commonest intellect canunderstand; and yet some of the leading administration men, _lawyerstoo_, maintained that soldiers had the rights of other men, and ifstones were hurled at them from a crowd, they were perfectly justifiablein using their arms against that crowd! It is only necessary, you willperceive, to employ an agent, or two, to cast a few stones from a crowd, to place every collection of citizens at the mercy of an armed force, onthis doctrine. A soldier has the right of a citizen to defend himselfbeyond dispute, against the man who assails him; but a citizen who isassailed from a crowd has no right to discharge a pistol into thatcrowd, by way of defending himself. But this is of a piece with most ofthe logic of the friends of exclusion. Their cause is bad, and theirreasoning is necessarily bad also. 

From the Pont Royal I proceeded to the Pont Neuf, where the collectionof people was still more numerous, every eye being fastened on the quaysin the direction of the Place de la Bastille, near which the disturbancehad commenced. Nothing, however, was visible, though, once or twice, weheard a scattering fire of musketry. I waited here an hour, but nothingfarther was heard, and, according to promise, I returned to the hotel, to repeat the little I had seen and gathered. In passing, I observedthat the number of National Guards at the Pont Royal had increased toabout a hundred. 

After quieting the apprehensions of my family, I proceeded to quietthose of a lady of my acquaintance, who was nearly alone in herlodgings. I found her filled with apprehensions, and firmly believingthat the present government was to be overturned. Among other things, she told me that the populace had drawn General Lafayette, in triumph, to his own house, and that, previously to the commencement of theconflict, he had been presented with a _bonnet rouge_, which he had putupon his head. The _bonnet rouge_, you will understand, with allFrenchmen is a symbol of extreme Jacobinism, and of the reign of terror. I laughed at her fears, and endeavoured to convince her that the idletale about General Lafayette could not be true. So far from wishing torule by terror, it was his misfortune not to resort to the measures ofcaution that were absolutely necessary to maintain his own legalascendancy, whenever he got into power. He was an enthusiast forliberty, and acted on the principle that others were as well disposedand as honest as himself. But to all this she turned a deaf ear, for, though an amiable and a sensible woman, she had been educated in theprejudices of a caste, being the daughter and sister of peers of France. 

I found the tale about General Lafayette quite rife, on going againinto the streets. The disposition to give credit to vulgar reports ofthis nature, is not confined to those whose condition in life naturallydispose them to believe the worst of all above them, for thevulgar-minded form a class more numerous than one might be induced tothink, on glancing a look around him. Liberality and generosity offeeling is the surest test of a gentleman; but, in addition to those oftraining and of a favourable association, except in very peculiar cases, they are apt to require some strong natural advantages, to help out thetendencies of breeding and education. Every one who has seen much of theworld, must have remarked the disposition, on the part of those who havenot had the same opportunities, to cavil at opinions and usages thatthey cannot understand, merely because they do not come within thecircle of their own every-day and familiar usages. Our own countryabounds with these rustic critics; and I can remember the time whenthere was a species of moral impropriety attached to practices that didnot enter into every man's habits. It was almost deemed immoral tobreakfast or dine at an hour later than one's neighbour. Now, just thissort of feeling, one quite as vulgar, and much more malignant, prevailsin Europe against those who may see fit to entertain more liberalnotions in politics than others of their class. In England, I havealready told you, the system is so factitious, and has been so artfullyconstructed, by blending church and state, that it must be an uncommonlyclever man who, in politics, can act vigorously on the golden rule ofChrist, that of doing "unto others, as you would have others do untoyou, " and escape the imputation of infidelity! A desire to advance theinterests of his fellow-creatures, by raising them in the social scale, is almost certain to cause a man to be set down as destitute of moralsand honesty. By imputations of this nature, the efforts and influence ofsome of the best men England has ever produced, have been nearlyneutralized, and there is scarcely a distinguished liberal in thekingdom, at this moment, whom even the well-meaning of thechurch-and-state party do not regard with a secret distrust of hisintentions and character. In the practice of imitation this feeling haseven extended (though in a mitigated form) to America, a country inwhich, were the truth felt and understood, a man could not possiblyfulfil all the obligations of education and superior training, withoutbeing of the party of the people. Many gentlemen in America, beyonddispute, are not of the popular side, but I am of opinion that they makea fundamental mistake as _gentlemen_. They have permitted the vulgarfeelings generated by contracted associations and the insignificantevils of a neighbourhood, to still within them the high feelings andgenerous tendencies that only truly belong to the caste. 

In France, the English feeling, modified by circumstances, is veryapparent, although it is not quite so much the fashion to lay stress onmere morality. The struggle of selfishness and interests is less veiledand mystified in France than on the other side of the Channel. But theselfish principle, if anything, is more active; and few struggle hardfor others, without being suspected of base motives. 

By looking back at the publications of the time, you will learn themanner in which Washington was vituperated by his enemies, at thecommencement of the revolution. Graydon, in his "Memoirs of a Life spentin Pennsylvania, " mentions a discourse he held with a young Englishofficer, who evidently was well disposed, and wished to know the truth. This gentleman had been taught to believe Washington an adventurer, whohad squandered the property of a young widow whom he had married, bygambling and dissipation, and who was now ready to embark in anydesperate enterprise to redeem his fortune! This, then, was probably thehonest opinion the British army, in 1776, entertained of the man, whomsubsequent events have shown to have been uniformly actuated by thenoblest sentiments, and who, instead of being the adventurerrepresented, is known to have put in jeopardy a large estate, throughdisinterested devotion to the country, and the prevailing predominanttrait of whose character was an inflexible integrity of purpose. Now, Lafayette is obnoxious to a great deal of similar vulgar feeling, without being permitted, by circumstances, to render the purity of hismotives as manifest, as was the better fortune of his great model, Washington. The unhandsome and abrupt manner in which he was dismissedfrom the command of the National Guards, though probably apeace-offering to the allies, was also intended to rob him of the creditof a voluntary resignation. [9]--But, all this time, we are losing sightof what is passing in the streets of Paris. 

[Footnote 9: General Lafayette took the republican professions of theKing too literally, at first, and he did not always observe the_ménagement_, perhaps, that one seated on a throne, even though it be apopular one, is apt to expect. In 1830 he told the writer the King had, that morning, said, that some about him called the General a "maire dupalais. " On being asked if the King appeared to entertain the samenotion, his answer was, "Well, he professes not to do so; but then Ithink he has _tant soit peu_ of the same feeling. " This was ticklishground to stand on with a sovereign, and, perhaps, a case without aparallel in France, since the days of Hugues Capet. A few weeks later, General Lafayette related another conversation held with Louis-Philippe, on the subject of his own unceremonious dismissal from office. "Youshall be named _honorary_ Commander-in-chief of the National Guards, forlife, " said the King. "Sire, how would you like to be an honorary king?"It is quite apparent that such a friendship could not last for ever. ]

Troops of the line began to appear in large bodies as the eveningclosed, and the reports now came so direct as to leave no doubt thatthere was a sharp contest going on in the more narrow streets of theQuartier Montmartre. All this time the feelings of the crowd on thebridges and quays appeared to be singularly calm. There was little or nointerest manifested in favour of either side, and, indeed, it would notbe easy to say what the side opposed to the government was. The Carlistslooked distrustful, the republicans bold, and the _juste milieu_alarmed. 

I went back to the hotel to make my report, again, about nine, and thenproceeded by the quay and the Pont Louis XVI. To the Carrousel. By theway, I believe I have forgotten to say, in any of my letters, that incrossing the Place Louis XVI, with a French friend, a month or twosince, he informed me he had lately conversed with Count--, who hadwitnessed the execution of Louis XVI, and that he was told there was ageneral error prevalent as regarded the spot where the guillotine waserected on that occasion. According to this account, which it isdifficult to believe is not correct, it was placed on the side of thePlace near the spot where the carriages for Versailles usually stand, and just within the _borgnes_ that line the road that here divergestowards the quay. While correcting popular errors of this sort, I willadd that M. Guillotine, the inventor of that instrument that bears hisname, is, I believe, still living; the story of his having been executedon his own machine, being pure poetry. 

Passing by the Rue de Rivoli, I went to see an English lady of ouracquaintance, who resided in this quarter of the town. I found heralone, uneasy, and firmly persuaded that another revolution hadcommenced. She was an aristocrat by position, and though reasonablyliberal, anxious to maintain the present order of things, like all theliberal aristocrats, who believe it to be the last stand against popularsway. She has also friends and connexions about the person of the King, and probably considered their fortunes as, in some measure, involved inthose of the court. We condoled with each other, as a matter of course;she, because there was a revolution, and I, because the want of faith, and the stupendous frauds, practised under the present system, renderedit necessary. 

It was near eleven o'clock before I quitted this part of the town. Thestreets were nearly deserted, a patrol occasionally passing; but thestrangers were few, scarcely any having yet returned after their flightfrom the cholera. The gates of the garden were closed, and I foundsentinels at the _guichets_ of the Carrousel, who prevented my return bythe usual route. Unwilling to make the _détour_ by the way I had come, Iproceeded by the Rue de Rivoli. As I was walking quite near to thepalace, in order to avoid some mud, I came suddenly on a _GardeNational_ who was placed behind a sentry-box _en faction_. I cannotdescribe to you the furious scream with which this man cried "_Allez aularge_. " If he took me for a body of bloody-minded republicans, rushingforward to disarm him, I certainly thought he was some wild beast. Theman was evidently frightened, and just in a condition to take every bushfor an enemy. It is true the other party was rather actively employed indisarming the different guards, but this fellow was within a hundredfeet of the Etat Major, and in no sort of danger. Notwithstanding thepresented bayonet, I am not quite certain he would not have dropped hisarms had I lifted my walking-stick, though one runs more hazard from arobber, or a sentinel, who is frightened, than from one who is cool. There was, however, no blood shed. 

Finding the Carrousel closed to me, I passed into the Rue St. Honoré, which was also pretty well garnished with troops. A few truculent youthswere shouting a short distance ahead of me, but, on the appearance of apatrol, they ran off. At length I got as far as the Rue du Coq St. Honoré, and seeing no one in the street, I turned short round itscorner, thinking to get into the court of the Louvre, and to the otherside of the river by the Pont des Arts. Instead of effecting this clevermovement, I ran plump on a body of troops, who were drawn up directlyacross the street, in a triple line. This was a good position, for themen were quite protected from a fire, up or down the great thoroughfare, while by wheeling on either flank they were ready to act, in a moment, in either direction. 

My reception was not flattering, but the officer in command was toocool, to mistake a solitary individual for a band of rebels, and I wassuffered to continue up the Rue St. Honoré. I got into the rear of thisguard by turning through the next opening. The court of the Louvre wasunguarded and empty, and passing through it, I got a glimpse of apicturesque bivouac of troops in the Carrousel. Seeing no obstruction, Iwent in that direction, and penetrated to the very rear of a squadron ofcuirassiers, who were dismounted, forming the outer line of the wholebody. There may have been three or four thousand men of all armsassembled in this spot, chiefly, if not all, regular troops. I stayedamong them unobserved, or at least, unmolested, near half an hour, watching the effect of the different groups, by the light of the campfires. Strong patrols, principally cavalry, went and came constantly, and scarcely five minutes passed without the arrival and departure ofmounted expresses, the head-quarters of the National Guards being in thepalace. 

It was drawing towards midnight, and I bethought me of the uneasiness ofthose I had left in the Rue St. Dominique. I was retiring by the upper_guichet_, the only one unguarded, and had nearly reached it, when aloud shout was heard on the quay. This sounded like service, and it wasso considered by the troops, for the order "_aux armes_" was given in amoment. The cuirassiers mounted, wheeled into platoons, and trottedbriskly towards the enemy with singular expedition. Unluckily, theydirected their advance to the very _guichet_ which I was alsoapproaching. The idea of being caught between two fires, and that in aquarrel which did not concern me, was not agreeable. The state of thingscalled for decision, and knowing the condition of affairs in theCarrousel, I preferred siding with _the juste milieu_, for once in mylife. 

The cuirassiers were too much in a hurry to get through the _guichet_, which was a defile, and too steady to cut me down in passing; and, firstgiving them a few minutes to take the edge off the affair, if there wasto be any fighting, I followed them to the quay. 

This alarm was real, I understood next day; but the revolters made theirretreat by the Pont des Arts, which is impracticable for cavalry, attacking and carrying a _corps de garde_, in the Quartier St. Jacques. The cuirassiers were trotting briskly towards the Pont Neuf, in order toget at them, when I came out on the quay, and, profiting by theoccasion, I got across the river, by the Pont des Arts. 

It was strange to find myself alone on this bridge at midnight, in theheart of a great capital, at a moment when its streets were filled withtroops, while contending factions were struggling for the mastery, andperhaps the fate of not only France, but of all Europe, was hanging onthe issue! Excited by these reflections, I paused to contemplate thescene. 

I have often told you how picturesque and beautiful Paris appears viewedfrom her bridges. The finest position is that of the Pont Royal; but thePont des Arts, at night, perhaps affords even more striking glimpses ofthose ancient, tall, angular buildings along the river, that, but fortheir forms and windows, would resemble low rocky cliffs. In the centreof this mass of dwellings, among its damp and narrow streets, into whichthe sun rarely penetrates, lay bodies of men, sleeping on their arms, ormerely waiting for the dawn, to decide the fate of the country. It wascarrying one back to the time of the "League" and the "Fronde, " and Iinvoluntarily cast my eyes to that balconied window in the Louvre, whereCharles IX. Is said to have stood when he fired upon the flyingProtestants. The brooding calm that reigned around was bothcharacteristic and strange. Here was an empire in jeopardy, and yet thepopulation had quietly withdrawn into their own abodes, awaiting theissue with as much apparent tranquillity, as if the morrow was to belike another day. Use, and a want of sympathy between the governed andtheir governors, had begotten this indifference. 

When I reached the Quai Voltaire, not a man was visible, except apicket on the Pont Royal. Not knowing but some follower of the House ofOrleans, more loyal than usual, might choose to detain me, because Icame from America, I passed down one of the first streets, entering theRue du Bac, at some distance from the bridge. I met but half a dozenpeople between the quays and the Hotel de ----, and all the shops werehermetically sealed. As soon as I entered, the porter shut and barredthe gate of our own hotel, and we retired, to rise and see what a "nightmight bring forth. "

"_Les canons grondent dans les rues, monsieur_" was the remark of theporter, as I passed out into the street next morning. The population wascirculating freely in our part of the town; the shops, too, werere-opened, and it appeared to be pretty generally understood that nofighting was to take place in that vicinity. Passing up the Rue du Bac, I met three _Gardes Nationaux_, who, by their conversation, were freshfrom the field, having passed the night in what may be called theenemy's country. They were full of marvels, and, in their own opinion, full of glory. 

The streets were now alive with people, the quays and bridges beingstill resorted to, on account of their affording an unobstructed avenueto the sounds that came from the quarter where the conflict was goingon. Occasionally, a discharge of musketry reached these spots, and onceor twice I heard the report of a gun; but the firing was desultory, farfrom heavy, and irregular. 

In the Carrousel I met an English acquaintance, and we agreed to gotowards the scene of action together, in order to learn what was goingon. My companion was loud in his complaints against the revolters, who, he said, would retard the progress of liberty half a century by theirrashness. The government would put them down, and profit by its victoryto use strong measures. I have learned to distrust the liberalism ofsome of the English, who are too apt to consult their own nationalinterests, in regarding the rights of their neighbours. This, you willsay, is no more than human nature, which renders all men selfish. True;but the concerns of few nations being as extensive, varied, andartificial, as those of England, the people of other countries are notliable to be influenced by so many appeals to divert them from a soundand healthful state of feeling. England, as a nation, has never been afriend of liberty in other nations, as witness her long and bitterhostility to ourselves, to France and Holland, and her close alliancewith Turkey, Persia, etc. , etc. Just at this moment, apprehension ofRussia causes her to dilate a little more than usual on theencouragement of liberty; but it is a mystification that can deceive noone of the least observation. Of whatever sins England is to be accused, as a nation, she cannot be accused of that of political propagandism. Even her own recent progress in liberty has been the result of foreignand external example. I now speak of the state, which extends itsinfluence very far into society; but there are many individuals whocarry their principles as far as any men on earth. This latter class, moreover, is largely and rapidly on the increase, has always effected, and will still effect, far more than the slate itself in favour offreedom. 

We went by the Palais Royal, the Passages Vivienne, and du Panorama, tothe Boulevards. The streets were filled with people, as on a fête, andthere appeared still to be a good deal of anxiety as to the result. There were plenty of troops, report saying that sixty thousand men wereunder arms on the side of the government. Half that number would sufficeto assure its success unless there should prove to be disaffection. Hada single regiment of the line declared against the King the previousday, or even on the 6th of June, Louis-Philippe, in my opinion, wouldhave been dethroned. But, so far as I can learn, none of the principalpersons of the opposition appeared against him on this occasion, orseemed to have any connexion with the affair. 

My companion left me on the Boulevards, and I proceeded towards thePorte St. Denis where there was evidently something like a contest. There was a little firing, and I met one or two wounded men, who wereretiring to their _casernes. _ One was shot through the body. But theaffair at the Porte St. Denis proved to be nothing serious, and was soonover. The revolters had retired into the Rue St. Méry, where they wereclosely encircled by large bodies of troops, and whither I did not deemit prudent to follow them. The struggle, in that direction, was muchsharper, and we occasionally heard cannon. 

You will probably be curious to know if one did not feel uneasy, inwalking about the streets of a town, while so many men were contendingin its streets. A moment's reflection will show you that there waslittle or no danger. One could find a cover in a moment. The streetswere thronged, and it was little probable that either party wouldwantonly fire on the mass. The contest was confined to a particular partof the town, and then a man of ordinary discretion would hardly be sosilly as to expose himself unnecessarily, in a quarrel with which he hadno concern. Women and children were certainly killed on this occasion, but it was probably under circumstances that did not, in the least, affect the great body of the inhabitants. 

The cafés were frequented as usual, and a little distance from the sceneof action, everything wore the air of an ordinary Sunday, on which thetroops were to be reviewed. The morning passed in this manner, when, about four o'clock, I again found myself at the Pont Royal, after payinga visit to the hotel. Here I met two American friends, and we walked bythe quay of the palace, towards the Pont Neuf. The people were in adense crowd, and it was even difficult to penetrate the mass. Justbefore we reached the bridge, we heard shouts and cries of _Vive leRoi_, and presently I saw M. De Chabot-Rohan, the first honoraryaide-de-camp, a gentleman whom I personally knew, and who usually ledthe cortege of the King. It would seem that Louis-Philippe had arrivedfrom the country, and had passed by the Boulevards to the Place de laBastille, whence he was now returning to the Tuileries, by the quays. His appearance in the streets, during such a scene, has been muchlauded, and the firmness necessary to the occasion, much dwelt on in thepapers. A very timid man might certainly have been afraid to expose hisperson in this manner, but the risk was by no means as great as has beensupposed. The cortege was nowhere under fire, nor, but for, a fewminutes, near the scene of action; and it was not easy to assassinate aman moving through streets that were filled with troops. _Au reste_, there is no reason whatever to suppose the King would not have behavedpersonally well, in far more critical circumstances. [10] The royal partypassed into the Carrousel by the court of the Louvre, while we turnedupon the bridge. 

[Footnote 10: I once asked General Lafayette his opinion of the nerve ofthe Duc d'Orleans (_Egalité_). He laughed, and said the King had made anappeal to him quite lately, on the same subject. "And the answer?" "Itold his Majesty that I believed his father was a _brave_ man; but, youmay be sure, I was glad be did not ask me if I thought he was an_honest_ one, too. "]

The Pont Neuf was crowded with troops, who occupied the _trottoirs_, andwith men, women, and children. There had been some skirmishing at thePlace de Grève, and the scene of the principal contest, the Rue St. Méry, was near by. We were slowly threading the crowd with our facestowards the island, when a discharge of musketry (four or five pieces atmost), directly behind us, and quite near, set everybody in motion. Aflock of sheep would not have scattered in greater confusion, at thesudden appearance of a strange dog among them, than the throng on thebridge began to scamper. Fear is the most contagious of all diseases, and, for a moment, we found ourselves running with the rest. A jump ortwo sufficed, however, and we stopped. Two soldiers, one a NationalGuard, and the other a young conscript, belonging to the line, caught myeye, and knowing there was no danger, we had time to stop and laugh atthem. The National Guard was a little Mayeux-looking fellow, with anabdomen like a pumpkin, and he had caught hold of his throat, as if itwere actually to prevent his heart from jumping out of his mouth. Acaricature of fright could scarcely be more absurd. The young conscript, a fair red-haired youth, was as white as a sheet, and he stood with hiseyes and mouth open, like one who thought he saw a ghost, immoveable asa statue. He was sadly frightened, too. The boy would probably have cometo, and proved a good soldier in the end; but as for Mr. Mayeux, although scarcely five feet high, he appeared as if he could never makehimself short enough. He had evidently fancied the whole affair a goodjoke, up to that precise moment, when, for the first time, the realitiesof a campaign burst upon his disordered faculties. The troops ingeneral, while they pricked up their ears, disdained even to shouldertheir arms. For those on the bridge, there was, in truth, no danger, although the nearness of the volley, and the suddenness of the alarm, were well adapted to set a crowd in motion. The papers next day, saidone or two had been slain by this discharge, which actually came fromthe revolters. 

You will probably be surprised, when I tell you that I had an engagementto dine to-day, with a gentleman who fills a high situation near theperson of the King. He had sent me no notice of a postponement, and as Ihad seen him pass in the cortège, I was reminded that the hour to dresswas near. Accordingly, I returned home, in order to prove to him that Iwas as indifferent as any Frenchman could be, to the events we had alljust witnessed. I found a dozen people assembled in the drawing-room ofMadame ----, at six o'clock precisely, the same as if Paris were quitetranquil. The General had not yet returned, but I was enabled to reportthat he had entered the palace in safety. A moment before the dinnerwas announced, he returned, and brought the information that the revoltwas virtually suppressed, a few desperate individuals, who had thrownthemselves into a church, alone holding out. He was in high spirits, andevidently considered the affair a triumph to Louis-Philippe. 

LETTER V. 

National Guards in the Court of the Palace. --Unclaimed Dead in theMorgue. --View of the Scene of Action. --A blunderingArtillerist. --Singular Spectacle. --The Machinations of theGovernment--Martial Law. --Violations of the Charter. --Laughable Scene inthe Carrousel. --A refractory Private of the National Guard. 

Dear ----, The day after the contest was closed, I went to the Louvre, where Iusually met Mr. M----, who was busy copying. He was almost alone, in thelong and gorgeous galleries, as in the days of the cholera; but we got aview of the National Guards that had been concerned in the affair of theprevious day, who were drawn up in the court of the palace to receivethe thanks of the King. There could not have been five thousand of them, but all might not have been present. 

From the Louvre I went to took at the principal scene of action. Acollection of some of the unclaimed dead was in the Morgue, and everyone was allowed to enter. There were fifty or sixty bodies in thisplace, and among them were a few women and children, who had probablybeen killed by accident. Nearly all had fallen by gun-shot wounds, principally musket-balls; but a few had been killed by grape. As thedisaffected had fought under cover most of the time, I fancy the cavalrydid little in this affair. It was whispered that agents of the policewere present to watch the countenances and actions of the spectators, with a view to detect the disaffected. 

As we had several of Napoleon's soldiers at dinner yesterday, and theyhad united to praise the military character of the position taken by therevellers, I was curious to examine it. The Rue St. Méry is narrow, andthe houses are high. The tower of the church is a little advanced, so asto enfilade it, in a manner, and the paving-stones had been used to makebarricades, as in 1830. These stones are much larger than our own, areangular, and of a size that works very well into a wall; and thematerials being plenty, a breastwork, that is proof against everythingbut artillery, is soon formed by a crowd. Two streets entered the RueSt. Méry near each other, but not in a right line, so that the approachalong each is commanded by the house that stands across its end. One ofthese houses appears to have been a citadel of the disaffected, and mostof the fighting was at and near this spot. Artillery had been brought upagainst the house in question, which was completely riddled, though lessinjured by round-shot than one could have thought possible. The windowswere broken, and the ceilings of the upper rooms were absolutely torn topieces by musket-balls, that had entered on the rise. Some twenty orthirty dead were found in this dwelling. 

I had met Col. --, in the course of the morning, and we visited this spottogether. He told me that curiosity had led him to penetrate as far asthis street, which faces the citadel of the revolters, the previous day, and he showed me a _porte-cochère_, under which he had taken shelter, during a part of the attack. The troops engaged were a little in advanceof him, and he described them as repeatedly recoiling from the fire ofthe house, which, at times, was rather sharp. The troops, however, werecompletely exposed, and fought to great disadvantage. Several hundredsmust have been killed and wounded at and near this spot. 

There existed plain proof of the importance of nerve in battle, in ashot that just appeared sticking in the wall of one of the lateralbuildings, nearly opposite the _porte-cochère_, where Col. --had takenshelter. The artillerist who pointed the gun from which it had beendischarged, had the two sides of the street to assist his range, and yethis shot had hit one of the lateral buildings, at no great distance fromthe gun, and at a height that would have sent it far above the chimneysof the house at which it was fired! But any one in the least acquaintedwith life, knows that great allowances must be made for the poetry, whenhe reads of "charges, " "free use of the bayonet, " and "braving murderousdischarges of grape. " Old and steady troops do sometimes displayextraordinary fortitude, but I am inclined to think that the mostbrilliant things are performed by those who have been drilled just longenough to obey orders and act together, but who are still so young asnot to know exactly the amount of the risk they run. Extraordinary actsof intrepidity are related of the revolters on this occasion, which aremost probably true, as this desperate self-devotion, under a state ofhigh excitement, enters fully into the composition of the character ofthe French, who are more distinguished for their dashing than for theirenduring qualities. 

The Rue St. Méry exhibited proofs of the late contest, for somedistance, but nowhere had the struggle been so fierce as at the housejust mentioned. The church had been yielded the last, but it did notstrike me that there had been as sharp fighting near it, as at the otherplace. 

It was a strange spectacle to witness the population of a large towncrowding through its streets, curious to witness the scene of a combatthat so nearly touched their own interests, and yet apparently regardingthe whole with entire indifference to everything but the physicalresults. I thought the sympathies of the throng were with the conqueredrather than with their conquerors, and this more from admiration oftheir prowess, than from any feeling of a political character, for noone appeared to know who the revolters were. 

In the course of the morning I met--in the street. He is one of thejustest-minded men of my acquaintance, and I have never known himattempt to exaggerate the ill conduct of his political opponents, or toextenuate the errors of those to whom he belongs. Speaking of thisaffair, he was of opinion that the government had endeavoured to bringit on, with the certainly that success would strengthen them, but, atthe same time, he thought it useless to deny that there was a plot tooverturn the present dynasty. According to his impressions, thespontaneous movements of the disaffected were so blended with those thatproceeded from the machinations of the government to provoke a prematureexplosion, that it was not easy to say which predominated, or where theline of separation was to be drawn. I presume this is the true state ofthe case, for it is too much to say that France is ever free frompolitical plots. 

The public had been alarmed this morning, by rumours of an intention onthe part of government to declare Paris in a state of siege, which istantamount to bringing us all under martial law. This savours more ofthe regime Napoleon, than of the promised liberty that was to emanatefrom the three days. The opposition are beginning to examine thecharter, in order to ascertain what their rights are on paper: but whatavails a written compact, or indeed any other compact, against the wantsand wishes of those who have the power? The Cour de Cassation, however, is said to be composed of a majority of Carlists, and, by way ofcommentary on the wants of the last two years, the friends of libertyhave some hopes yet from these nominees of the Bourbons! We live in adroll world, dear ----, and one scarcely knows on which side he is tolook for protection, among the political weathercocks of the period. Inorder to comprehend the point, you will understand that a clause of thecharter expressly stipulates that no one shall be condemned by any "buthis natural judges, " which clearly means that no extraordinary orunusual courts shall be established for the punishment of ordinarycrimes. Now, while it is admitted that martial law brings with itmilitary tribunals and military punishments, it is contended that thereis no pretext for declaring martial law in the capital, at a moment whenthe power of the present government is better assured than it has beenat any time since its organization. But the charter solemnly stipulatesthat the conscription shall be abolished, while conscripts are and havebeen regularly drafted yearly, ever since the signature of Louis XVIII. Was affixed to the instrument. 

The shops were all open to-day, and business and pleasure are resumingtheir regular rounds. The National Guards of the _banlieue_, who wereactively engaged yesterday, are befêted and be-praised, while thelookers-on affirm that some of them believe they have just been fightingagainst the Carlists, and that some think they have crushed theJacobins. All believe they have done a good turn to liberty. 

I was returning through the Carrousel, when chance made me the spectatorof a laughable scene. A body of these troops, honest, well-intentionedcountrymen, with very equivocal equipments, were still in the court ofthe palace. It would seem that one warrior had strayed outside therailing, where he was enjoying a famous gossip with some neighbours, whom he was paying, for their cheer, by a narrative of the latecampaign. A sergeant was summoning him back to his colours, but the loveof good wine and a good gossip were too strong for discipline. The moredignified the sergeant became, the more refractory was his neighbour, until, at last, the affair ended in a summons as formal as that whichwould be made to a place besieged. The answer was truly heroic, beingrendered into the vernacular, "I won't. " An old woman advanced from thecrowd to reason with the sergeant, but she could get no farther than"_Ecoutez, Mons. Le Sergeant_"--for, like all in authority, he wasunreasonable and impatient when his power was called in question. Hereturned to the battalion, and tried to get a party to arrest thedelinquent, but this was easier said than done. The troops evidently hadno mind to disturb a neighbour who had just done the state good service, and who was now merely enjoying himself. The officer returned alone, andonce more summoned the truant, if possible, more solemnly than ever. Bythis time the mouth of the delinquent was too full to answer, and hejust turned his back on the dignitary, by way of letting him see that, his mind was made up. In the end, the soldier got the best of it, compelling the other to abandon the point. 

The country people, of whom there were a good many present, looked onthe matter seriously, but the Parisians laughed outright. I mention thislittle incident, for it shows that men are the same everywhere, andbecause this was an instance of military insubordination directly underthe windows of the palace of the King of France, at the precise momentwhen his friends were boasting that the royal authority was triumphant, which, had it occurred in the interior of America, would have beenquoted as proof of the lawlessness of democracy! I apprehend thatmilitia, taken from their daily occupations, and embodied, and this, too, under the orders of their friends and neighbours, are pretty muchalike, in their leading characteristics, all over the world. 

LETTER VI. 

Aspect of Paris. --Visit to Lafayette. --His demeanour. --His account ofthe commencement of the Revolt. --Machinations of the Police. --Characterof Lafayette. --His remarkable expression to General--. --Conversation onthe Revolution of July. --The _Doctrinaires_. --Popular Sympathy inEngland and on the Rhine. --Lafayette's dismissal from the command of theNational Guards. --The Duke of Orleans and his Friends. --MilitaryTribunals in Paris. --The Citizen King in the Streets. --Obliteration ofthe _Fleur-de-lis_. --The Royal Equipage. --The Duke of Brunswick inParis. --His forcible Removal from France. --His Reception inSwitzerland. --A ludicrous Mistake. 

Dear ----, During the excitement of the last three days, I had not bethought me ofpaying a visit to the Rue d'Anjou: indeed I was under the impressionthat General Lafayette was at La Grange, for I had understood that heonly remained at Paris to attend the funeral of Lamarque. There wererumours of his having been arrested, but these I set down to themarvel-mongers, who are always busy when extraordinary events occur. Just at dusk, I heard, by accident, there was still a chance of findinghim in his apartment, and I walked across the river, in order toascertain the fact for myself. 

What a difference between the appearance of the streets this evening, and that which they had made on the night of the 5th! Now the bridgeswere deserted, the garden was empty, and the part of the population thatwas visible, seemed uneasy and suspicious. The rumour that thegovernment intended to declare Paris in a state of siege, and tosubstitute military for the ordinary civil tribunals, was confirmed, though the measure was not yet officially announced. This act was indirect opposition to a clause in the charter, as I have told you, andthe pretence, in a town in which fifty thousand troops had just quelleda rising of a few hundred men, was as frivolous as the measure itself isillegal. It has, however, the merit of throwing aside the mask, and ofshowing the world in what manner the present authorities understand agovernment of the people. 

A dead calm reigned in the Rue d'Anjou. Apart from the line of_cabriolets de place_, of which there were but three, not a carriage nora human being was visible in the street. Nothing stood before the_porte-cochère_ of No. 6, a thing so unusual, more especially incritical moments, that I suspected I had been misled, and that I shouldhave a bootless walk. The gate was open, and entering without knocking, I was just turning off the great staircase, to ascend the humbler flightthat leads to the well-known door, that door through which I had solately seen so many dignitaries pressing to enter, when the portercalled to me to give an account of myself. He recognised me, however, bythe light of the lamp, and nodded an assent. 

I waited a minute or more, after ringing, before the door was opened byBastien. The honest fellow let me in on the instant, and, withoutproceeding to announce me, led the way through the salons to thebed-room of his master. The General was alone with the husband of hisgrand-daughter, François de Corcelles. The former was seated with hisback to the door as I entered; the latter was leaning against themantel-piece. The "_bonsoir, mon ami_, " of the first was frank and kindas usual, but I was immediately struck with a change in his manner. Hewas calm, and he held out his hand, as Bastien mentioned my name; but, although not seated at his table, he did not rise. Glancing my eyes athim, as I passed on to salute Monsieur de Corcelles, I thought I hadnever before seen Lafayette wearing so fine an air of majesty. Hislarge, noble form was erect and swelling, and that eye, whose fire agehad not quenched, was serenely proud. He seemed prepared to meetimportant events with the dignity and sternness that marked hisprinciples. 

A perfect knowledge of these principles, and the intimacy that he had sokindly encouraged, emboldened me to speak frankly. After a few minutes'conversation, I laughingly inquired what he had done with the _bonnetrouge_. The question was perfectly understood, and I was surprised tolearn that, in the present instance, there was more foundation for thereport than is usually the case with vulgar rumour. He gave thefollowing account of what occurred at la Place de la Bastille. 

When the procession halted, and the funeral discourses were beingdelivered, the tumult commenced; in what manner, he was unable to say. In the midst of the commotion, a man appeared on horseback wearing thedreaded _bonnet rouge_. Some one approached him, and invited him torepair to the Hôtel de Ville, in short, to put himself again at the headof the revolt, and offered him a _bonnet rouge_. He took the cap, andthrew it into the mud. After this, he entered his carriage to returnhome, when a portion of the populace took out the horses and drew him tothe Rue d'Anjou. On reaching the hotel, the people peaceably withdrew. 

You will readily suppose I was curious to learn the opinion of GeneralLafayette concerning the events of the week. The journals of theopposition had not hesitated to ascribe the affair to the machinationsof the police, which, justly or not, is openly accused of havingrecourse to expedients of this nature, with a view to alarm the timid, and to drive them to depend for the security of their persons, and themaintenance of order, on the arm of a strong government. In the recentcase it had also been said, that aware of the existence of plots, theministry had thought it a favourable occasion to precipitate theirexplosion, taking the precaution to be in readiness with a forcesufficient to secure the victory. 

I have often alluded to that beautiful and gentleman-like feature inthe character of Lafayette, which appears to render him incapable ofentertaining a low prejudice against those to whom he is opposed inpolitics. This is a trait that I conceive to be inseparable from thelofty feelings which are the attendant of high moral qualities, and itis one that I have, a hundred times, had occasion to admire inLafayette. I do not, now, allude to that perfect _bon ton_, which soadmirably regulates all his words and deportment, but to adiscriminating judgment that does not allow interest or passion todisarm his sense of right. It certainly is a weakness in him not todistinguish sufficiently between the virtuous and the vicious, --thosewho are actuated like himself by philanthropy and a desire to do good, and those who seek their own personal ends; but this is a sacrifice, perhaps, that all must make who aim at influencing men by the weight ofpersonal popularity. Jefferson has accused Lafayette of a too greatdesire to live in the esteem of others, [11] and perhaps the accusationis not altogether false; but the peculiar situation in which thisextraordinary man has been placed, must be kept in view, while we decideon the merits of his system. His principles forbid his having recourseto the agencies usually employed by those who loose sight of the meansin the object, and his opponents are the great of the earth. A man whois merely sustained by truth and the purity of his motives, whatevervisionaries may say, would be certain to fail. Popularity isindispensable to the success of Lafayette, for thousands now supporthim, who, in despite of his principles, would become his enemies, werehe to fall back sternly on the truth, and turn his back on all whoseacts and motives would not, perhaps, stand the test of investigation. The very beings he wished to serve would desert him, were he to let themsee he drew a stern but just distinction between the meritorious and theunworthy. Then the power of his adversaries must be remembered. Thereis nothing generous or noble in the hostility of modern aristocrats, whoare mere graspers after gain, the most debasing of all worldly objects, and he who would resist them successfully must win golden opinions ofhis fellows, or they will prove too much for him. 

[Footnote 11: Was Mr. Jefferson himself free from a similar charge?]

But I am speculating on principles, when you most probably wish forfacts, or, if you must have opinions, for those of Lafayette inpreference to my own. When I ventured to ask him if he thought thegovernment had had any agency in producing the late struggle, his answerwas given with the integrity and fearlessness that so eminentlycharacterize the man. 

He was of opinion that there was a plot, but he also thought it probablethat the agents of the government were, more or less, mixed up with it. He suspected at the moment, that the man who offered him the _bonnetrouge_ was one of these agents, though he freely admitted that thesuspicion was founded more on past experience than on any knowledge ofpresent facts. The individual himself was an utter stranger to him. Ithad been his intention to quit town immediately after the funeralobsequies were completed, but, added the old man, proudly, "they hadspread a rumour of an intention to cause me to be arrested, and I wishto save them the trouble of going to La Grange to seek me. "

He then went on to tell me what he and his political friends hadexpected from the demonstration of public opinion, that they hadprepared for this important occasion. "Things were approaching a crisis, and we wished to show the government that it must change its system, andthat France had not made a revolution to continue the principles of theHoly Alliance. The attempt to obtain signs of popular support at thefuneral of Casimir Perier was a failure, while, so great was our successat this procession in honour of Lamarque, that there must have been anew ministry and new measures, had not this unfortunate event occurred. As it is, the government will profit by events. I do not wish to wakeany unjust accusations, but, with my knowledge of men and things, it isimpossible not to feel distrust. "[12]

[Footnote 12: It appeared subsequently, by means of a publicprosecution, that Vidocq, with a party of his followers, were among therevolters, disguised as countrymen. A government that has an intimationof the existence of a plot to effect its own overthrow, has anunquestionable right to employ spies to counteract the scheme; but if itproceed so far as to use incentives to revolt, it exceeds its legitimatepowers. ]

While we were conversing, General ----, whom I had not seen since thedinner of the previous day, was announced and admitted. He stayed but afew minutes, for, though his reception was kind, the events of the lastweek had evidently cast a restraint about the manners of both parties. The visit appeared to me, to be one of respect and delicacy on the partof the guest, but recent occurrences, and his close connexion with theKing, rendered it constrained; and, though there appeared no evidentwant of good feeling on either side, little was said, during this visit, touching the "two days, " as the 5th and 6th of June are now termed, butthat little served to draw from Lafayette a stronger expression ofpolitical hostility, than I had ever yet heard from his lips. Inallusion to the possibility of the liberal party connecting itself withthe government of Louis-Philippe, he said--"_à présent, un ruisseau desang nous sépare_. "[13] I thought General--considered this speech as astrong and a decisive one, for he soon after rose and took his leave. 

[Footnote 13: "We are now separated by a rivulet of blood. "]

Lafayette spoke favourably of the personal qualities and probity of hisvisitor, when he had withdrawn, but said that he was too closelyincorporated with the _juste milieu_ to be any longer classed among hispolitical friends. I asked him if he had ever known a true liberal inpolitics, who had been educated in the school of Napoleon? The Generallaughingly admitted that he was certainly a bad master to study under, and then added it had been intended to offer General ---- a portfolio, that of the public works I understood him to say, had they succeeded inoverturning the ministry. 

This conversation insensibly led to one on the subject of the revolutionof July, and on his own connexion with the events of that importantmoment. I despair of doing justice to the language of General Lafayetteon this occasion, and still less so to his manner, which, though cooland dignified, had a Roman sternness about it that commanded the deepestrespect. Indeed, I do not remember ever to have seen him with so much ofthe externals of a great man as on this evening, for no one, in common, is less an actor with his friends, or of simpler demeanour. But he nowfelt strongly, and his expressions were forcible, while his countenanceindicated a portion of that which was evidently working within. You mustbe satisfied, however, with receiving a mere outline of what fell fromhis lips in an uninterrupted explanation that lasted fully half an hour. 

He accused his opponents, in general terms, of distorting his words, andof misrepresenting his acts. The celebrated saying of "_voici lameilleure des républiques_" in particular, had been falsely rendered, while the circumstances under which he spoke and acted at all, had beenstudiously kept out of view. It was apropos of this saying, that heentered into the explanations of the causes of the change of dynasty. 

The crisis which drove the cabinet of Charles X. To the extreme measuresthat overturned the throne, had been produced by a legislativecombination. To effect their end, nearly every opinion, and all theshades of opposition, had united; many, even of those who werepersonally attached to the Bourbons, resisting their project ofre-establishing the _ancien régime_. Most of the capitalists, inparticular, and more especially those who were engaged in pursuits thatwere likely to be deranged by political convulsions, were secretlydisposed to support the dynasty, while they were the most zealouslyendeavouring to reduce its power. The object of these men was tomaintain peace, to protect commerce and industry, more especially theirown, and, at the same time, to secure to property the control, ofaffairs. In short, England and her liberty were their models, thoughsome among them had too much good sense to wish to retrograde, as is thecase with a party in America, in order to make the imitation moreperfect. Those who were for swallowing the English system whole, werecalled the _doctrinaires_, from their faith in a theory, while thedifferent shades of dissenting opinions were distributed among all thosewho looked more to facts, and less to reasoning, than their credulouscoadjutors. But all were zealous in opposing government under itspresent system, and with its palpable views. 

You know that the result was the celebrated ordinances, and a rising ofthe people. So little was either of these events foreseen, that thefirst probably astonished and alarmed the friends of the Bourbons, quiteas much as it did their enemies. The second was owing chiefly to thecourage and zeal of the young men connected with the press, sustained bythe pride and daring of the working classes of Paris. The emergency wasexactly suited to the _élan_ of the French character, which produced thesympathy necessary to the occasion among the different degrees ofactors. With the movements that followed, those who had brought aboutthe state of things which existed, by their parliamentary opposition, had little or nothing to do. Lafayette, himself, was at La Grange, nordid he reach Paris until the morning of the second day. So far fromparticipating in the course of events, most of the deputies wereseriously alarmed, and their first efforts were directed to anaccommodation. But events were stronger than calculations, and theBourbons were virtually dethroned, before any event or plan could bebrought to bear upon the issue, in either the offensive or defensive. 

You are now to imagine the throne vacant, the actors in the late eventspassive spectators of what was to follow, and opportunity for arecurrence to parliamentary tactics. Men had leisure to weighconsequences. Another political crusade menaced France, and it isprobable that nothing prevented its taking place, but the manifestationsof popular sympathy in England, and on the Rhine. Then there was danger, too, that the bankers and manufacturers, and great landed proprietors, would lose the stake for which they had been playing, by permitting areal ascendancy of the majority. Up to that moment, the mass had lookedto the opposition in the deputies as to their friends. In order toentice all parties, or, at least, as many as possible, the cry had been"_la charte_;" and the opposition had become identified with itspreservation. The new Chambers had been convened, and, after thestruggle was over, the population naturally turned to those who hadhitherto appeared in their ranks as leaders. This fragment of therepresentation became of necessity the repository of all power. 

Lafayette had, thus far, been supported by the different sections of theopposition; for his influence with the mass to suppress violence, waslooked to as of the last importance, by even his enemies. The very menwho accused him of Jacobinical principles, and a desire to unsettlesociety, felt a security under his protection, that they would not havefelt without him. Louis-Philippe, you will remember, made use of him, until the trial of the ministers was ended, when he was unceremoniouslydismissed from the command of the National Guards, by the suppression ofthe office. [14] "It would have been in my power to declare a republic, "he continued, in the course of his explanations, "and sustained by thepopulace of Paris, backed by the National Guards, I might have placedmyself at its head. But six weeks would have closed my career, and thatof the republic. The governments of Europe would have united to put usdown, and the Bourbons had, to a great degree, disarmed France. We werenot in a state to resist. The two successful invasions had diminishedthe confidence of the nation, which, moreover, would have been nearlyequally divided in itself. But, allowing that we might have overcome ourforeign enemies, a result I admit to have been possible, by the aid ofthe propaganda and the general disaffection, there would have been a foeat home, that certainly would have prevailed against us. Those gentlemenof the Chambers to whom a large portion of the people looked up withconfidence, would have thwarted every important measure I attempted, andwere there no other means to prevent a republic, _they would have thrownme into the river_. "

[Footnote 14: The writer has had a hundred occasions to learn, since hisreturn to America, how much truth is perverted in crossing the Atlantic, and how little is really known of even prominent European facts, on thisside of the water. It has suited some one to say, that Lafayette_resigned_ the office of commander-in-chief of the National Guards, andthe fact is thus stated in most of our publications. The office wassuppressed without consulting him, and, it was his impression, at theinstigation of the Allied Powers. Something like an awkward explanationand a permission to resign was subsequently attempted. ]

This last expression is literal, and was twice uttered in the course ofthe evening. He then went on to add, that seeing the impossibility ofdoing as he could wish, he had been compelled to acquiesce in theproposal that came nearest to his own views. The friends of the Duke ofOrleans were active, particularly M. Lafitte, who enjoyed a great dealof his own confidence, and the Duke himself was free in the expressionof the most liberal sentiments. Under these circumstances, he thought itpossible to establish a government that should be monarchical in form, and republican in fact. Such, or nearly such, is the case in England, and he did not see why such might not be the case in France. It is truethe English republic is aristocratical, but this is a feature thatdepends entirely on the breadth and independence of the constituency. There was no sufficient reason why France should imitate England in thatessential point, and by erecting a different constituency, she wouldvirtually create another polity in fact, adhering always to the samegeneral form. 

As respects the expression so often cited, he said his words were"_voici la meilleure des républics pour nous_;" distinctly alluding tothe difficulties and embarrassments under which he acted. All this timehe made no pretension to not having been deceived in the King, who hadled him to think he entertained very different principles from thosewhich events have shown to be his real sentiments. 

Something was then said of the _état de siége_, and of the intentions ofthe government. "I shall go to La Grange in a few days, " observed theGeneral, smiling, "unless they arrest me; there to remain until the 4thof July, when we shall have our usual dinner, I hope. " I told him thatthe long fever under which A---- had suffered rendered a change of airnecessary, and that I was making my preparations to quit Francetemporarily, on another tour. He pressed me to remain until the 4th, andwhen I told him that we might all be shot for sedition under the presentstate of things, if we drunk liberal toasts, he laughed and answered, that "their bark was worse than their bite. "

It was near tea when I took my leave, and returned to the Rue St. Dominique. The streets were gloomy and deserted, and I scarcely met asingle individual, in walking the mile between the two hotels. 

There was a wild pleasure in viewing a town in such an extraordinarystate, and I could not help comparing its present moody silence, to thescenes we had witnessed when the government was still so young anddependent as to feel the necessity of courting the people. I havealready mentioned to you many of the events of that period, but some ofthem have been omitted, and some, too, which quite naturally suggestthemselves, at this moment, when the King has established militarytribunals in his very capital. 

On one occasion, in particular, I was walking in the Tuileries, when anoise attracted me towards a crowd. It was Louis-Philippe taking a walk!This you will understand was intended for effect--republicaneffect--and to show the lieges that he had the outward conformation ofanother man. He wore a white hat, carried an umbrella (I am not surethat it was red), and walked in as negligent a manner as a man couldwalk, who was working as hard as possible to get through with anunpleasant task. In short, he was condescending with all his might. Agentleman or two, in attendance, could barely keep up with him; and asfor the rabble, it was fairly obliged to trot to gratify its curiosity. This was about the time the King of England electrified London, after areign of exclusion, by suddenly appearing in its streets, walking aboutlike another man. Whether there was any concert in this coincidence ornot I do not know. 

On another occasion, A---- and myself drove out at night to view abivouac in the Carrousel. We got ourselves entangled in a dense crowd inthe Rue St. Honoré, and were obliged to come to a stand. Whilestationary, the crowd set up a tremendous cry of _Vive le roi!_ and abody of dismounted cavalry of the National Guard passed the carriagewindows, flourishing their sabres, and yelling like madmen. Looking out, I saw the King in their midst, patrolling the streets of his good cityof Paris, on foot! Now he has declared us all under martial law, and isabout to shoot those he dislikes. 

The _fleur-de-lis_, as you know, is the distinctive symbol of the familyof France. So much stress is laid on trifles of this nature here, thatNapoleon, with his grinding military despotism, never presumed to adoptone for himself. During the whole of his reign, the coins of the countrywere decorated on one side with no more than an inscription and a simplewreath, though the gradual progress of his power, and the slow degressby which he brought forward the public, on these points, may yet betraced on these very coins. The first that were struck bore his head, asFirst Consul, with "_République Française_" on the reverse. After a timeit was "_Empereur_, " with "_République Française_. " At length he wasemboldened to put "_Empire Français_" on the reverse, feeling a trueroyal antipathy to the word republic. 

During the existing events that first succeeded the last revolution, noone thought of the _fleur-de-lis_ with which the Bourbons had sprinkledeverything in and about the capital, not to say France. This omissionattracted the attention of some demagogue, and there was a little_émeute_, before the arch of the Carrousel, with threats of destroyingthese ornaments. Soon after, workmen were employed to deface everythinglike a _fleur-de-lis_ in Paris. The hotel of the Treasury had manyhundreds of them in large stone rosettes, every one of which disappearedbefore the chisel! The King actually laid down his family arms, causingthe brush to be put to all his carriages. Speaking to Lafayette on thissubject, he remarked, pithily--"Well, I told his Majesty I would havedone this before there was a mob, and I would not have done itafterwards. "

The Bourbons usually drove with eight horses, but this king rarelyappears with even six; though that number is not offensive, the otherbeing the regal style. Some time since, before the approach of the latecrisis, I saw the coachman of the palace, quite early, or before thepublic was stirring, exercising with eight. It is to be presumed thatthe aspect of things, the pears, and the Duchess of Berri, compelled theleaders to be taken off. 

A day or two after this event, I dined in company with a deputy, who isalso a distinguished advocate, who made me laugh with an account of arecent freak of another sovereign, that has caused some mirth here. Thisadvocate was employed in the affair, professionally, and his account maybe depended on. 

You know that shortly after the revolution of 1830, the people ofBrunswick rose and deposed their Duke, bestowing the throne, orarm-chair, for I know not the official term, on his brother. This Dukeof Brunswick is the grandson of him who figured in the wars of the_old_ revolution, and the son of him who was killed at Quatre Bras. Hisgrandmother was a sister of George III, and his aunt was the wife ofGeorge IV; the latter being his cousin, his uncle, and his guardian. 

The deposed prince retired to Paris, if it can be called retirement tocome from Brunswick here. After some time, the police was informed thathe was busy in enrolling men to make a counter-revolution in his ownstates. He was warned of the consequences, and commanded to desist. Theadmonition was disregarded, and after exhausting its patience, thegovernment proceeded so far as to order him to quit Paris. It was notobeyed. 

I must now tell you, that a few years previously the Duke of Brunswickhad visited Paris, and apprehending assassination, for some cause thatwas not explained, he had obtained from the police one of its agents tolook out for the care of his person. The man had been several weeks inthis employment, and knowing the person of the contumacious prince, whenit was determined to resort to force, he was sent with the gendarmes, expressly that he might be identified. 

A party, accordingly, presented themselves, one fine morning, at thehotel which had the honour to contain his Serene Highness, demandingaccess to his person, in the name of the police. No one was hardy enoughto deny such an application, and the officers were introduced. Theyfound the indomitable prince, in his morning gown and slippers, ascomposed as if he were still reigning in Brunswick, or even more so. Hewas made acquainted with their errand, which was, neither more nor lessthan to accompany him to the frontier. 

The great-nephew of George III, the cousin and nephew of George IV, thecousin of William IV, and the Ex-duke of Brunswick, received thisintelligence with a calm entirely worthy of his descent and hiscollaterals, treating the commissary of police, _de haut en bas_. Inplain English, he gave them to understand he should not budge. Reverencefor royal blood was at last overcome by discipline, and seeing noalternative, the gendarmes laid their sacrilegious hands on the personof the prince, and fairly carried him down stairs, and put him, dressing-gown, slippers, and all, into a _fiacre_. 

It was a piteous sight to see a youth of such high expectations, of alineage so ancient, of a duchy so remote, treated in this rude andinhospitable manner! Like Cæsar, who bore up against his enemies untilhe felt the dagger of Brutus, he veiled his face with his handkerchief, and submitted with dignity, when he ascertained how far it was theintention of the Minister of the Interior to push matters. M. ---- didnot tell us whether or not he exclaimed, "_Et tu, Montalivet!_" Thepeople of the hotel manifested a proper sympathy at the cruel scene, the_filles de chambre_ weeping in the corridors, as _filles de chambre_, who witnessed such an indecent outrage, naturally would do. 

The Duke was no sooner in the _fiacre_ than he was carried out of town, to a post-house on the road to Switzerland. Here he was put in acaleche, and transported forthwith to the nearest frontier. 

On reaching the end of the journey, the Duke of Brunswick was abandonedto his fate, with the indifference that marked the whole outrage; or, asmight have been expected from the servants of a prince, who had solately shown his respect for rank by sending his own relatives out ofhis kingdom, very much in the same fashion. Happily, the unfortunateDuke fell into the hands of republicans, who, as a matter of course, hastened to pay their homage to him. The mayor of the commune appearedand offered his civilities; all the functionaries went forth withalacrity; and the better to show their sympathy, a young Germantraveller was produced, that he might console the injured prince byenabling him to pour out his griefs in the vernacular of his country. This bit of delicate attention, however, was defeated by an officiousvalet, who declared that ever since his dethronement, his master hadtaken such an aversion to the German language, that it threw him intofits even to hear it! Of course the traveller had the politeness towithdraw. 

While these things were in progress, the Duke suddenly disappeared, noone knew whither. The public journals soon announced the fact, and thecommon conjecture was, that he had returned to Paris. 

After several weeks, M. ---- was employed to negotiate an amnesty, promising, on the part of his principal, that no further movementsagainst the duchy should be attempted in France. The minister was so farprevailed on as to say, he could forgive all, had not the Dukere-entered the kingdom, after having been transported to Switzerland, bythe order of the government, in the manner you have heard. M. ----assured the minister, _parole d'honneur_, that this was altogether amistake. "Well, then, convince me of this, and his Serene Highness shallhave permission to remain here as long as he pleases. " "His SereneHighness, _having never left France, cannot have re-entered it_. " "Notleft France!--Was he not carried into Switzerland?" "Not at all: likingParis better, he chose to remain here. The person you deported, was ayoung associate, of the same stature of the Duke, a Frenchman, whocannot speak a word of German!"

A compromise was made on the spot, for this was a matter to be hushedup, ridicule being far more potent, in Paris, than reason. This is whatyou may have heard alluded to, in some of the journals of the day, asthe _escapade_ of the Duke of Brunswick. 

LETTER VII. 

Public Dinner. --Inconsiderate Impulses of Americans. --Rambles inParis. --The Churches of Paris. --View from the leads or Notre Dame. --ThePlace Royale. --The Bridges. --Progress of the Public Works. --The Palacesof the Louvre and the Tuileries. --Royal Enclosures in the Gardens of theTuileries. --Public Edifices. --Private Hotels and Gardens. My Apartmentsin the house of the Montmorencies. --Our other Residences. --Noble Abodesin Paris. --Comparative Expense of Living in Paris and NewYork. --American Shopkeepers, and those of Europe. 

Dear ----

The time between the revolt of the two days, and the 17th July, passedin the usual manner. The court-martial had made considerable progress incondemning men to be shot, but appeals were made to the Carlist Court ofCassation, which finally adjudged the whole proceedings to be illegal. In the mean time we got up the dinner for the 4th, Lafayette coming fromLa Grange expressly to make one among us. As for this dinner, I haveonly to say that one of its incidents went to prove how completely abody of Americans are subject to common and inconsiderate impulses, letthe motive be right or wrong, --of how low estimate character is gettingto be among us, and to determine me never to be present at another. Itis a painful confession, but truth compels me to say, that, I believe, for the want of a condensed class, that are accustomed to sustain eachother in a high tone of feeling and thinking, and perhaps from ignoranceof the world, no other people, above the illiterate and downrightdebased, are so easily practised on and cajoled, as the great mass ofour own. I hope I have never been addicted to the vice of winning goldenopinions by a sacrifice of sentiments or principles; but this dinner hasgiven me a surfeit of what is called "popularity, " among a people who, while affecting to reduce everything to a standard of their owncreating, do not give themselves time or opportunity to ascertain facts, or weigh consequences. 

The weather was pleasant and warm for several weeks, about the close ofJune and the commencement of July, and, although a slight shade has beencast over our enjoyments by the re-appearance of the cholera, in agreatly diminished degree however, I do not remember to have passed thesame period of time in Paris with so much satisfaction to myself. Thetown has been empty, in the usual signification of the term, and theworld has left us entirely to ourselves. After completing the morning'stask, I have strolled in the gardens, visited the churches, loitered onthe quays, rummaged the shops of the dealers in old furniture and othersimilar objects. The number of these shops is great, and their stores ofcurious things incredible. It appears to me that all France has pouredher relics of the old system into the warehouses of the capital. Theplunder of the chateaux and hotels has enriched them to a degree thatmust be witnessed to be understood, and to me it is matter of surprisethat some of our wealthy travellers do not transfer many of thesetreasures to the other side of the Atlantic. 

I usually spend an our or two with M----, in the gallery of the Louvre, from two to four: he returns home with me to dinner; and at seven, which, at this season in this latitude, is still broad day, we issueforth for a promenade. Paris, I have often told you, is a picturesquetown, and offers endless sources of satisfaction, beyond its livingthrongs, its society, its theatres, and its boulevards. The publicdisplays at the Academy, and its meetings of science, taste, andphilanthropy are little to my taste, being too artificial and affected, and I have found most enjoyment in parts of this little world that Ibelieve travellers usually overlook. 

The churches of Paris want the odour, the genial and ecclesiasticalatmosphere and the devout superstition that rendered those of Italy sostrikingly soothing and pleasant; but they are huge piles, and canalways be visited with pleasure. Notre Dame de Paris is a noblemonument, and now that the place of the archbishop is destroyed, one islikely to get better views of it, than is apt to be the case with thesevenerable edifices. A few evenings since M----, and myself ascended thetowers, and seating ourselves on the leads, looked down, for near anhour, on the extraordinary picture beneath. The maze of roofs, out-topped, here and there, by black lacquered-looking towers, domes, pavilions of palaces, and, as is the case with the Tuileries and Louvre, literally by a mile of continuous structures; the fissures of streets, resembling gaping crevices in rocks; the river meandering through thecentre of all, and spanned by bridges thronged by mites of men and pigmycarriages; the crowds of images of the past; the historical eminencesthat surround the valley of the capital; the knowledge of its interior;our acquaintance with the past and the present, together withconjectures for the future, contributed to render this a most impressiveevening. The distant landscape was lost, and even quarters of the townitself were getting to be obscure before we descended, helpingsingularly to increase the effect produced by our speculations on thoseages in which Paris had been the scene of so many momentous events. 

We have also wandered among the other relics of antiquity, for thepresent structure of Notre Dame is said to have already stood sevencenturies. The Place Royale is one of the most singular quarters of thetown, and although often visited before, we have again examined it, forwe are beginning to regard objects with the interest that one is apt tofeel on leaving a favourite spot, perhaps for ever. This square, uniquein its kind, occupies the site of the ancient residences of the kings ofFrance, who abandoned it in consequence of the death of Henri II, in atournament. Henri IV caused the present area to be enclosed by hotels, which are all of brick, a novelty in Paris, and built in the style ofhis reign. Fashion has, however, been stronger than the royal will; andnoble ranges of rooms are to be hired here at a fourth of the pricesthat are paid for small and crowded apartments near the Tuileries. Thecelebrated arsenal, where Sully so often received his royal master, isnear this place, and the Bastile stood at no great distance. In short, the world has moved, within the last two centuries, directly across thetown. 

I can never tire of speaking of the bridges of Paris. By day and bynight have I paused on them to gaze at their views; the word not beingtoo comprehensive for the crowds and groupings of objects that arevisible from their arches. They are less stupendous and magnificent, aspublic works, than the bridges of London, Florence, Dresden, Bordeaux, and many other European towns, the stream they have to span beinginconsiderable; but their number, the variety of their models, even thevery quaintness of some among them, render them, as a whole, I think, more interesting than any others that I know. The Pont de Jena is asnear perfection in all respects, perhaps, as a bridge well can be. Igreatly prefer it to the celebrated Ponte della Trinità, at Florence. Some enormous statues are about to be placed on the Pont Louis XVI, which, if they do not escape criticism, will, at least, I think, helpthe picturesque. 

I have now known Paris a sufficient time to watch, with interest, theprogress of the public works. The arch at the Barrière de Neuilly has, within my observation, risen several feet, and approaches itscompletion. The wing, a counterpart of the gallery, that is to enclosethe Carrousel, and finally to convert the Louvre and the Tuileries intoa single edifice, has advanced a long distance, and preparations aremaking to clear the area of the few buildings that still remain. Whenthis design shall be executed, the Palace of the Kings of France willcontain considerably more than a mile of continuous buildings, whichwill be erected around a large vacant area. The single room of thepicture-gallery is of itself a quarter of a mile in length!

During the heat of the late finance discussion, all sorts of unpleasantthings were said of America, for the money-power acts here as it doeseverywhere else, proving too strong even for French _bon ton_, and, failing of facts and logic, some of the government writers had recourseto the old weapon of the trader, abuse and vituperation. Among otherbold assertions, one of them affirmed, with a view to disparage thevaunted enterprise of the Americans, that while they attempted so muchin the way of public works, nothing was ever finished. He cited theCapitol, a building commenced in 1800, and which had been once destroyedby fire in the interval, as an example. 

As one of the controversionalists, on this occasion, I certainly had nodisposition to debase my mind, or to descend from the level of agentleman who was compelled to bow before no political master, in orderto retort in kind; but as is apt to be the case under provocations ofthis sort, the charge induced me to look about, in order to see whatadvantages the subjects of a monarchy possess over us in thisparticular. The result has made several of my French friends laugh, andacknowledge that they who "live in glass houses should not throwstones. "

The new palace of the Louvre was erected more than two centuries since. It is a magnificent pile, surrounding a court of more than a quarter ofa mile in circumference, possessing many good statues, fine bas-reliefs, and a noble colonnade. In some respects, it is one of the finest palacesin Europe. The interior is, however, unfinished, though in the course ofslow embellishment. Now a principal and very conspicuous window, in thepavilion that caps the entrance to the Carrousel, is unglazed, theweather being actually excluded by the use of _coarse unplaned boards_, precisely in the manner in which one is apt to see a shingle palaceembellished at home. One hundred francs would conceal this deformity. 

The palace of the Tuileries was built by Catherine di Medici, who wasdead before the present United States were first peopled. It is alantern-like, tasteless edifice, composed of different pavilions, connected by _corps de bâtimens_ of different sizes, but of prettyuniform ugliness. The stone of this vicinity is so easily wrought, thatit is usual to set it up, in blocks, and to work out the capitals andother ornaments in the wall. On a principal portion of this palace, _these unwrought blocks still remain_, just enough being finished totell the observer that the design has never been completed. I shall notgo beyond the palaces to make out our case, though all Europe aboundswith these discrepancies in taste, and with similar neglect. As a rule, I believe we more uniformly push through our public undertakings thanany other people, though they are not always executed with the sametaste, on the same scale, or as permanently, perhaps, as the publicworks that are undertaken here. When they yield profit, however, we needturn our backs on no nation. 

It is a curious commentary on the change in the times, thatLouis-Philippe has dared to do that which Napoleon, with all his power, did not deem it expedient to undertake, though it is known that hechafed under the inconvenience, which it was desirable to both to be ridof. Until quite lately, the public could approach as near the palacewindows, as one usually gets to those of any considerable dwelling thatstands on a common street. The Emperor complained that he could not lookout of a window, into his own gardens, without attracting a crowd: underthis evil, however, he reigned, as consul and emperor, fourteen years, for there was no obvious way of remedying it, but by taking possessionof a part of that garden, which so long had been thrown open to thepublic, that it now considered it as its own. Sustained by thecongregated wealth of France, and secretly by those nations with whomhis predecessor had to contend, Louis-Philippe has boldly broken ground, by forming two little gardens beneath the palace windows, which he hasseparated from the public promenade by ditches and low railings, butwhich serves effectually to take possession, to keep the tiger at adistance, and to open the way for farther improvement. In the end therewill probably be a wing of the palace thrown forward into the garden, unless, indeed, the whole of the present structure should be destroyed, to make place for one more convenient and of purer architecture. 

Paris enjoys a high reputation for the style of its public edifices, and, while there is a very great deal to condemn, compared with othercapitals, I think it is entitled to a distinguished place in thisparticular. The church of the Magdalen (Napoleon's Temple de la Gloire, on which the names of distinguished Frenchmen were to be embossed inletters of bronze), is one of the finest modern edifices of Europe. Itis steadily advancing to completion, having been raised from beneath thecornices during my visit. It is now roofed, and they are chiseling thebas-reliefs on the pediment. The Gardes-Meubles, two buildings, whichline one entire side of the Place Louis Seize, or de la Concorde, as itis now termed, and which are separated by the Rue Royale, are among thebest structures of the town. Some of their ornaments are a littlemeretricious, but the prevalent French features of their architectureare more happy than common. Only one of these edifices belongs to thepublic, and is now the hotel of the Admiralty, the other having beenerected for symmetry, though occupied as private dwellings, and actuallyprivate property. The Bourse, or Exchange, is another modern buildingthat has an admirable general effect. 

Of the private hotels and private gardens of Paris, a stranger canscarcely give a just account. Although it is now six years since I havebeen acquainted with the place, they occasion surprise daily, by theirnumber, beauty, and magnificence. Relatively, Rome, and Florence, andVenice, and Genoa, may surpass it, in the richness and vastness of someof their private residences; but, Rome excepted, none of them enjoy suchgardens, nor does Rome even, in absolute connection with the town abodesof her nobles. The Roman villas[15] are almost always detached from thepalaces, and half of them are without the walls, as I have alreadydescribed to you. The private gardens of Paris certainly cannot comparewith these villas, nor, indeed, can those which belong to the public;but then there is a luxury, and a quiet, and a beauty, about the five orsix acres that are so often enclosed and planted in the rear of thehotels here, that I do not think any other Christian city can show inequal affluence. The mode of living, which places the house betweencourt and garden, as it is termed here, is justly esteemed theperfection of a town residence; for while it offers security, by meansof the gate, and withdraws the building from the street--a desideratumwith all above the vulgar--it gives space and room for exercise andbeauty, by means of the verdure, shrubbery, trees, and walks. It is nounusual thing for the French to take their repasts, in summer, withinthe retirement of their gardens, and this in the heart of one of themost populous and crowded towns of Europe. The miserable and minutesubdivisions of our own towns preclude the possibility of our everenjoying a luxury as great, and yet as reasonable as this; and if, bychance, some lucky individual should find the means to embellish his ownabode and his neighbourhood, in this way, some speculation, half aleague off, would compel him to admit an avenue through his laurels androses, in order to fill the pockets of a club of projectors. In America, everybody sympathises with him who makes money, for it is a commonpursuit, and touches a chord that vibrates through the whole community;but few, indeed, are they who can enter into the pleasures of him whowould spend it elegantly, rationally, and with good taste. If this werethe result of simplicity, it would, at least, be respectable; but everyone knows that the passion at home is for display--finery, at theexpense of comfort and fitness, being a prevalent evil. 

[Footnote 15: This word has a very different signification in Italian, from that which we have given it, in English. It means a _garden_ in thecountry; the _house_ not being necessarily any part of it, althoughthere is usually a _casino_ or pavilion. ]

The private hotels are even more numerous than the private gardens, landnot always having been attainable. Of course these buildings vary insize and magnificence, according to the rank and fortune of those whocaused them to be constructed, but the very smallest are usually ofgreater dimensions than our largest town-houses, and infinitely betterdisposed; though we have a finish in many of the minor articles, such asthe hinges, locks, and the wood-work in general, and latterly, inmarbles, that is somewhat uncommon, even in the best houses of France;when the question, however, is of magnificence, we can lay no claim toit, for want of arrangement, magnitude, and space. 

Many American travellers will render you a different account of thesethings, but few of our people stay long enough to get accurate notionsof what they see, and fewer still have free access to the sort ofdwellings of which I now speak. 

These hotels bear the names of their several owners. In the instances ofthe high nobility, it was usual to build a smaller hotel, near theprincipal structure, which was inhabited by the inferior branches of thefamily, and sometimes by favoured dependants (for the French, unlikeourselves, are fond of maintaining the domestic relations to the last, several generations frequently dwelling under the same roof), and whichit is the fashion to call the _petit hôtel_. 

Our first apartments were in one of these _petits hôtels_, which hadonce belonged to the family of Montmorency. [16] The great hotel, whichjoined it, was inhabited, and I believe owned, by an American, who hadreversed the usual order of things by coming to Europe to seek hisfortune. Our next abode was the Hôtel Jumilliac, in a small garden of aremote part of the Faubourg St. Germain. This was a hotel of the smallersize, and our apartments were chiefly on the second floor, or in what iscalled the third story in America, where we had six rooms besides theoffices. Our saloon, dining-room, &c. Had formerly been the bed-chamber, dressing-room, and ante-chamber of Madame la Marquise, and gave one avery respectful opinion of the state of a woman of quality, of asecondary class, though I believe that this family too was highlyallied. From the Rue St. Maur, we went into a small country-house on thebank of the Seine, about a league from the gates of Paris, which, acentury since, was inhabited by a Prince de Soubise, as _grand veneur_of Louis XV, who used to go there occasionally, and eat his dinner, ina very good apartment, that served us for a drawing-room. Here we werewell lodged, having some two or three-and-twenty well-furnished rooms, offices included. From this place we went into the Rue desChamps-Elysées, where we had a few rooms in a hotel of some size. Oddlyenough, our predecessor in a portion of these rooms was the PrincePolignac, and our successor Marshal Marmont, two men who are nowproscribed in France. We have been in one or two apartments in namelessedifices since our return from Germany, and we are now in a small hotelin the Rue St. Dominique, where in some respects we are better lodgedthan ever, though compelled to occupy three floors. Here the salon isnear thirty feet in length, and seventeen high. It is panelled in wood, and above all the doors, of which, real and false, there are six, areallegories painted on canvass, and enclosed in wrought gilded frames. Four large mirrors are fixtures, and the windows are vast and descend tothe floor. The dining-room, which opens on a garden, is of the samesize, but even loftier. This hotel formerly had much interior gilding, but it has chiefly been painted over. It was built by the physician ofthe Duc d'Orléans, who married Madame de Montesson, and from this factyou may form some idea of the style maintained by the nobles of theperiod; a physician, at thattime, being but a very inferior personage in Europe. 

[Footnote 16: This ancient family still exists, though much shorn of itssplendour, by the alienation of its estates, in consequence of themarriage of Charlotte de Montmorency, heiress of the eldest line, with aPrince of Condé, two centuries since. By this union, the estates andchateaux of Chantilly, Ecouen, etc. , ancient possessions of the house, passed into a junior branch of the royal family. In this manner Enghien, a _seigneurie_ of the Montmorencies, came to be the title of a prince ofthe blood, in the person of the unfortunate descendant of Charlotte ofthat name. At the present time, besides the Duc de Montmorency, the Ducde Laval-Montmorency, the Duc de Luxembourg, the Prince de Bauffremont, the Prince de Tancarville, and one or two more, are members of thisfamily, and most of them are, or were before the late revolution, peersof France. The writer knew, at Paris, a Colonel de Montmorency, anIrishman by birth, who claimed to be the head of this celebrated family, as a descendant of a cadet who followed the Conqueror into England. There are two Irish peers, who have also pretensions of the same sort, though the French branches of the family look coolly on the claim. Thetitle of "First Christian Baron, " is not derived from antiquity, ancientas the house unquestionably is, but from the circumstance that thebarony of Montmorency, from its local position, in sight of Paris, aidedby the great power of the family, rendered the barons the first inimportance to their sovereign. The family of Talleyrand-Perigord is soancient, that, in the middle ages, when a King demanded of its head, "Who made you Count de Perigord?" he was asked, by way of reply, "Whomade you King of France?"--God! I think I should have hesitated on thescore of taste about establishing myself in a house of theMontmorencies, but Jonathan has usually no such scruples. Our ownresidence was but temporary, the hotel being public. ]

In describing these residences, which have necessarily been suited tovery moderate means, I have thought you might form some idea of thegreater habitations. First and last, I may have been in a hundred, and, while the Italian towns do certainly possess a few private dwellings ofgreater size and magnificence, I believe Paris contains, in proportion, more noble abodes than any other place in Europe. London, in thisparticular, will not compare with it. I have been in some of the besthouses in the British capital, but very few of them rise to the level ofthese hotels in magnificence and state, though nearly all surpass themin comfort. I was at a ball given by the Count ----, when thirteen rooms_en suite_ were opened. The Duke of Devonshire can hardly exceed this. Prince Borghese used, on great occasions, to open twenty, if I rememberright, at Florence, one of which was as large as six or eight of ourordinary drawing-rooms. Although, as a whole, nothing can be moreinconvenient or irrational than an ordinary town-house in New York, evenwe excel the inhabitants of these stately abodes, in many of the minorpoints of domestic economy, particularly in the offices, and in thesleeping-rooms of the second class. 

Your question, as to the comparative expense of living at home and ofliving in Europe, is too comprehensive to be easily answered, for theprices vary so materially, that it is difficult to make intelligentcomparisons. As between Paris and New York, so long as one keeps withinthe usual limits of American life, or is disposed to dispense with amultitude of little elegancies, the advantage is essentially with thelatter. While no money will lodge a family in anything like style, orwith suites of rooms, ante-chambers, &c. In New York, for the simplereason, that buildings which possess these elegancies, or indeed withfine apartments at all, have never yet been erected in the country; afamily can be better lodged in a genteel part of the town for lessmoney, than it can be lodged, with equal room and equal comforts, in agenteel quarter of Paris; always excepting the inferior distribution ofthe rooms, and other little advantages, such as the convenience of aporter, &c. All of which are in favour of the latter place. [17] Food ofall kinds is much the cheapest with us, bread alone excepted. Wines canbe had, as a whole, better and cheaper in New York, if obtained from thewine-merchant, than in any European town we have yet inhabited. EvenFrench wines can be had as cheap as they can be bought here, for theentrance-duty into the country is actually much less than the charges atthe gates of Paris. The transportation from Bordeaux or Champagne, orBurgundy, is not, as a whole, essentially less than that to New York, ifindeed it be any less. All the minor articles of table luxuries, unlessthey happen to be of French growth, or French fabrications, areimmeasurably cheaper in America than here. Clothes are nominally muchcheaper here than with us; but neither the French nor the English usehabitually as good clothes as we; nor are the clothes generally as wellmade. You are not, however, to suppose from this that the Americans area well-dressed people; on the contrary, we are greatly behind theEnglish in this particular, nor are our men, usually, as well attired asthose of Paris. This is a consequence of a want of servants, negligenthabits, greediness of gain, which monopolizes so much of our time as toleave little for relaxation, and the high prices of articles, whichprevent our making as frequent calls on the tailor, as is the practicehere. My clothes have cost me more in Europe, however, than they did athome, for I am compelled to have a greater variety, and to change themoftener. 

[Footnote 17: In New York, the writer has a house with twodrawing-rooms, a dining-room, eight bed-rooms, dressing-rooms, four goodservants' rooms, with excellent cellars, cisterns, wells, baths, water-closets, etc. For the same money that he had an apartment inParis, of one drawing-room, a cabinet, four small and inferiorbed-rooms, dining-room, and ante-chamber; the kitchens, offices, cellars, etc. Being altogether in favour of the New York residence. InParis, water was bought in addition, and a tax of forty dollars a yearwas paid for inhabiting an apartment or a certain amount of rent; a taxthat was quite independent of the taxes on the house, doors, andwindows, which in both cases were paid by the landlord. ]

Our women do not know what high dress is, and consequently they escapemany demands on the purse, to which those of Paris are compelled tosubmit. It would not do, moreover, for a French belle to appear everyother night for a whole season in the same robe, and that too lookingbedraggled, and as jaded as its pretty wearer. Silks and the commonerarticles of female attire are perhaps as cheap in our own shops, as inthose of Paris: but when it comes to the multitude of little elegancesthat ornament the person, the salon, or the boudoir, in this country, they are either wholly unknown in America, or are only to be obtained bypaying treble and quadruple the prices at which they may be had here. Weabsolutely want the caste of shopkeepers as it exists in Europe. Byshopkeepers, I mean that humble class of traders who are content withmoderate profits, looking forward to little more than a respectablelivelihood, and the means of placing their children in situations ascomfortable as their own. This is a consequence of the upward tendencyof things in a young and vigorous community, in which society has noartificial restrictions, or as few as will at all comport withcivilization, and the buoyancy of hope that is its concomitant. The wantof the class, notwithstanding, deprives the Americans of many eleganciesand some comforts, which would be offered to them at as low rates asthey are sold in the countries in which they are made, were it not forthe principle of speculative value, which enters into nearly all of ourtransactions. In Paris the man or woman who sells a duchess an elegantbauble, is half the time content to eat his humble dinner in a smallroom adjoining his shop, to sleep in an _entresol_ over it, and to limithis profits by his wants. The pressure of society reduces him to thislevel. With us the thing is reversed, and the consumer is highly taxed, as a necessary result. As we become more familiar with the habits ofEuropean life, the demand will gradually reduce the value of these minorarticles, and we shall obtain them at the same relative prices, asordinary silks and shawls are now to be had. At present it must beconfessed that our shops make but indifferent figures compared withthose of London and Paris. I question if the best of them would pass formore than fourth-rate in London, or for more than third-rate here;though the silk-mercers at home might possibly be an exception to therule. 

The amount of all my experience, on this point, is to convince me, thatso long as one is willing to be satisfied with the habits of Americanlife, which include a great abundance, many comforts, and even some fewelegancies, that are not known here, such as the general use of carpets, and that of many foreign articles which are excluded from the Europeanmarkets by the different protective systems, but which, also, do notknow a great many embellishments of living that are common all overEurope, he can get along with a good deal less money in New York, thanin Paris; certainly, with less, if he mix much with the world. 

EXCURSION UP THE RHINE, &c. 

LETTER VIII. 

Preparations for leaving-Paris. --Travelling arrangements. --OurRoute. --The Chateau of Ecouen. --The_Croisée_. --Senlis. --Peronne. --Cambray. --Arrival at theFrontier. --Change in the National Character. --Mons. --Brussels. --AFête. --The Picture Gallery. --Probable Partition of Belgium. 

Dear ----, We had been preparing for our summer excursion some time, but wereunable to get away from Paris before the 18th of July. Our destinationwas undetermined, health and pleasure being the objects, though, aportion of our party having never seen Belgium, it was settled to visitthat country in the commencement of the journey, let it end where itmight The old caleche was repaired for the purpose, fitted with a newrumble to contain Francois and Jetty (the Saxon _femme de chambre_, hired in Germany), the _vache_ was crammed, sacks stowed, passportsigned, and orders were sent for horses. We are a little apt to boast ofthe facilities for travelling in America, and, certainly, so long as onecan keep in the steam-boats or on the rail-roads, and be satisfied withmere velocity, no part of the world can probably compete with us, thedistances considered; but we absolutely want the highest order ofmotion, which, I think, beyond all question, is the mode of travellingpost. By this method, your privacy is sacred, you are master of yourown hours, going where you please, and stopping when you please; and, asfor speed, you can commonly get along at the rate of ten miles in thehour, by paying a trifle in addition, or you can go at half that rateshould it better suit your humour. A good servant and a good carriageare indispensable, and both are to be had at very reasonable rates, inthis part of the world. 

I never felt the advantage of this mode of travelling, and I believe wehave now tried nearly all the others, or the advantages of the Parisianplan of living, so strongly as on the present occasion. Up to the lastmoment, I was undecided by what route to travel. The furniture of theapartment was my own, and it was our intention to return to Paris, topass the winter. The luggage had been stowed early in the morning, thecarriage was in the court ready to hook on, and at ten we sat downquietly to breakfast, as usual, with scarcely a sign of movement aboutus. Like old campaigners, the baggage had been knowingly reduced to thevery minimum admissible, no part of the furniture was deranged, buteverything was in order, and you may form some idea of the facilities, when you remember that this was the condition of a family of strangers, that in half an hour was to start on a journey of several months'duration, to go--they knew not whither. 

A few minutes before ten, click-clack, click-clack, gave notice of theapproach of the post-horses. The _porte-cochère_ opened, and twovotaries of the old-fashioned boot enter, each riding one and leadinganother horse. All this is done quietly, and as a matter of course; thecattle are put before the carriage without a question being asked, andthe two liveried roadsters place themselves by the sides of theirrespective beasts. In the mean time, we had entered the caleche, saidadieu to the cook, who was left in charge of the apartment, a trust thatmight, however, equally well have been confided to the porter, kissedour hands to the family of M. De V----, and the other inmates of thehotel, who crowded the windows to see us off. Up to this moment, I hadnot decided even by what road to travel! The passport had been taken outfor Brussels, and last year, you may recollect, we went to that place byDieppe, Abbeville, Douay, and Arras. The "Par quelle route, monsieur?"of the postilion that rode the wheel-horse, who stood with a foot in thestirrup, ready to get up, brought me to a conclusion. "A St. Denis!" thequestion compelling a decision, and all my doubts terminating, as doubtsare apt to terminate, by taking the most beaten path. 

The day was cool and excessively windy, while the thermometer had stoodthe previous afternoon but one, at 93°, in the shade. We were compelledto travel with the carriage-windows closed, the weather being almostwintry. As we drove through the streets, the common women cried afterus, "They are running away from the cholera;" an accusation that we feltwe did not merit, after having stood our ground during the terriblemonths of April and May. But popular impulses are usually just asundiscriminating as the favouritism of the great: the mistake is insupposing that one is any better than the other. 

When we had reached the city where the Kings of France are buried, itwas determined to sleep at Senlis, which was only four posts further, the little town that we visited with so much satisfaction in 1827. Thisdeviation from the more direct road led us by Gonesse, and through adistrict of grain country, that is less monotonous than most of thegreat roads that lead from Paris. We got a good view of the chateau ofEcouen, looking vast and stately, seated on the side of a distant hill. I do not know into whose hands this princely pile has fallen since theunhappy death of the last of the Condés, but it is to be hoped intothose of the young Duc D'Aumale, for I believe he boasts the blood ofthe Montmorencies, through some intermarriage or other; and if not, hecomes, at least, of a line accustomed to dwell in palaces. I do not liketo see these historical edifices converted into manufactories, nor am Iso much of a modern utilitarian as to believe the poetry of life iswithout its correcting and useful influences. Your cold, nakedutilitarian, holds a sword that bruises as well as cuts; and yoursneaking, trading aristocrat, like the pickpocket who runs against youin the crowd before he commits his theft, one that cuts as well asbruises. 

We were at Ecouen not long before the death of its last possessor, andvisited its wide but untenanted halls with strong interest. The housewas first erected by some Montmorency, or other, at or near the time ofthe crusades, I believe; though it has been much altered since. Still itcontains many curious vestiges of the taste of that remote age. The olddomestic who showed us through the building was as quaint a relic asanything about the place. He had accompanied the family into exile, andpassed many years with them in England. In courtesy, respect, anddelicate attention, he would have done credit to the court of Louis XIV;nor was his intelligence unworthy of his breeding. This man, by the way, was the only Frenchman whom I ever knew address an Englishman (or, as inmy case, one whom he mistook for an Englishman), by the old appelationof _milord_. The practice is gone out, so far as my experience extends. 

I remember to have learned from this courteous old servant, the originof the common term _croisée_, which is as often used in large houses asthat of _fenêtre_. At the period when every man's heart and wishes werebound up in the excitement and enterprise of the crusades, and it wasthought that heaven was to be entered sword in hand, the cross was asymbol used as a universal ornament. Thus the aperture for a window wasleft in the wall, and a stone cross erected in the centre. The severalcompartments in the casements came from the shape of the cross, and theterm _croisée_ from _croix_. All this is plain enough, and perhaps thereare few who do not know it; but gazing at the ornaments of Ecouen, myeyes fell on the doors, where I detected crosses in the most familiarobjects. There is scarcely a panelled door, twenty years old, in allAmerica, that does not bear this evidence of the zeal, and, if you will, the superstition of those distant ages! The form of the door is made bythe exterior stile; a cross is then built within it, and the open spacesare filled with panels, as, in the case of the window, it is filled withthe sash. The exactitude of the form, the antiquity of the practice, itsobvious connexion with the common feeling, and the inability to accountfor the usage in any other way, leave no doubt, in my mind, of itsorigin, though I do not remember to have ever met with such an accountof it, in any author. If this conjecture be true, we Protestants, whilefastidiously, not to say foolishly, abstaining from the use of a symbolthat prejudice has led us to think peculiarly unsuited to our faith, have been unconsciously living with it constantly before our eyes. Butthe days of puritan folly and puritan vice (there is nothing morevicious than self-righteousness, and the want of charity it engenders)are numbered, and men are beginning to distinguish between theexaggerations of fanaticism and the meek toleration of pureChristianity. I can safely say that the lowest, the most degraded, andthe most vulgar wickedness, both as to tone and deed, and the mostdisordered imaginations, that it has ever been my evil fortune towitness, or to associate with, was met with at school, among the sons ofthose pious forefathers, who fancied they were not only saintsthemselves, but that they also were to be the progenitors of long linesof saints. It is a melancholy truth, that a gentleman-like training doesmore for the suppression of those abominations than all the dogmas thatthe pilgrims have imported into the country. 

We reached Senlis in time for dinner, and while the repast was gettingready, we strolled through the place, in order to revive the sensationswith which we had visited it five years before. But, alas! these arejoys, which, like those of youth are not renewable at pleasure. I couldhardly persuade myself it was the same town. The walls, that I had thenfancied lined with the men-at-arms of the Charleses of France, and theEnglish Henries and Edwards, had now lost all their peculiarities, appearing mean and common-place; and as to the gate, from which we hadalmost heard the trumpets of the heralds, and the haughty answer to abold summons of surrender, we absolutely had difficulty in persuadingourselves that we had found it at all. Half Europe had been roamed oversince the time when, fresh from America, we made the former visit, predisposed to gaze with enthusiasm at every relic of a former age and adifferent state of society. 

If we were disagreeably disappointed in the antiquities of the town, wewere as agreeably disappointed in the inn. It was clean, gave us a gooddinner, and, as almost invariably proves to be the case in France, alsogave us good beds. I do not remember ever to have been more fatiguedthan by the five posts between Paris and this place. The uneven _pavés_, the random and careless driving of the postillions, with whom it is apoint of honour to gallop over the broken streets of the villages, besides having a strong fellow-feeling for the smiths, always makes theeight or ten posts nearest to Paris, much the most disagreeable part ofa journey to or from the French capital. 

We dined at six, exhausted the curiosities of Senlis, and went to bed bydaylight!

The next morning was fresh and bland, and I walked ahead of thecarriage. A wood-cutter was going to the forests to make faggots, and wefell into discourse. This man assured me that he should get only tensous for his day's work! The view of the principal church-tower ofSenlis as beautiful, and, in a slight degree, it carried the mind backto the fifteenth century. 

You have travelled to and from Paris with me so often, that I can onlyadd we found the same fatiguing monotony, on this occasion, as on allthe others. We reached Peronne early, and ordered beds. Before dinnerwe strolled around the ramparts, which are pleasant of themselves thoughthe place stands in a marsh, which renders its position not only strong, but strongly disagreeable. We endeavoured in vain to find some featuresto revive the pictures of "Quentin Durward. " There was no sign of asoldier in the place, though barracks were building. The French areevidently less jealous of this frontier, than of that on the east, orthe one next the Austrians. 

The next morning we breakfasted at Cambray. Here we found a garrison, and considerable activity. The citadel is well placed, and the esplanadeis a pretty walk. We visited the cathedral, which contains a monument toFenelon, by our friend David. We were much gratified by this work, whichranks among his best. Near Valenciennes we broke a tire, and weredetained two hours. Here the garrison was still stronger, the place inbetter condition, and the troops mounted guard with their marchingaccoutrements about them; all of which, I presume, was owing to thefact, that this is the last fortified town on the road. We did not getto the frontier until seven, and the French postilions broke anotherbolt before we got fairly rid of them, compelling us to wait an hour tohave it mended. We were now in a low wet country, or one perfectlycongenial to cholera; it was just the hour when the little demons ofmiasma are said to be the most active, and to complete the matter, welearned that the disease was in the village. The carriage-windows wereclosed, while I walked about, from door to door, to pacify uneasiness bycuriosity. Use, however, had made us all tolerably indifferent, andlittle P---- settled the matter by remarking it was nothing after all, for here only two or three died daily, while at Paris there had been athousand! Older heads than his, often take material facts more in a lumpthan this. 

The change in the national character is so evident, immediately oncrossing into Belgium, as to occasion surprise. The region was, at noremote period, all Flanders. The same language is still spoken, the samereligion professed in both countries, and yet a certain secret moralinfluence appears to have extended itself from the capital of eachcountry, until they have met on the frontier, where both have beenarrested within their proper geographical limits. We had come into thisvillage on a gallop, driven with the lighthearted _étourderie_ of Frenchvanity, and we left it gravely, under the guidance of postilions whophilosophically smoked, as their cattle trotted along like elephants. 

It was quite late when we reached Mons, where we found a good house, ofunexceptionable neatness: of course we were in no haste to quit it thenext day. The distance to Brussels was so short that we took itleisurely, reaching the Hôtel de l'Europe at three. It was a fête, onaccount of the anniversary of the arrival of Leopold, who had nowreigned just a twelvemonth. He passed our window, while we were still attable, on his way to the theatre. The royal cortege was not verybrilliant, consisting of four carriages, each drawn by two horses, which, by the way, are quite enough for any coachman to manage, indescending the formidable hill that leads from the great square. 

You have now been with me three times, in Brussels, and I shall not goover the old ground again. We revisited some of the more prominentplaces of interest, and went to a few others that were neglected onformer occasions. Among the rest we took a look at the publicpicture-gallery, which greatly disappointed us. The Flemish schoolnaturally awakened our expectations, but a fine Gerard Douw and a fewother old paintings were all that struck us, and as a whole, we gave apreference to the paintings of the present day. 

The King appears to be personally popular, even those who have no faithin the duration of the present order of things, and who politically arehis opponents, speaking well of him. The town has but few strangers, though the presence of a court renders it a little more gay than it waslast year. The aspect of everything is gloomy, for the country may beagain engaged in a war of existence, in a week. Many still think theaffair will end in a partition; France, Prussia, and Holland getting theprincipal shares. I make no doubt that everybody will profit more by thechange than they who brought it about. 

LETTER IX. 

Malines. --Its Collection of Pictures. --Antwerp. --The Cathedral. --AFlemish Quack. --Flemish Names. --The Picture Gallery at Antwerp. --Mr. Wapper's Carvings in Wood. --Mr. Van Lankeren's Pictures. --The Boulevardsat Brussels. --Royal Abodes. --Palace of the Prince of Orange. --PrinceAuguste d'Ahremberg's Gallery of Pictures. --English Ridicule of America. 

Dear ----, After a consultation with François, I sent the carriage to get a set ofentirely new wheels, Brussels being a coach-making town, and taking a_voiture de remise_, we drove down to Antwerp. While the horses rested, we looked at the pictures in Malines. The "Miraculous Draught of Fishes"is thought by many to be the chef-d'oeuvre of Rubens, but, afterconceding it a hardy conception and magnificent colouring, I think onefinds too much of the coarse mannerism of the artist, even for such asubject. The most curious part of the study of the different schools isto observe how much all have been influenced by external objects, andhow completely conventional, after all, the _beau idéal_ of an artistnecessarily becomes. It would be impossible, for one who knew theseveral countries, to mistake the works of Murillo, Rubens, or Raphael, for the works of artists of different schools, and this withoutreference to their peculiar manners, but simply as Flemings, Spaniards, and Italians. Rubens, however, is, I think, a little apt to out-Dutchthe Dutch. He appears to me to have delighted in the coarse, whileRaphael revelled in the pretty. But Raphael could and often did step outof himself and rise to the grand; and then he was perfect, because hisgrandeur was chastened. 

We reached Antwerp some time before dinner. The situation of the townwas singular, the Dutch holding the citadel; the place, which waspeopled by their enemies, as a matter of course, lying quite at theirmercy. The road from Brussels is partly commanded by them, and we sawtheir flag rising out of the low mounds--for in Flanders the art offortifying consists in burrowing as deep as possible--as we approachedthe town. Several Dutch gun-boats were in the river, off the town, and, in the reaches of the Scheldt below, we got glimpses of divers frigatesand corvettes, riding at anchor. As an offset to the works of theirenemies, the Belgians had made a sort of entrenched camp, by enclosingthe docks with temporary ramparts, the defences of the town aiding them, in part, in effecting their object. 

One of our first visits was to the cathedral. This beautiful edifice hadescaped without material damage from the recent conflicts, though thegarrison of the citadel have thrown a few shots at its tower, mostprobably with a view to drive curious eyes out of it, the great heightenabling one to get a complete bird's-eye view of what is going onwithin their walls. The celebrated Rubenses were cased in massive timberto render them bomb-proof, and, of course, were invisible. 

Processions of peasants were passing from church to church, the wholeday, to implore succour against the cholera, which, by the way, andcontrary to all rule for a low and moist country, is said to be verylight here. The Flemings have the reputation of being among the mostbigoted Catholics, and the most ignorant population of Europe. Thisaccounts, in some measure, for the existence of the latter qualityamong the first inhabitants of New York, most of whom were fromFlanders, rather than from Holland. I have found many of our names inAntwerp, but scarcely one in Holland. The language at home, too, is muchnearer the Flemish than the Dutch; though it is to be presumed thatthere must have been some colonists from Holland, in a provincebelonging to that nation. I listened to-day to a fellow vending quackmedicines and vilely printed legends, to a song which, tune and all, Iam quite sure to have heard in Albany, when a schoolboy. The undeviatingcharacter and habits of the people, too, appear to be very much likethose which existed among ourselves, before the influx of easternemigration swallowed up everything even to the _suppan_. I remember tohave heard this same quack singing this same song, in the very sameplace in June, 1828, when we first visited Antwerp. The effect wasexceedingly ludicrous, for it seemed to me, that the fellow had beenoccupying the same spot, employed in the same pursuits, for the lastfive years, although the country had been revolutionized. This is also alittle characteristic, for some of our own Communipaws are said tobelieve we are still the property of the United Provinces. 

The Flemish language has many words that are French in the spelling, butwhich have entirely different meanings, representing totally differentthings or ideas. _De_ is one. In French this word, pronounced _der_, without dwelling on the last letter, is a preposition generally meaning"of. " Before a name, without being incorporated with it, it is aninvariable sign of nobility, being even frequently affixed, like theGerman _von_, to the family name, on attaining that rank. In Flemish itis an article, and is pronounced precisely as a Dutchman is apt topronounced _the_, meaning the same. Thus De Witt, means _the_ White, orWhite; the Flemings using the article to express things or qualities inthe abstract, like the French. Myn Heer De Witt is just the same asMonsieur le Blanc, or Monsieur Du Bois, in French; one of which meansMonsieur White, and the other Monsieur Wood. So nearly does thislanguage resemble the English, that I have repeatedly comprehended wholesentences, in passing through the streets. Now in New York, we used tothink the Dutch had become corrupted by the English, but I fancy thatthe corruption has been just the other way. 

We had made the acquaintance of a Flemish artist of extraordinary merit, at Paris; and this gentleman (Mr. Wappers) kindly called this morning totake us to see the gallery. The collection is not particularly large, nor is it rich in cabinet pictures, being chiefly composed ofaltar-pieces taken from churches. The works are principally those ofRubens, Vandyke, and a few of the older masters. The Vandykes, I think, are the best. On the whole, it struck me there were more curious thanpleasing pictures in this gallery, although they are all valuable asbelonging to a school. The study of the "Descent from the Cross" isamong them, and it gave me more pleasure than anything else. Vandykecertainly rose in our estimation, after this close comparison with hisgreat rival: he is altogether more human than Rubens, who is a sort ofDutch giant in the art; out of the natural proportions, and always agiant. 

Mr. Wappers permitted us to see his own painting-room. He is of theschool of the great Flemish masters, and, I think, quite at the head ofhis profession, in many of its leading points. It was curious to tracein the works of this young artist the effects of having Rubens andVandyke constantly before him, corrected by the suggestions of his owngenius. His style is something between the two; broader and bolder thanVandyke, and less robust than Rubens. 

We went the round of the churches, for, if Italy be the land of marbles, Belgium is, or rather has been, the very paradise of those who carved inwood. I have seen more delicate and highly-finished works of this sort, in a small way, in other countries; as in the high reliefs of SantaMaria della Salute, at Venice; but nowhere else is so much attempted, or, indeed, so much achieved in this branch of art, as here. Many of thechurches are quite surrounded by oak confessionals that are highly andallegorically ornamented; though, in general, the pulpits contain themost elaborate designs, and the greatest efforts of this curious work. One at Brussels has the Conversion of St. Paul, horse, rider and all, larger than life. The whole is well wrought, even to the expression. Butthe best specimens of carving in wood that I remember, were a fewfigures over the door of an hospital that we saw in 1828, though I nowforget whether it was at Gorcum or at Breda. One often sees statuary ofgreat pretension and a wide-spread reputation, that is wanting in thenature, simplicity, and repose of these figures. 

We went to see a collection of pictures owned by Mr. Van Lankeren. It isa very fine gallery, but there are few paintings by very great artists. A Van der Heyden (an old New York name, by the way), surpassed anythingI know, in its atmosphere. Poussin, and our own artist Cole, excel inthis high merit, but this picture of Van der Heyden has a cold, graytransparency that seems actually to have transferred a Dutch atmosphereto the canvass. 

We returned to Brussels in time to dine. At Malines I stood withadmiration beneath the great tower, which possesses a rare majesty. Hadit been completed according to the original plan, I believe it wouldhave been the highest church-tower in Europe. In the evening we had acall from Mr. And Mrs. ----, and made an appointment to visit the palaceof the Prince of Orange in the morning. 

I was up betimes next day, and took a walk round the park, and on theupper boulevards. The injuries done in the fight have been, in somemeasure, repaired, but the place was deserted and melancholy. The housesline one side of the boulevards, the other being open to the fields, which are highly cultivated and unenclosed. This practice of cuttingoff a town like a cheese-paring is very common on the continent ofEurope, and the effect is odd to those who are accustomed to stragglingsuburbs, as in America and England. 

At ten we went to the palace, according to appointment. The royal abodesat Brussels are very plain edifices, being nothing more than longunbroken buildings, with very few external ornaments. This of the Princeof Orange stands in the park, near that of the King, and is a simpleparallelogram with two gates. The principal apartments are in the sameform, being an entire suite that are entered on one side and left on theother. There is great good taste and elegance in the disposition of therooms. A few are rich, especially the _salle de bal_, which is reallymagnificent. The place was kept just as it had been left by its lastoccupants, Leopold, with good taste, not to say good feeling, religiously respecting their rights. A pair of gloves belonging to theprincess were shown us, precisely on the spot where she had left them;and her shawls and toys were lying carelessly about, as if her returnwere momentarily expected. This is true royal courtesy, which takesthrones without remorse, while it respects the baubles. 

This palace had many good pictures, and among others a Raphael. Therewas a Paul Potter or two, and a couple of pictures, in the same stile, as pendants, by a living artist of the name of Verboeckhoven, whoseworks sustained the comparison wonderfully well. 

We were shown the window at which the robber entered who stole thejewels of the princess; an event that has given room to the enemies ofthe house of Nassau to torture into an accusation of low guilt againsther husband. [18] I have never met a gentleman here, who appeared tothink the accusation worthy of any credit, or who treated it as morethan the gossip of underlings, exaggerated by the agents of the press. 

[Footnote 18: This affair of the jewels of the Princess of Orange is oneproof, among many others, of the influence of the vilest portion ofmankind over their fellow-creatures. It suited the convenience and viewsof some miscreant who pandered for the press (and the world is full ofthem), to throw out a hint that the Prince of Orange had been guilty ofpurloining the jewels to pay his gambling debts, and the ignorant, thecredulous, and the wonder-mongers, believed a charge of this nature, against a frank and generous soldier! It was a charge, that, in thenature of things, could only be disproved by detecting the robber, andone that a prince and a gentleman would scarcely stoop to deny. Accidentfavoured the truth. The jewels have, oddly enough, been discovered inNew York, and the robber punished. Now, the wretch who first startedthis groundless calumny against the Prince of Orange, belongs exactly tothat school whose members impart to America more than half her notionsof the distinguished men of Europe. ]

From the palace of the Prince of Orange we went to the house of PrinceAuguste d'Ahremberg, to see his collection. This is one of the bestprivate galleries in Europe, though not particularly large. It is richin the works of Teniers, [19] Woovermans, Both, Cuyp, Potter, Rembrandt, and the other masters of the country. Among others is a first-rateGerard Douw (another New York name). 

[Footnote 19: One hears of occasionally discovering good pictures in thestreets, an event that actually once occurred to the writer. Shortlyafter the revolution of 1830, in passing through the Carrousel, hebought a female portrait, that was covered with dirt, but not materiallyinjured. Finding it beautifully painted, curiosity led him to questionthe man who had sold it. This person affirmed that it was a portrait ofthe wife of David Teniers painted by himself. He was not believed, ofcourse, and the thing was forgotten, until two picture-dealers, whoaccidentally saw it, at different times, affirmed that it was byTeniers, though neither knew the original of the likeness. On examiningthe catalogues, the writer found that such a picture had existed inParis, before the revolution, and that it was now lost. But this picturewas square, while that was oval and much larger. The dealer wasquestioned again, on the appearance of the picture, without giving himany clue to the object, and he explained the matter at once, by sayingthat it had once been oval, but the canvass getting an injury, he hadreduced it to its present form. Since then, an engraving has beendiscovered that scarce leaves a doubt as to the originality of theportrait. ]

I passed the evening at the house of an English gentleman, where themaster of the last-named gallery was one of the company. A guest, a Sir----, amused me by the peculiarly _British_ manner in which he conveyeda few remarks on America. Speaking of a countrywoman of ours, who hadlately been at Brussels, he said that she called standing up to dance, "taking the floor, " and he was curious to know if it were a usual formof expression with us. I had to tell him, we said a horse "took thetrack, " in racing, and as this lady came from a racing region, she mighthave used it, _con amore_, especially in the gallopade. Capt. ----, ofthe navy, once called out to the ladies of a quadrille to "shove off, "when he thought the music had got the start of them; and it is luckythat this Sir ---- did not hear him, or he would have set it down atonce as an Americanism. These people are constantly on the hunt forsomething peculiar and ridiculous in Americans, and make no allowancefor difference in station, provincialisms, or traits of character. Heaven knows that we are not so very original as to be thus ruthlesslyrobbed of any little individuality we may happen to possess. 

LETTER X. 

School System in America. --American Maps. --LeaveBrussels. --Louvain. --Quarantine. --Liége. --The Soleil d'Or. --King Leopoldand Brother. --Royal Intermarriages. --Environs of Liége. --The Cathedraland the Church of St. Jacques. --Ceremonies of CatholicWorship. --Churches of Europe. --Taverns of America. --Prayer in theFields. --Scott's error as regards the Language spoken in Liége. --Womenof Liége. --Illumination in honour of the King. 

Dear ----, In the morning the Director-General of Public Instruction called toobtain some information on the subject of the common school system inAmerica. I was a little surprised at this application, the Financecontroversy having quite thrown me into the shade at the Tuileries, andthis court being just now so dependent on that of France. You will smileat this opinion, but even facts are subject to such circumstances, andgreat men submit to very little influences occasionally. [20] The oldground of explaining the power of the States had to be gone over, andthe affair was disposed of by agreeing that written querries should besent to Paris. I had a similar application from a French functionary notlong since. A digest of the facts, as they are connected with the Stateof New York, was accordingly prepared, and handed to the Minister ofPublic Instruction. This gentleman rose in debate with the document inhis hand, and got on well enough until he came to the number of childrenin the schools (near half a million), which appeared to him to be somuch out of proportion to whole numbers (a little exceeding twomillions) that, without hesitation, he reduced them on his ownresponsibility one half! As a proof that no more was meant than to keepwithin reasonable bounds, he immediately added, "or all there are. " Nowthis is a fair specimen of the manner in which America is judged, hersystem explained, and her facts curtailed. In Europe everything must bereduced to a European standard, to be even received. Had we beenCalmucks or Kurds, any marvel might go down; but being deemed merelydeteriorated Europeans, tanned to ebony, our facts are kept closelywithin the current notions. Such a disproportion between adults andminors being unknown in this hemisphere, it was at once set down as anAmerican exaggeration, to pretend to have them in the other. What wereour official returns to a European prejudice!

[Footnote 20: A few months before this, a friend, not a Frenchman, called on the writer at Paris. He began to make inquiries on the subjectof American Parliamentary Law, that were entirely out of the track ofhis usual conversations, and finally submitted a series of writtenquestions to be answered. When the subject was disposed of, the writerasked his friend the object of these unusual investigations, and wastold that they were for the use of a leading Deputy, who was thoroughly_juste milieu_. Surprised at the name, the writer expressed his wonderthat the application had not been made to a certain agent of theAmerican government, whose name had already figured before the public, as authority for statistical and political facts against him. The answerwas, in substance, that those facts were intended for _effect_!]

Not long since an artist of reputation came to me, in Paris, with aview to get a few hints for a map of the Hudson, that had been orderedas an illustration of one of our books. He was shown all the maps in mypossession, some of which were recent and sufficiently minute. Iobserved some distrust in his manner, and in the end, he suggested thatan old French map of the Canadas, that he had in his pocket, mightpossibly be more accurate than those which had just been received fromAmerica. The map was produced, and, as might have been expected, wasutterly worthless; but an intimation to that effect was not wellreceived, as the artist had not been accustomed to consider theAmericans as map-makers. At length I was compelled to show himPoughkeepsie laid down on his map directly opposite to Albany, and toassure him gravely that I had myself travelled many a time in a northand south direction, from sunrise to sunset, in order to go from one ofthese places to the other, and that they were eighty miles asunder!

We left Brussels at noon, and reached Louvain at three. Though not takenso completely by surprise as we were last year, the town-house stillgave us great pleasure. They were at work repairing it, and the freshstones gave it a mottled look, but, on the whole, it is one of the mostextraordinary edifices I know. It is a sort of condensation ofquaintness, that is quite without a rival even in this land of labouredand curious architecture. The little pavilion of the Prince of Orange, that lies on the road, was still deserted and respected. I dare say hisfishing-rods and fowling-pieces are intact, while his inheritance isshorn of half its glory. 

There was a quarantine before entering the Prussian states on account ofthe cholera, and having understood that we should gain in time afterquitting Brussels, beyond which the malady has not yet extended, we wentno farther than Thirlemont, where we passed the night. The place isinsignificant, and the great square was chiefly occupied by "awkwardsquads" of the new levies, who were drilling as fast as they could, inreadiness for the Dutch. The Belgians have reached Protocol No. 67, andthey begin to think it is most time now to have something moresubstantial. They will find King William of the true "hard-kopping"breed. 

The next morning we posted down to Liége in time to take a latebreakfast. The road from Brussels to this place has run through afertile and well-cultivated country, but the scene changed like magic, as soon as we got a glimpse of the valley of the Meuse. Liége hasbeautiful environs, and the town is now the seat of industry. Coal-pitsabound in the immediate vicinity, and iron is wrought in a hundredplaces. As we drove through the antique and striking court of thevenerable episcopal palace, and emerged on the great square, we foundthe place alive with people, and our arrival at the Soleil d'Or produceda sensation that seemed inexplicable. Landlord, laquais, populace andall, ran to greet us, and people were hurrying to the spot in everydirection. There was nothing to be done but to wait the resultpatiently, and I soon saw by the cold looks of the servants, and theshrug of François, who had jumped down to order rooms, that there wasmutual disappointment. Everybody turned their backs upon us, and therewe sat in the shadow of neglect, after having momentarily shone in thesunshine of universal observation. It had been merely ascertained thatwe were not the King of the Belgians and his brother the Grand Duke ofSaxe-Cobourg-Gotha. The Soleil d'Or, which like other suns, is most aptto shine on the great, veiled its face from us, and we were compelled toquit the great square, and to seek more humble lodgings. These were soonobtained at the Black Eagle, a clean and good house. 

I went to the police immediately with my passport, and found that one ofour five days of quarantine had been comfortably gotten rid of atThirlemont. 

These quarantines are foolish things, and quite easily evaded. You havebeen told the manner in which, last year, instead of spending five timestwenty-four hours in a hut, shut up with a Russian Princess, I droveinto the court of our own hotel in Paris on the evening of the fifthday, and M----, you will remember, merely turned the flanks of asentinel or two, by walking a mile in the fields. We were advised, onthis occasion, to have our passport _viséd_ at Brussels, the moment wearrived, and the intermediate time would have counted on the frontier, but being in no haste, we preferred proceeding regularly. 

The next day the town filled rapidly, and about noon the cannonannounced the entrance of the King. A worse salute was never fired; buthis Majesty is greeted with smiling faces, which is, probably more tohis liking. He is certainly a prudent and respectable man, if not agreat one; and just now very popular. I met him and his brother in thestreets, the day after their arrival: they were in an open carriage andpair, with two boys, the sons of the Duke, on the front seat. Leopoldhas a grave and thoughtful face, and is far from being as well-lookingas his brother, who is a large comely man; not unlike the Duke Bernardof Saxe-Weimar, so well known in America. All the princes of the Saxonduchies that I have seen, are large, well-formed men, while those ofSaxe Royal, as the kingdom is called, are the reverse. A diplomatic man, here, once remarked to me, that this rule held good as to most of theprotestant and catholic princes, throughout Europe, the closeintermarriages of the latter in his opinion, affecting the stock. Theimagination has had something to do with this notion, for there arecertainly many exceptions on both sides, if, indeed, it be a rule atall. I think, there is little doubt that the habits of the mind, mode ofliving, and climate, contribute essentially to vary the physiognomy; butI cannot subscribe fully to the influence of these intermarriages, which, by the way, are nearly, if not quite, as circumscribed among theProtestants as among the Catholics. The portion of Europe that isgoverned by princes, is divided among forty-four different states, [21]of whom twenty-eight are Protestant, one a Greek, one a Mahomedan, andthe rest are Catholics. These forty-four sovereigns claim to bedescended from nineteen different roots: thus, the direct _male_descendants of Hugh Capet occupy the thrones of France, Spain, Naples, Lucca, and Portugal; the latter being derived from an illegitimate sonof a Duke of Burgundy, before the accession of the Bourbon branch. Thehouses of Austria, Baden, Tuscany, and Modena, are derived from a Dukeof Alsace, who flourished in the seventh century. I was mistaken in aformer letter, in saying that the family of Lorraine is different fromthat of Habsbourg, for it is said to be derived in the male line equallyfrom this Prince of Alsace. The Hohenzollerns are on the throne ofPrussia, and possess the two little principalities of that name; whilethe Emperor of Russia is merely a Prince of Holstein. These familieshave been intermarrying for a thousand years, and it is not possiblethat they should have entirely escaped some personal peculiarities;still, as a whole, they are quite as fine physical specimens ofhumanity, as the average of their subjects. The Princes of Russia aresingularly fine men; the house of Denmark well-looking; the Saxons, theroyal branch excepted, more than usually so; the house of Wurtemburgvery like the English family; the Bourbons, as a family, are a finerace; the Austrians peculiar, and less comely, though the women areoften quite handsome; Don Miguel is a little beauty, _very mild andgentleman-like in his appearance_, though Lady ----, who sat next him atdinner, on a certain occasion, assured me she saw nothing but blood andrapine in his countenance! Her father, Lord ----, one of the ablest menof his time, and one familiar with high political events, gravelyassured me he gave implicit credence to the tales we have heard of theoutrages committed by this prince, and which, if true, render him a fitsubject for the gallows. But I have seen so much of the exaggeration offactions, that incredulity, perhaps, has got to be a fault with me. Ilonged to tell Lord ---- what I had heard, in England, under his verynose, of himself! Among other absurdities, I had, shortly before thisvery conversation, heard a respectable Englishman affirm that such wasthe _morgue aristocratique_ of this nobleman, that he compelled his wifeand daughters to walk backwards, in quitting his presence, as is done atcourt! This was said of a man, whom I found to be of more simple, off-hand, unpretending, gentleman-like deportment, whose demeanour hadmore of the nice tact which neither offends by superciliousness, norwounds by condescension, than that of any other man of rank in England. To return to our subject;--the Austrian face is, certainly, getting tobe prevalent among the southern catholic families, for all of them areclosely allied to the house of Habsbourg by blood, but I do not see anymore in the _physique_ of the Saxon Dukes than the good old Saxonstamina, nor aught in the peculiar appearance of the royal branch but anaccident. 

[Footnote 21: This excludes Lichtenstein, Monaco, and Greece. ]

Three or four days of leisure have enabled us to look very thoroughly atthe exterior of Liége, which is certainly an interesting town, withlovely environs. There are some very good old houses along the banks ofthe river, and a few of the churches are noble edifices. The cathedraland the church of St. Jaques, in particular, are venerable andinteresting structures; and I stood beneath their lofty arches, listening to the chants of the choir, and inhaling the odours of theincense, with a satisfaction that never tires. I sometimes wish I hadbeen educated a Catholic, in order to unite the poetry of religion withits higher principles. Are they necessarily inseparable? Is man reallyso much of a philosopher, that he can conceive of truth in its abstractpurity, and divest life and the affections of all the aids of theimagination? If they who strip the worship of God of its factious grace, earnestly presented themselves in the garb of moral humility, renderingtheir familiar professions conformable to their general tenets, andstood before us as destitute of self-esteem as they are of ornament, onemight not so much feel the nakedness of their rites; but, as a rule, theless graceful the forms and the more intense the spirituality of theminister of the altar become, the higher is his tone of denunciation andthe more palpable his self-righteousness. In point of fact, when theproper spirit prevails, forms, of themselves, become of little account;and when men begin to deem them otherwise, it is proof rather of thewant, than of the excess, of the humility and charity which are theinseparable companions of faith. I do not say that I would imitate allthe unmeaning and irreverent practices of the Romish church; and leastof all could one wish to see the devout and solemn manner of theProtestant ministering at the altar supplanted by the unintelligiblemumblings of the Latin breviaries: but why have we denounced the holysymbol of the cross, the ornaments of the temple, the graceful attire, and the aid of music? It is impossible, I think, for the American, whohas visited Europe, not to feel the want of edifices reared in honour ofGod, which everywhere exists in his own country. I do not mean churches, in which the comfort and convenience of the pew-holders have been mainlyconsulted, for these pious speculations abound; but _temples_ to mark asense of the superiority of the Deity, and which have been reared in hishonour. It may be easy enough to account for the absence of suchbuildings, in a country so peopled and still so young, but this does notmake the deficiency the less obvious. 

In this hemisphere, scarcely a village is approached, that the high roofand towers of a church do not form its nucleus, the temple appearing tospread its protection over the humbler abodes of men. The domes, thepointed and lofty arches, and the Gothic tracery of cathedrals, soarabove the walls of cities, and everywhere man is congregated, he appearsto seek shelter under the wide-spreading wings of the church. It is noargument to say that true religion may exist without these edifices, forinfidelity may also exist without them, and if it be right or useful tohonour God at all, in this manner, it is a right and a usefulness towhich we have not yet attained. The loftiest roofs of an American townare, invariably, its taverns; and, let metaphysics get over the matteras it may, I shall contend that such a thing is, at least, unseemly tothe eye. With us it is not Gog and Magog, but grog or no grog; we areeither a tame plane of roofs, or a _pyramid_ in honour of brandy andmint-juleps. When it comes to the worship of God, each man appears towish a nut-shell to contain himself and his own shades of opinion; butwhen there is question of eating and drinking, the tent of Pari Banouwould not be large enough to hold us. I prefer large churches and smalltaverns. 

There are one or two usages, especially, of the Romish church, that arenot only beautiful, but which must be useful and salutary. One is thepractice of leaving the church open at all hours, for the purposes ofprayer. I have seldom entered one of these vaulted, vast, andappropriate Houses of God, without finding fewer or more devoteeskneeling at the different altars. Another usage is that of periodicalprayer, in the fields, or wherever the peasants may happen to beemployed, as in the _angelus_, &c. I remember, with pleasure, the effectproduced by the bell of the village church, as it sent its warningvoice, on such occasions, across the plains, and over the hills, whilewe were dwellers in French or Italian hamlets. Of all these touchingembellishments of life, America, and I had almost said, Protestantism, is naked; and in most cases, I think it will be found, on inquiry, nakedwithout sufficient reason. 

The population of Liége is still chiefly Catholic, I believe, althoughthe reign of the ecclesiastics has ceased. They speak an impure French, which is the language of the whole region along this frontier. Scott, whose vivid pictures carried with them an impress of truth that misledhis readers, being by no means a man of either general or accurateattainment, out of the immediate circle of his peculiar knowledge, whichwas Scottish traditions, has represented the people of Liége, in QuentinDurward, as speaking Flemish; an error of which they make loudcomplaints, it being a point on which they are a little sensitive. Apoet may take great licences, and it is hypercriticism to lay stress onthese minor points when truth is not the aim; but this is a blunder thatmight, as well as not, have been spared, and probably would have been, had the author given himself the trouble to inquire into the fact. Butfor the complaints of the Liégeois, the error would not have been verygenerally known, however; certainly, not by me, had I not visited theplace. 

The women of Liége appear to labour even more than usual for this partof Europe. They are employed in field-labour, everywhere; but in thetowns, more attention is paid to the great distinctions between theemployments of the sexes. Here, however, I saw them toiling in thecoal-yards, and performing the offices of the common porters. They weremuch employed in unloading the market-boats, and yet they are far frombeing either coarse or ugly. The men are short, but sturdy. The averagestature appears to be about five feet five and a half inches, but eventhis, I think, exceeds the average stature of the French. 

The town has been illuminated two nights in succession, in honour of theKing. Every one is occupied with his approaching marriage with thePrincess Louisa of France, or as it is now the fashion to say, thePrincess Louisa of Orleans--for since the revolution of 1830, there isno longer a King, nor any Children of France. It would have been betterhad more essential points been attended to and the old names retained. In England matters are differently managed, for there the government isalways one of King, Lords, and Commons, though it is constantlyfluctuating, and two of the parties are usually cyphers. 

LETTER XI. 

Leave Liége. --Banks of the Mense. --Spa. --Beautiful Promenades. --RobinsonCrusoe. --The Duke of Saxe-Cobourg. --Former magnificence ofSpa. --Excursions in the vicinity. --Departure fromSpa. --Aix-la-Chapelle. --The Cathedral. --The Postmaster'sCompliments. --Berghem. --German Enthusiasm. --Arrival at Cologne. 

Dear ----, On the fourth day of our quarantine, we left Liége, if not with cleanbills of health, with passport bearing proof about it that would enableus to enter Prussia the next morning. The King and his brother havinglaid all the horses in requisition, we did not get away before two; butonce on the road, our postilions drove like men who had reaped a doubleharvest. 

The route lay for some distance along the banks of the Meuse, and thewhole region was one of exquisite landscape beauties. An intensely darkverdure--a road that meandered through the valley, occasionally shiftingfrom bank to bank--hill-sides covered with fruit-trees and fragrant withflowers--country-houses--hamlets--cottages--with every appearance ofabundance and comfort, and back-grounds of swelling land, that promisedequal beauty and equal affluence, were the principal features of thescene. The day was as fine as possible, and, everything bearing a leafhaving just been refreshed with a recent shower, we glided through thisfairy region with something like enthusiasm with which we had formerlyjourneyed in Switzerland and Italy. 

The Meuse, however, was soon abandoned for a tributary, and, afterproceeding a few leagues, the character of the country graduallychanged, although it still continued peculiar and beautiful. Theintensity of the verdure disappeared in a pale, but still a decidedgreen--the forest thickened--the habitations no longer crowded theway-side, and we appeared to be entering a district, that was altogetherless populous and affluent than the one we had left, but which wasalways neat, picturesque, and having an air of comfort. We weregradually, but almost imperceptibly ascending. 

This lasted for four hours, when, reaching a country-house, the roadturned suddenly at a right angle, and ran for near a mile through anavenue of trees, bounded by open meadows. At the termination of thisavenue we dashed into the streets of a small, well-built, neat, andcompact village, that contained about one hundred and fifty dwellings, besides three or four edifices of rather more than usual pretensions. This was the celebrated Spa, a watering-place whose reputation was onceco-extensive with civilization. 

We drove to an inn, where we dined, but finding it crowded anduncomfortable. I went out and hired a furnished house by the day, putting our own servants, with an assistant, in possession of thekitchen. Next morning, perceiving that I had been too hasty, and thatour lodgings were too confined, I discharged them and took a better. Wegot a dining-room, two drawing-rooms, several bed-rooms, with offices, etc. , all neat and well-furnished, for a Napoleon a day. I mention thesethings as they serve to show you the facilities a traveller enjoys inthis part of the world. Nearly every house in Spa is to be had in thismanner, fitted for the reception of guests, the proprietor occupying asmall building adjoining, and usually keeping a shop, where wine andgroceries may be had. Servants can be engaged at any moment, and one isthus enabled to set up his own _ménage_ at an hour's notice. This modeis more economical for a large family, than living at an hotel, vastlymore comfortable, and more respectable. Dinners can be had from thetaverns, if desired. François being something of a cook, with the aidof the Spa assistant, we lived entirely within ourselves. You willremember that in hiring the house by the day, I reserved the right toquit it at any moment. 

Spa, like most other places that possess chalybeate waters, stands inthe centre of a country that can boast but little of its fertility. Still, time and cultivation have left it the character of pale verdureof which I have just spoken, and which serves for a time to please byits novelty. The hue looked neither withered nor sickly, but it wasrather that of young grasses. It was a ghostly green. The eye wandersover a considerable extent of naked fields, when one is on the steepwooded hills, under whose very brows the village is built, and Iscarcely can recall a spot where a stronger impression of interminablevastness is left, than I felt while gazing at the illimitable swells ofland that stretch away towards France. The country is said to be in themountains of the Ardennes, and once there was the forest through whichthe "Boar of Ardennes" was wont to roam; but of forest there is nownone; and if there be a mountain, Spa must stand on its boundlesssummit. High and broken hills do certainly appear, but, as a whole, itis merely an upland region. 

The glory of Spa has departed! Time was when the idle, the gay and thedissolute crowded to this retired village to intrigue and play, underthe pretence of drinking the waters; when its halls were thronged withprinces and nobles, and even monarchs frequented its fêtes and partookof its festivities. The industrious inhabitants even now spare no painsto render the abode pleasant, but the capricious taste of the age luresthe traveller to other springs, where still pleasanter haunts invitetheir presence. Germany abounds with watering-places, which are usuallyrendered agreeable by a judicious disposition of walks, and by othersimilar temptations. In nothing are the money-grasping and shiftlesshabits of America rendered more apparent, than in the inferiority of herplaces of public resort. In all these particulars nature has done agood deal for some of them, but nowhere has man done anything worthnaming. 

A trifling expenditure has rendered the rude hill which, covered chieflywith evergreens, overlooks Spa, a succession of beautiful promenades. Serpentine walks are led through its thickets, agreeable surprises areprepared for the stranger, and all the better points of view areornamented by seats and summer-houses. One of these places was coveredby a permanent protection against the weather that had a name whichamused us, though it was appropriate enough, so far as the shape went. It was called a "mushroom, " it being, in fact, a sort of woodenumbrella, not unlike those which the French market-women spread overtheir heads in the streets of Paris, and which, more sentimental andimaginative, they term a "_Robinson_" in honour of Robinson Crusoe. [22]This mushroom was the scene of a remarkable occurrence, that it willscarcely do to relate, but which, taking all together, furnishes aludicrous sample of national manners, to say nothing of miracles. 

[Footnote 22: Pronounced Ro-ban-_sown_. The writer once went to returnthe call of Mr. Robinson, at Paris. The porter denied that such a personlived in the hotel. "But here is his card; Mr. Robinson, N----, Rue----. " "Bah, " looking at the card, "ceci est Monsieur Ro-ban-_sown_;c'est autre chose. Sans doute, Monsieur a entendu parler du célèbreRo-ban-_sown?_"]

The waters and the air together proved to be so much a tonic, that wedetermined to pass a week at Spa, A----, who was so weak on leavingParis, as scarcely to be able to enter the carriage, gaining strength ina way to delight us all. The cholera and the quarantine together inducea good many people to come this way, and though few remain as long asourselves, the constant arrivals serve to keep attention alive. Amongothers, the Duke of Saxe-Cobourg passed a night here, on his way home. He appeared in the public room, for a few minutes; but so few wereassembled, that he retired, it was said, disappointed. There is stillsome playing in public, and occasionally the inhabitants of Verviers, an affluent manufacturing town, near the Prussian frontier, come over insufficient numbers to make a tolerably brilliant evening. These meetingstake place in the Redoute, a building of moderate dimensions, erected inthe heart of the place according to a very general German custom;Wauxhall, the ancient scene of revelry, standing aloof in the fields, deserted and desolate, as does a rival edifice of more recent existence. The dimensions and style of these structures give one an idea of theformer gaiety and magnificence of Spa, though the only use that eitheris now put to, is to furnish a room for a protestant clergyman to preachin, Sundays. 

As health, after all, is the greatest boon of life, we loitered at Spa afortnight, endeavouring to while away the time in the best way we could. Short as was our stay, and transient as were the visits, we remainedlong enough to see that it was an epitome of life. Some intrigued, someplayed, and some passed the time at prayer. I witnessed trouble in one_ménage_, saw a parson drunk, and heard much pious discourse from acaptain in the navy!

We got little Ardennes horses, which were constantly parading thestreets, led by countrymen in _blouses_, to tempt us to mount, and tookshort excursions in the vicinity. Sometimes we made what is called thetour of the springs; of which there are several, each differing from theothers in its medicinal properties, and only one of which is in thevillage itself, the rest being a mile or more distant. At other times, we lounged in the shops, admiring and purchasing the beautiful boxes andornaments that are known as Spa work, and which are merely the wood ofthe hills, coloured by being deposited for a time in the spring, andthen painted and varnished highly. Similar work is made in other places, but nowhere else as beautifully as here. 

At length _ennui_ got the better of the good air and the invigoratingwater, and I sent for my passport and the horses. François, by thistime, was tired of cooking, and he carried the orders for both rightjoyfully, while my _bourgeois_ received his Napoleons with many handsomeexpressions of regret, that I dare say were truer than common. In themean time we hurried about with our cards of P. P. C. ; bidding adieu tosome, without the slightest expectation of ever meeting them again, andpromising others to renew the acquaintance on the Rhine, or among theAlps, as events might decide. At half-past eleven all was ready, andshaking hands with two countrymen who came to see us off, we took ourplaces, and dashed away from our _ménage_ of a fortnight's duration, asunceremoniously as we had stepped into it. 

The dog-star raged with all its fury, as we drove through the close andpent-up valleys that lie between Spa and Verviers. At the latter placewe began to ascend, until finally we reached a broad and naked height, that overlooked a wide reach of country towards the east. This was theregion that lies around the ancient capital of Charlemagne, and is now apart of what M. De Pradt has described "as a façade thrown beforeEurope, " or the modern and disjointed kingdom of Prussia. We reached thefrontier on the height of land, where, everything proving to be _enrègle_, we met with no obstruction or delay. 

While crossing the swell of land just mentioned, the wind changed with asuddenness that we are apt to think American, but which occurs morefrequently in this hemisphere, or rather in this part of it, than in ourown. The peculiarity of the American climate is its exaggeration ratherthan its fickleness; its passages from extreme heat to extreme cold, more than the frequency of its lesser transitions. One never thinks ofan umbrella in America, with a cloudless sky; whereas, during the springmonths in particular, there is no security against rain an hour at atime, near the western coast of Europe, more especially north of the Bayof Biscay. On the present occasion, we passed in a few minutes from theoven to the ice-house, and were travelling with cloaks about us, andclosed windows, long before we reached Aix-la-Chapelle, at which ancienttown we arrived about six. Unlike Spa, where we had the choice among ahundred furnished houses, Aix was so crowded that we got narrowlodgings, with great difficulty, in a second-rate hotel. 

As a matter of course, although it was going over old ground with mostof us, we could do no less than look at the sights. The environs of Aix, though exceedingly pretty, and well ornamented by country-houses, areless beautiful than those of Liege. Although Charlemagne has been buriednear a thousand years, and there is no longer an Emperor of Germany, ora King of the Romans, Aix-la-Chapelle is still a town of more than30, 000 inhabitants. It is a crowded and not a particularly neat place, though material improvements are making, and we have been more pleasedwith it this year than we were last. The town-house is a very ancientstructure, one of its towers being supposed to have been built by theRomans, and it is celebrated as having been the place of meeting of twoEuropean congresses; that of 1748, and that of our own times. It has agallery of portraits of the different ambassadors, a big-wigged if a notbig-witted set. 

The cathedral, though imperfect, is a noble and a curious monument: thechoir is modern, that is to say, of Gothic workmanship, and only fivehundred years old, while the main body is an antique rotunda, that datesmore than twice as far back, or as remotely as the reign of Charlemagnehimself. There is a circular gallery in it, around which the thrones ofthe Emperor and Electors were formerly placed, at the ceremonies ofcoronations. Each of these thrones was flanked by small antique columns, brought from Rome, but which during the reign of Napoleon, in the spiritof monopoly and desecration[23] that marked the era, had beentransferred to Paris, where some of them are still seen standing in thegallery of the Tuileries. A chair that was found in Charlemagne's tombstands in this gallery, and was long used as a throne for the Emperors. 

[Footnote 23: Extract from the unpublished manuscript of these letters:"You have lately been at Richmond Hill, " said Mr. ----; "did you admirethe view, as much as is the fashion?" "To be frank with you, I did not. The Park struck me as being an indifferent specimen of your parks; andthe view, though containing an exquisite bit in the fore-ground, Ithink, as a whole, is both tame and confused. " "You are not alone inyour opinion, though I think otherwise. Canova walked with me on theterrace, without seeming to be conscious there was anything unusual tobe seen. He scarcely regarded the celebrated view a second time. Did youknow him?" "He was dead before I came to Europe. " "Poor Canova!--I methim in Paris, in 1815, in a ludicrous dilemma. It rained, and I wascrossing the Carrousel in a _fiacre_, when I saw Canova stealing alongnear the walls, covered in a cloak, and apparently uncertain how toproceed. _I drove_ near him, and offered him a seat. He was agitated, and appeared like a man who had stolen goods about him. The amount of itwas, that they were distributing the pictures to their former owners, and having an order to receive "la Madonna della Seggiola, " he had laidhands on the prize, and, in his eagerness to make sure of it, wascarrying it off, under his cloak. He was afraid of being discovered andmobbed, and so I drove home with him to his hotel. " I think Mr. ----named this particular picture, though I have somewhere heard it wasnever brought to Paris, having been sent to Sicily for security: itmight, therefore, have been another painting. ]

The cathedral is said to be rich in relics, and, among other things, ithas some of the manna from the desert, and a bit of Aaron's rod! It hasa window or two, in a retired chapel, which have a few panes ofexquisitely painted glass that are much more precious than either. 

At noon I sent my passport to the post-house for horses, and, in return, I had a visit from the postmaster in compliment to the republic ofletters. We said a few flattering things to each other, much to theamusement of A----, when we took our departure. 

The country, after quitting the valley of Aix, [24] became flat andmonotonous, and it was in the midst of a vast level district that wefound the town of Juliers, the capital of the ancient duchy, buriedbehind grassy ramparts, that were scarcely visible until we wereactually passing them. It is a tame and insignificant place, atpresent. At Berghem, a post or two further, I had another visit from thepostmaster and his clerk, who made no scruple in asking me if I was theman who wrote books! We talk a great deal of our national intelligencein America, and certainly with truth, when we compare ourselves withthese people in many important particulars; but blocks are not colder, or can have less real reverence for letters, arts, or indeed cultivationof any kind, than the great bulk of the American people. There are a fewamong us who pretend to work themselves up into enthusiasm as respectsthe first, more especially if they can get a foreign name to idolize;but it is apparent, at a glance, that it is not enthusiasm of the purewater. For this, Germany is the land of sensations, whether music, poetry, arms, or the more material arts be their object. As for myself, I can boast of little in this way, beyond the homage of my twopostmasters, which perhaps was more than properly fell to my share; butI shall never forget the feeling displayed by a young German, atDresden, whom chance threw in my way. We had lodgings in a housedirectly opposite the one inhabited by Tieck, the celebrated novelistand dramatist. Having no proper means of introduction to this gentleman, and unwilling to obtrude myself anywhere, I never made his acquaintance, but it was impossible not to know, in so small a town, where so great acelebrity lived. Next door to us was a Swiss confectioner, with whom Ioccasionally took an ice. One day a young man entered for a similarpurpose, and left the room with myself. At the door he inquired if Icould tell him in which of the neighbouring hotels M. Tieck resided, Ishowed him the house and paused a moment to watch his manner, which wasentirely free from pretension, but which preserved an indescribableexpression of reverence. "Was it possible to get a glimpse of the personof M. Tieck?" "I feared not; some one had told me that he was gone to awatering-place. " "Could I tell him which was the window of his room?"This I was able to do, as he had been pointed out to me at it a fewdays before. I left him gazing at the window, and it was near an hourbefore this quiet exhibition of heartfelt homage ceased by the departureof the young man. In my own case, I half suspect that my two postmastersexpected to see a man of less European countenance than the one I happento travel with. 

[Footnote 24: _Aachen_, in German. In French it is pronouncedAis-la-Chapelle. ]

It was near sunset when we reached the margin of the upper terrace, where we began to descend to the level of the borders of the Rhine. Herewe had a view of the towers of Cologne, and of the broad plain thatenvirons its walls. It was getting to be dark as we drove through thewinding entrance, among bastions and half-moons, and across bridges, upto the gates of the place, which we reached just in season to beadmitted without the extra formalities. 

LETTER XII. 

The Cathedral of Cologne. --The eleven thousand Virgins. --The Skulls Ofthe Magi--House in which Rubens was born. --Want of Cleanliness inCologne. --Journey resumed. --The Drachenfels. --Romantic Legend. --AConvent converted into an Inn. --Its Solitude. --A Night in it. --AStorm. --A Nocturnal Adventure. --Grim Figures. --An Apparition. --TheMystery dissolved. --Palace of the Kings of Australia. --Banks of theRhine. --Coblentz. --Floating Bridges. --Departure from Coblentz. --Castleof the Ritterstein. --Visit to it. --Its Furniture, --The RitterSaal--Tower of the Castle. --Anachronisms. 

Dear ----, I do not know by what dignitary of the ancient electorate the hotel inwhich we lodged was erected, but it was a spacious building, with finelofty rooms and a respectable garden. As the language of a country isinfluenced by its habits, and in America everything is so much reducedto the standard of the useful that little of the graceful has yet beenproduced, it may be well to remind you that this word "garden, "signifies pleasure-grounds in Europe. It way even be questioned if thegarden of Eden was merely a _potager_. 

After breakfasting we began to deliberate as to our future movements. Here we were at Cologne, in Prussia, with the wide world before us, uncertain whither to proceed. It was soon decided, however, that a firstduty was to look again at the unfinished cathedral, that wonder ofGothic architecture; to make a pilgrimage to the house in which Rubenswas born; to pay a visit to the eleven thousand virgins, and to buy someCologne water: after which it would be time enough to determine where weshould sleep. 

The first visit was to the bones. These relics are let into the walls ofthe church that contains them, and are visible through a sort ofpigeon-holes which are glazed. There is one chapel in particular, thatis altogether decorated with the bones arranged in this manner, theeffect being very much like that of an apothecary's shop. Some of thevirgins are honoured with hollow wooden or silver busts, lids in thetops of which being opened, the true skull is seen within. These relicsare not as formidable, therefore, as one would be apt to infer the bonesof eleven thousand virgins might be, the grinning portion of the skullsbeing uniformly veiled for propriety's sake. I thought it a miracle initself to behold the bones of all these virgins, but, as if they wereinsufficient, the cicerone very coolly pointed out to us the jar thathad held the water which was converted into wine by the Saviour at themarriage of Cana! It was Asiatic in form, and may have held both waterand wine in its day. 

The cathedral is an extraordinary structure. Five hundred years havegone by, and there it is less than half finished. One of the towers isnot forty feet high, while the other may be two hundred. The crane, which is renewed from time to time, though a stone has not been raisedin years, is on the latter. The choir, or rather the end chapel thatusually stands in rear of the choir, is perfect, and a most beautifulthing it is. The long narrow windows, that are near a hundred feet inheight, are exquisitely painted, creating the peculiar cathedralatmosphere, that ingenious invention of some poet to render solemnarchitecture imaginative and glorious. We could not dispense withlooking at the skulls of the Magi, which are kept in an exceedingly richreliquary or shrine. They are all three crowned, as well as being maskedlike the virgins. There is much jewellery, though the crowns had astrong glow of tinsel about them, instead of the mild lustre of the truethings. Rubens, as you know, was of gentle birth, and the house in whichhe was born is just such a habitation as you would suppose might havebeen inhabited by a better sort of burgher. It is said that Mary ofMedicis, the wife of Henry IV, died in this building, and tradition, which is usually a little ambitious of effect, has it that she died inthe very room in which Rubens was born. The building is now apublic-house. 

I do not know that there is a necessary connection between foul smellsand Cologne water, but this place is the dirtiest and most offensive wehave yet seen, or rather smelt, in Europe. It would really seem thatpeople wish to drive their visitors into the purchase of their greatantidote. Disagreeable as it was, we continued to _flaner_ through thestreets until near noon, visiting, among other things, the floatingbridge, where we once more enjoyed the sight of the blue waters of theRhine glancing beneath our feet. 

Like true _flaneurs_, we permitted chance to direct our steps, and attwelve, tired with foul smells and heat, we entered the carriage, threaded the half-moons, abbatis and grassy mounds again, and issuedinto the pure air of the unfenced fields, on the broad plain thatstretches for miles towards the east, or in the direction of Bonn. Theday was sultry, and we fully enjoyed the transition. In this part ofGermany the postilions are no laggards, and we trotted merrily acrossthe wide plain, reaching Bonn long before it was time to refreshourselves. The horses were changed, and we proceeded immediately. As weleft the town I thought the students, who were gasping at the windows oftheir lodgings, envied us the pleasure of motion Having so latelyaccompanied me over this road; I shall merely touch upon such points aswere omitted before, and keep you acquainted with our movements. 

The afternoon was lovely, when, passing the conical and castle-crownedsteep of Godisberg, we approached the hills, where the road for thefirst time runs on the immediate borders of the stream. Opposite to uswere the Seven mountains, topped by the ruins of the Drachenfels, cragand masonry wearing the appearance of having mouldered together underthe slow action of centuries; and, a little in advance, the castle ofRolandseck peered above the wooded rocks on our own side of the river. Two low islands divided the stream, and on one of them stood thecapacious buildings of a convent. Every one at all familiar with thetraditions of the Rhine, has heard the story of the crusader, who, returning from the wars, found his betrothed a nun in this asylum. Itwould seem that lies were as rife before the art of printing had beenpressed into their service, or newspapers known, as they are to-day, forshe had been taught to think him dead or inconstant; it was much thesame to her. The castle which overlooked the island was built for hisabode, and here the legend is prudently silent. Although one is notbound to believe all he hears; we are all charmed with the images whichsuch tales create, especially when, as in this case, they are aided byvisible and tangible objects in the shape of good stone walls. As wetrotted along under the brow of the mountain that upholds the ruins ofthe castle of Charlemagne's nephew, my eye rested musingly on the silentpile of the convent. "That convent, " I called out to the postilion, "isstill inhabited?" "_Ja, mein Herr, es ist ein gasthaus_. " An inn!--thething was soon explained. The convent, a community of Benedictines, hadbeen suppressed some fifteen or twenty years, and the buildings had beenconverted into one of your sentimental taverns. With the closestscrutiny I could not detect a soul near the spot, for junketing in aruin is my special aversion. A hamlet stood on the bank at no greatdistance above the island; the postilion grinned when I asked if itwould be possible to get horses to this place in the morning, for itsaved him a trot all the way to Oberwinter. He promised to send word inthe course of the night to the relay above, and the whole affair wasarranged in live minutes. The carriage was housed and left under thecare of François on the main land, a night sack thrown into a skiff, andin ten minutes we were afloat on the Rhine. Our little bark whirledabout in the eddies, and soon touched the upper point of the island. 

We found convent, _gasthaus_, and sentiment, without any pre-occupants. There was not a soul on the island, but the innkeeper, his wife, achild, a cook, a crone who did all sorts of work, and three Prussiansoldiers, who were billeted on the house, part of a detachment that wehad seen scattered along the road, all the way from Bonn. I do not knowwhich were the most gladdened by the meeting, ourselves or the goodpeople of the place; we at finding anything like retirement in Europe, and they at seeing anything like guests. The man regretted that we hadcome so late, for a large party had just left him; and we felicitatedourselves that we had not come any sooner, for precisely the samereason. As soon as he comprehended our tastes, he very frankly admittedthat every room in the convent was empty. "There is no one, but these, on the island. Not a living being, _herr graf_" for these people havemade a count of me, whether or not. Here then were near two hundredacres, environed by the Rhine, prettily disposed in wood and meadow, absolutely at our mercy. You can readily imagine, with what avidity aparty of young Parisiennes profited by their liberty, while I proceededforthwith to inspect the ladder, and then to inspect the cloisters. Sooth to say, sentiment had a good deal to do with two of the courses ofa dinner at Nonnenswerth, for so is the island called. The buildingswere spacious, and far from mean; and it was a pleasant thing topromenade in cloisters that had so lately been trodden by holy nuns, andsee your dinner preparing in a convent kitchen. I could do no less thanopen a bottle of "Liebfraumilch" in such a place, but it proved to be anear neighbour to bonny-clabber. 

As the evening closed we took possession of our rooms. Our parlour hadbeen that of the lady abbess, and A---- had her bed-chamber. These werespacious rooms and well furnished. The girls were put into the cells, where girls ought never to be put. Jetty had another near them, and, these dispositions made, I sallied forth alone, in quest of a sensation. 

The intense heat of the day had engendered a gust. The thunder wasmuttering among the "seven mountains, " and occasionally a flash oflightning illumined the pitchy darkness of the night. I walked out intothe grounds, where the wind was fiercely howling through the trees. Anew flash illumined the hills, and I distinctly saw the naked rock ofthe Drachenfels, with the broken tower tottering on the half-ruinedcrag, looked fearful and supernatural. By watching a minute, anotherflash exposed Rolandseck, looking down upon me with melancholysolicitude. Big drops began to patter on the leaves, and, still bent onsensations, I entered the buildings. 

The cloisters were gloomy, but I looked into the vast, smoked, andcavern-like kitchen, where the household were consuming the fragments ofour dinner. A light shone from the door of a low cell, in a remotecorner of the cloisters, and I stole silently to it, secretly hoping itwould prove to be a supernatural glimmering above some grave. The threePrussians were eating their cheese-parings and bread, by the light of atallow candle, seated on a stone floor. It was short work to squeeze allthe poetry out of this group. 

The storm thickened, and I mounted to the gallery, or the corridor abovethe cloisters, which communicated with our own rooms. Here I paced backand forth, a moment, in obscurity, until, by means of a flash, Idiscovered a door, at one extremity of the passage. Bent on adventure, Ipushed and it opened. As there were only moments when anything could beseen, I proceeded in utter darkness, using great caution not to fallthrough a trap. Had it been my happy fortune to be a foundling, who hadgot his reading and writing "by nature, " I should have expected toreturn from the adventure a Herzog, [25] at least, if not anErz-Herzog[26] Perhaps, by some inexplicable miracle of romance, I mighthave come forth the lawful issue of Roland and the nun!

[Footnote 25: Duke. ]

[Footnote 26: Arch-Duke. ]

As it was, I looked for no more than sensations, of which the hourpromised to be fruitful. I had not been a minute in the unknown region, before I found that, if it were not the abode of troubled spirits, it atleast was worthy to be so. You will remember that I am not now dealingin fiction, but truth, and that, unlike those who "read when they sing, and sing when they read, " I endeavour to be imaginative in poetry andliteral in my facts. I am now dealing strictly with the latter, which Iexpect will greatly enhance the interest of this adventure. 

After taking half-a-dozen steps with extreme caution, I paused a moment, for the whole air appeared to be filled by a clatter, as if ten thousandbats' wings were striking against glass. This was evidently within theconvent, while, without, the wind howled even louder than ever. My handrested on something, I knew not what. At first I did not even knowwhether I was in the open air, or not, for I felt the wind, saw largespaces of dim light, and yet could distinguish that something like avault impended over my head. Presently a vivid flash of lightningremoved all doubt. It flickered, seemed extinguished, and flared upagain, in a way to let me get some distinct ideas of the _locus in quo_. I had clearly blundered into the convent chapel; not upon its pavement, which was on a level with the cloisters below, but into an open gallery, that communicated with the apartments of the nuns, and my hand was onthe chair of the lady abbess, the only one that remained. The dim lightcame from the high arched windows, and the bats' wings were small brokenpanes rattling in the gale. But I was not alone. By the transient lightI saw several grim figures, some kneeling, others with outstretchedarms, bloody and seared, and one appeared to be in the confessional. Atthe sight of these infernal spectres, for they came and went with thesuccessive flashes of the lightning, by a droll chain of ideas, I caughtmyself shouting, rather than singing--"Ship ahoy! ship ahoy!--whatcheer, what cheer?" in a voice loud as the winds. At last, here was asensation! Half-a-dozen flashes rendered me familiar with thediabolical-looking forms, and as I now knew where to look for them, eventheir grim countenances were getting to be familiar. At this moment, when I was about to address them in prose, the door by which I hadentered the gallery opened slowly, and the withered face of an old womanappeared in a flash. The thunder came next, and the face vanished--"Shipahoy! ship ahoy!--what cheer, what cheer?" There was another pause--thedoor once more opened, and the face re-appeared. I gave a deep and loudgroan; if you ask me why, I can only say, because it seemed to bewanting to the general effect of the scene and place. The door slammed, the face vanished, and I was alone again with the demons. By this timethe gust was over I groped my way out of the gallery, stole through thecorridor into my own room, and went to bed. I ought to have had excitingdreams, especially after the _Liebfraumilch_, but, contrary to allrule, I slept like a postilion in a cock-loft, or a midshipman in themiddle watch. 

The next morning at breakfast, A---- had a melancholy tale to relate;how the poor old crone, who has already been mentioned, had beenfrightened by the gust--how she stole to the chapel to mutter aprayer--how she opened the door of the gallery--how she heard strangesounds, and particularly certain groans--how she had dropped thecandle--how the door had blown to, and she, miserable woman, had stolento the bed of her (A----'s) maid, whom she had implored to give hershelter and protection for the night! We went in a body to look at thechapel, after breakfast, and it was admitted all round, that it was wellsuited to produce a sensation, in a thunder-storm, of a dark night, andthat it was no wonder Jetty's bed-fellow had been frightened. But noweverything was calm and peaceful. The glass hung in fragments about theleaden sashes; the chair and _prière-dieu_ of the lady abbess hadaltogether an innocent and comfortable air, and the images, of whichthere were several, as horrible as a bungling workman and a bloodyimagination could produce, though of a suffering appearance, were reallyinsensible to pain. While we were making this reconnoissance a buglesounded on the main, and looking out, we saw the Oberwinter postilioncoming round the nearest bend in the river. On this hint, we took ourleave of the island, not forgetting to apply a little of the universalsalve to the bruised spirit of the old woman whose dread of thunder hadcaused her to pass so comfortless a night. 

The day was before us, and we went leisurely up the stream, determinedto profit by events. The old castles crowned every height, as you know, and as we had the carriage filled with maps and books, we enjoyed everyfoot of this remarkable road. At Andernach we stopped to examine theruins of the palace of the Kings of Austrasia, of whom you have heardbefore. The remains are considerable, and some parts of the walls wouldstill admit of being restored. The palace has outlasted not only thekingdom, but almost its history. This edifice was partly built of areddish freestone, very like that which is so much used in New York, amaterial that abounds on the Rhine. 

Between Andernach and Coblentz the road passes over a broad plain, atsome little distance from the river, though the latter is usually insight. It may give you some idea of its breadth, if I tell you that aswe approached Neuwied, it became a disputed point in the carriage, whether the stream flowed between us and the town, or not. Still theRhine is a mighty river, and even imposing, when one contemplates itssteady flow, and remembers its great length. It is particularly low atpresent, and is less beautiful than last year, the colours of the waterbeing more common-place than usual. 

It was still early, though we had loitered a good deal by the way, tostudy views and examine ruins, when we drew near the fort-environed townof Coblentz. The bridge across the Moselle was soon passed, and we againfound ourselves in this important station. The territory opposite thecity belongs to the duchy of Nassau, but enough has been ceded to theKing of Prussia to enable him to erect the celebrated Ehrenbreitstein, which is one of the strongest forts in the world, occupying the summitof a rocky height, whose base is washed by the Rhine, and whose outworksare pushed to all the neighbouring eminences. The position of Coblentz, at the junction of the Rhine and the Moselle, the latter of whichpenetrates into the ancient electorate of Treves, now belonging toPrussia, may render it an important station to that power, but it doesnot strike me as military. The enemy that can seize any one of itsnumerous outworks, or forts, must essentially command the place. As atGenoa, it seems to me that too much has been attempted to succeed. 

Last night we had a convent that was a parallelogram of six hundredfeet by three hundred, all to ourselves; while this night we werecrowded into a small and uncomfortable inn that was overflowing withpeople. The house was noisy and echoish, and not inappropriately calledthe "Three Swiss. "

We crossed the river by the bridge of boats, and ascended the oppositehill to enjoy the view. There was another island up the stream, with aruined convent, but unhappily it was not an inn. The Rhine is a frontierfor much of its course, washing the shores of France, Darmstadt, Bavaria, Baden, Nassau, Prussia, &c. , &c. , for a long distance, andpermanent bridges are avoided in most places. The floating bridges, being constructed of platforms laid on boats, that are united by clamps, can be taken apart, and withdrawn, to either shore, in an hour or two. 

We quitted Coblentz at ten, and now began in truth to enter the finescenery of the Rhine. The mountains, or rather hills, for they scarcelydeserve the former name, close upon the river, a short distance belowthe town, and from that moment, with very immaterial exceptions, theroad follows the windings of the stream, keeping generally within a fewyards of the water. The departures from this rule are not more thansufficient to break the monotony of a perfectly uniform scene. I havenothing new to tell you of the ruined castles--the villages and townsthat crowd the narrow strand--the even and well-kept roads--thevine-covered hills--and the beautiful sinuosities of this great arteryof Europe. To write any thing new or interesting of this well-beatenpath, one must linger days among the ruins, explore the valleys, anddive into the local traditions. We enjoyed the passage, as a matter ofcourse, but it was little varied, until we drew near the frontier ofPrussia, when a castle, that stood beetling on a crag, immediately abovethe road, caught my eye. The building, unlike most of its sisteredifices, appeared to be in good order; smoke actually arose from abeacon-grate that thrust itself out from an advanced tower, which wasnearly in a perpendicular line above us, and the glazed windows andother appliances denoted a perfect and actual residence. As usual, thepostilion was questioned. I understood him to say that the place wascalled the Ritterstein, but the name is of little moment. It was acastle of the middle ages, a real hold of the Rhine, which had beenpurchased by a brother of the King of Prussia, who is now the governorof the Rhenish provinces. This prince had caused the building to berestored, rigidly adhering to the ancient style of architecture, and tobe furnished according to the usages of the middle ages, and baronialcomfort; what was more, if the prince were not in his hold, as probablywould prove not to be the case, strangers were permitted to visit it!Here was an unexpected pleasure, and we hastened to alight, admiring thegovernor of Rhenish provinces, his taste, and his liberality, with allour hearts. 

If you remember the satisfaction with which we visited the littlehunting-tower of the poor Prince de Condé in 1827, a building whosechief merit was its outward form and the fact that it had been built bythe Queen Blanche, you can form some notion of the zeal with which wetoiled up the steep ascent, on the present occasion. The path was good, tasteful, and sinuous; but the buildings stood on crags that were almostperpendicular on three of their sides, and at an elevation of near, orperhaps quite, two hundred feet above the road. 

We were greeted, on reaching the gate, not by a warder, but by the growland bark of a ferocious mastiff, who would have been more in keeping athis post near a henroost, than at the portal of a princely castle. One"half-groom, half-seneschal, " and who was withal a little drunk, however, soon came forth to receive us, and, after an exhortation to thedog in a Dutch that was not quite as sonorous as the growl of theanimal, he very civilly offered to do the honours of the place. 

We entered by a small drawbridge, but the buildings stand so near thebrow of an impending rock, as to induce me to think this bridge hasbeen made for effect, rather than to renew the original design. A gooddeal of the old wall remains, especially in the towers, which are mostlyround, and all that has been done with the exterior, has been to fillthe gaps, and to re-attach the balconies and the external staircases, which are of iron. I can no more give you a clear idea of the irregularform of this edifice with the pen, than you would obtain of theintricate tracery of Gothic architecture, having never seen a Gothicedifice, or studied a treatise on the style, by the same means. You willunderstand the difficulty when you are told that this castle is built oncrags, whose broken summits are its foundations, and give it its form. The court is narrow and inconvenient, carriages never approaching it, but several pretty little terraces in front answer most of the purposesof courts, and command lovely glimpses of the Rhine, in both directions. These terraces, like the towers and walls, were placed just where therewas room, and the total absence of regularity forms one of the charms ofthe place. 

In the interior, the ancient arrangement has been studiously respected. The furniture is more than imitation, for we were told that much of ithad been taken from the royal collections of Berlin. By royal, you arenot to suppose, however, that there are any attempts at royal state, butmerely that the old castles of the barons and counts, whose diminutiveterritories have contributed to rear the modern state of Prussia, havebeen ransacked for this end. 

The Ritter Saal, or Knight's Hall, though not large, is a curious room;indeed it is the only one in the entire edifice that can be called agood room, at all. The fire-place is huge, --so much so, that I walkedinto it with ease, and altogether in the ancient style. There is a gooddeal of curious armour hung up in this room, and it has many otherquaint and rare objects. The chandelier was a circle formed by unitingbuck's horns, which were fitted with lamps. There was almost too muchgood taste about this for feudal times, and I suspect it of being one ofour modern embellishments; a material picture of the past, like a poemby Scott. There may have been some anachronisms in the furniture, but weall use furniture of different ages, when we are not reduced to thefidgety condition of mere gentility. 

In one corner of the Bitter Saal there stood an ancient vessel to holdwater, and beneath it was a porcelain trough to catch the drippings. Thewater was obtained by turning a cock. The chairs, tables, settees, &c. Were all of oak. The coverings of the chairs, _i. E_. Backs and bottoms, were richly embroidered in golden thread, the work of different royalpersonages. The designs were armorial bearings. 

All the stairs were quaint and remarkable, and, in one instance, weencircled the exterior of a tower, by one of them, at a giddy elevationof near three hundred feet above the river, the tower itself beingplaced on the uttermost verge of the precipice. From this tower thegrate of the beacon thrust itself forward, and as it still smoked, Iinquired the reason. We were told that the wad of a small piece ofartillery, that had been fired as a signal to the steam-boat, had lodgedin the grate, where it was still burning. The signal had been given toenable the Prince and his family to embark, for they had not left theplace an hour when we arrived. _Tempora mutantur_ since the inhabitantsof such a hold can go from Bingen to Coblentz to dine in a steamer. 

We saw the bed-rooms. The Prince slept on an inner camp bedstead, butthe ladies occupied bunks let into the walls, as in the olden time. Therooms were small, the Bitter Saal excepted, and low, though there were agood many of them. One or two were a little too much modernized, perhaps, though, on the whole, the keeping was surprisingly good. Asevere critic might possibly have objected to a few anachronisms inthis _romaunt_, but this in a fault that Prince Frederic shares incommon with Shakspeare and Sir Walter Scott. 

I cannot recall a more delightful hour than that we passed in examiningthis curiosity, which was like handling and feeding, and playing with aliving cameleopard, after having seen a dozen that were stuffed. 

 * * * * *

In reference to the controversy touching the expenses of the AmericanGovernment alluded to in page 37, of this volume, the followingparticulars may not be uninteresting. 

Early in the day, the party who conducted the controversy for the otherside began to make frequent allusions to certain Americans--"_plusieurshonorables Américains_" was the favourite expression--who, he alleged, had furnished him with information that went to corroborate the truth ofhis positions, and, as a matter of course, to invalidate the truth ofours. Secret information reached me, also, that a part, at least, of ourown legation was busy for the other side. At one period, M. Perier, thePremier of France, publicly cited the name of the minister, himself, atthe tribune, as having given an opinion against those who conducted thecontroversy on the side of the American system, and in favour of ouropponents. I understand Mr. Rives declares that M. Perier had noauthority either for using his name, or for attributing such sentimentsto him; although the statement, as yet, stands uncontradicted before theworld. You will probably be startled, when I tell you, that this is thethird instance, within a few months, in which the public agents ofAmerica have been openly quoted as giving evidence against the action ofthe American system. The two other cases occurred in the Britishparliament, and, in one of them, as in this of Mr. Rives, the agent wasquoted by name! It is not in my power to say whether these gentlemenhave or have not been wrongfully quoted; but all cannot be right, whenthey are quoted at all. Figure to yourself, for a moment, what would bethe effect of a member of congress quoting the minister of a foreigngovernment, at Washington, as giving an opinion against a materialfeature of the polity he represented, and the disclaimers anddiscussions, not to say quarrels, that would succeed. How is it, thatthe representatives of exclusion are so much more faithful to theinterests of their principals, than the representatives of liberalinstitutions?

Some will tell you that the condition of Europe is critical; that ourown relations with certain countries are delicate, and that it isexpedient to temporize. In the first place, judging from my ownobservations, I do not believe there is any of the much-talked-oftemporizing spirit about all this compliance, but that in most of thecases in which the agents of the government disown the distinguishingprinciples of the institutions (and these cases have got to be sonumerous as to attract general attention, and to become the subject ofsneering newspaper comments) it is "out of the fulness of the heart thatthe mouth speaketh. " But, allowing that the first position is true, andthat these gentlemen actually acquiesce for the sake of quiet, and witha view to advance what they conceive to be the interests of America, Ishall maintain that the course is to the last degree impolitic andunworthy. Our motto is to "ask nothing but what is right, and to submitto nothing that is wrong. " Apart from the sound morality of thissentiment, the wisdom of Solomon could not better express the truepolicy of a nation situated like our own. It can hardly be pretended, that the "right" for which we ask ought to be purchased at thedisgraceful price of abandoning the truth. This would be trulybargaining away a better right for another of less value. Thesegentlemen of expedients may beat their brains as much as they please, they will never invent any means so simple, and so sure of attaining thegreat ends included in the political maxim just quoted, as by adheringto the plain, direct dictates of common honesty. Each trifling temporaryadvantage they may gain, will certainly and speedily be met by somecontingent disadvantage, that will render them losers by theexchange. [27]

[Footnote 27: As respects France, the result has shown the impolicy ofthe temporizing system. The French Government, finding such adisposition to compliance in the agents that were placed near it, byAmerica, has quite reasonably inferred that the mass at home acted onthe same temporizing and selfish policy, and has treated a solemncompact, that contains a tardy and very insufficient reparation, forsome of the greatest outrages that were ever committed by one civilizednation on the rights of another, as a matter quite within its owncontrol. This consequence was foreseen by the writer, and foretold, in aletter that was written in 1832, and published as far back as the year1833. It was only necessary to be on the spot, and to witness thecontempt and indifference engendered by this miserable policy, topredict the events which have since occurred. The accidental situationof Europe has favoured us, and we owe the tardy reparation that has beenreceived more to Russia than to ourselves. ]

To return to France and the controversy on finance, our opponents had atlength the indiscretion to publish a document that they said had beenfurnished them by some of their "_honorables Américains_" and by whichthey attempted to prove some one of their various positions; for by thistime they had taken a great many, scarcely any two of which agreed. Ihave no doubt that this document, in the present instance, did come from"Americans, " though it originally came from Captain Basil Hall. Thisgentleman had appended to his travels, a table, which purported tocontain an arranged statement of the cost of the state governments. Youwill form some idea of the value of this table, as a political andstatistical document, by an exposure of one or two of its more prominenterrors. Taking, for instance, our own state; the receipts from the_property_ of the state, such as its canal, common school, literature, and other funds, necessarily passing through the treasury, the sum totalis made to figure against us, as the annual charge of government; which, by these means, is swelled to five times the real amount. Every oneknows that the receipts of the canals alone, the moment that theconditions of the loans effected to construct them shall admit of theirapplication, will be more than sufficient to meet the entire charges ofthe state government twice over; but, by this mystified statement, weare made to appear the poorer for every dollar of properly we possess!And yet this is the nature of the evidence that some of our peoplefurnished to the writers on the French side of this question; a sidethat, by their own showing, was the side of monarchy?

But this is not all. A citizen has been found willing, under his ownname, to espouse the argument of the French writers. Of the validity ofthe statements presented by this gentleman (Mr. Leavitt Harris, of NewJersey), or of the force of his reasoning, I shall say nothing here, forhis letter and our answers will sufficiently speak for themselves. Theadministration party, however, have thought the statements of Mr. Harrisof sufficient importance to be published in a separate number of theirliterary organ, _La Revue Britannique_, and to dwell upon it in alltheir political organs, as the production of an American who has beenintrusted by his government with high diplomatic missions, and who, consequently, is better authority than an unhonoured citizen likemyself, who have no claims to attention beyond those I can assemble inmy argument. [28] The odds, as you will perceive, are greatly against me;for, in these countries, the public know little of the details ofgovernment, and it gives a high sanction to testimony of this nature tobe able to say it comes from one, who is, or has been, connected with anadministration. Standing as I do, therefore, contradicted by the allegedopinion (true or false) of Mr. Rives, and by this statement of Mr. Harris, you will readily conceive that my situation here is not of themost pleasant nature. Unsalaried and untrusted by my own Government, opposed, in appearance at least, by its agents, I am thrown, for thevindication of truth, completely on my own resources, so far as anyAmerican succour has been furnished; and am reduced to the narrowconsolation of making this simple record of the facts, which, possibly, at some future day, may answer the purpose of an humble protest infavour of the right. 

[Footnote 28: The French writers, to make the most of their witness, exaggerated a little; for, at that time, Mr. Harris had never filled anyhigher diplomatic station than that of one left _chargé des affaires_ ofthe legation at St. Petersburg, during the absence of Mr. Adams atGhent. Shortly after the publication of this letter, however, he wasappointed by the President and the Senate of the United States ofAmerica to represent it at the King of the French, as if _expressly togive value to his testimony_. ]

This controversy has, at least, served to remove the mask from thisGovernment, on the subject of its disposition towards America and herinstitutions. To that pretended feeling I have never been evenmomentarily a dupe; but, failing of arguments--for no talents oringenuity, after all, can make the wrong the right--most of the writerson the other side of the question have endeavoured to enliven theirlogic with abuse. I do not remember anything, in the palmy days of theQuarterly Review, that more completely descended to low and childishvituperation than some of the recent attacks on America. Much of whathas been written is unmitigated fraud, that has been meant to produce animpression on the public mind, careless of any other object than theend; but much also, I think, has really been imagined to be true, whileit is, in fact, the offspring of the prejudices that studiedmisrepresentation has so deeply implanted in the opinions of Europe. Aswe are not immaculate, of course, a greater portion of their charges istrue than one could wish. Some of the allegations are so absurd, that itmay amuse you to hear them. The French consider the Sabbath as a day ofrecreation, and after going to mass (a duty, by the way, that fewbesides women discharge in Paris), the rest of the time is devoted todancing and other amusements. With a view to act on the rooted opinionsof the nation, on this subject, the American practice of running a chainacross the street in front of the churches, to prevent the rattling ofthe carriages from disturbing the worship (a practice, by the way, thatis quite as much European as it is American, and which has never evenbeen very general among us), has been so represented as to induce theFrench to believe that our streets are in chains, and that even walking, or using a horse, or any vehicle of a Sunday, is a prohibited thing. Inaddition to a variety of similar absurdities, we are boldly charged withmost of the grosser vices, and, in some instances, intimations have beengiven that our moral condition is the natural consequence of our descentfrom convicted felons!

To the American, who is a little prone to pride himself on being derivedfrom a stock of peculiar moral purity, this imputation on his originsounds extraordinary, and is apt to excite indignation. I dare say youare not prepared to learn, that it was a common, perhaps the prevalentopinion of Europe, that our states were settled by convicts. That this, until very lately, was the prevalent opinion of Europe, I entertain nodoubt, though I think the few last years have produced some change inthis respect; more of the popular attention most probably having beenattracted to us, within this period, than during the two centuries thatpreceded it. You will smile to hear, that the common works of fictionhave been the material agents in producing the change; information thathas been introduced through the medium of amusement, making its waywhere the graver labours of the historian have never been able topenetrate. Courier, the cleverest political writer France has produced, perhaps in any age, and a staunch republican, says, it would be quite asunjust to reproach the modern Romans with being descended from ravishersand robbers, as it is to reproach the Americans with being descendedfrom convicts. He wishes to remove the stigma from his politicalbrethren, but the idea of denying the imputation does not appear to haveentered his mind. Jefferson, also, alludes to the subject in some of hisletters, apparently, in answer to a philosophical inquiry from one ofhis friends. He estimates the whole number of persons transported to theAmerican colonies, under sentence from the courts, at about twothousand; and, taking into consideration their habits, he was ofopinion, half a century ago, that their descendants did not probablyexceed the original stock. I do not know where Mr. Jefferson obtainedhis data for this estimate, but he did not show his ordinary acutenessin ascribing the reason why the convicts left few or no issue. Womenwere by far too much in request in America, during the first century ortwo of its political existence, to admit of the probability of men soopenly stamped with infamy from obtaining wives, and I think thereexisted a physical inability for the propagation of the stock, sincevery few women were transported at any time. Within the last few months, two instances have occurred in the Chamber of Deputies, of membersquoting the example of America, in enforcing their arguments in favourof the possibility of forming respectable communities by thetransportation of criminals!

I had no intention of quoting any part of the controversy on finance, but, on reflection, it may serve a good purpose to give one or twoextracts from the letter of Mr. Harris. In order that this may be donefairly, both as it respects the point at issue and the partiesconcerned, it will be necessary to make a brief preliminary explanation. M. Sauliner, the principal writer of the other side, had made it acharge against our system, that nearly all the public money was derivedfrom the customs, which he assumed was a bad mode of obtaining revenue. Let this be as it might, my answer, was, that, as between France andAmerica, there was no essential variance of system, the only differencelying in the fact that the one got _all_ the revenue it _could_ in thismanner, and that the other got all it _wanted_. I added, a tax onexports excepted, that all the usual means of raising revenue known toother nations were available, at need, to the government of theUnited-States. To this latter opinion Mr. Harris took exceptions, saying, in effect, that the administration of Mr. Adams, the father, had been broken down by resorting to excises, stamp-acts, and directtaxation; and that since his unfortunate experiment, no administrationin America had dreamed, even in time of war, of resorting to a mode ofobtaining revenue which was so offensive as to produce the revolution of1776! Of course Mr. Harris was reminded, that the stamp-act, of whichthe colonists complained, was repealed many years before the epoch of1776; that the revolution proceeded from a denial of the right inparliament to tax the colonies at all, and not from any particularimposition; and that excises and a stamp-act had all been resorted to, in the war of 1812, without overturning the administration of Mr. Madison, or weakening that of his successor. But of what avail was astatement of this kind, in opposition to the allegations of one whoappeared before Europe in the character of an American diplomate? Mr. Harris enjoyed the double advantage of giving his testimony as one inthe confidence of both the French and the American governments--anadvantage that a quotation from the statute-books themselves could notovercome. 

Mr. Harris disposed of one knotty point in this controversy with so muchingenuity, that it deserves to be more generally known. Our adversarieshad brought the accusation of luxury against the American government, inasmuch as it was said to furnish both a town and a country palace forthe President--a degree of magnificence little suspected in France. Thispoint was not treated as a matter of any importance by us, thoughGeneral Lafayette had slightly and playfully alluded to it, once ortwice. The words of Mr. Harris shall speak for themselves: "Le GénéralLafayette paraît surtout avoir été frappé de l'erreur dans laquelle esttombé l'auteur de la Revue, à l'égard de la belle maison de campagnedont il a doté la présidence; et c'est peut-être là ce qui l'a porté àfaire appel à M. Le Général Bernard et à M. Cooper. "

"L'erreur de l'auteur de la Revue, au sujet de la maison de campagne duprésident, est de très peu d'importance. Personne ne sait mieux que leGénéral Lafayette que la résidence affectée par la nation à sonpresident, dans le District de Columbia, est située de manière à jouirdes avantages de la ville et de la campagne. "

Here you perceive the intellectual _finesse_ with which we have had tocontend. We are charged with the undue luxury of supporting a town andcountry house for a public functionary; and, disproving the fact, ouropponents turn upon us, with a pernicious subtlety, and show, to such acondensing point has the effeminate spirit reached among us, that wehave compressed the essence of two such establishments into one! Mr. Harris might have carried out his argument, and shown also that to sucha pass of self-indulgence have we reached, that Washington itself is so"situated as to enjoy the advantages of both town and country!"

I have reason to think Mr. Harris gained a great advantage over us bythis _tour de logique_. I had, however, a little better luck withanother paragraph of his letter. In pages 22 and 23 of this importantdocument, is the following; the state alluded to being Pennsylvania, andthe money mentioned the cost of the canals; which Mr. Harris includes inthe cost of government, charging, by the way, not only the interest onthe loans as an annual burden, but the loans themselves. I translate thetext, the letter having appeared in French:--"The greater part of thissum, about twenty-two millions of dollars, has been expended during thelast twelve years--that is to say, while the population _was half ortwo-thirds less than it is to-day_, offering an _average of not morethan_ 800, 000 _souls_, (the present population of Pennsylvania being1, 350, 161:) It follows, that each inhabitant has been _taxed_ about twoand a half dollars, annually, for internal improvements during thisperiod. "

I think, under ordinary circumstances, and as against a logician who didnot appear supported by the confidence and favour of the government ofthe United States of America, I might have got along with thisquotation, by showing, that 800, 000 is neither the _half of_, nor_two-thirds less_ than 1, 350, 161; that Pennsylvania, so far fromtrebling, or even doubling her population in twelve years, had notdoubled it in twenty; that Pennsylvania, at the commencement of thetwelve years named, had actually a population more than twenty-five percent. Greater than that which Mr. Harris gives as the average of aperiod, during which he affirms that this population has, at least, doubled; and by also showing that money borrowed and invested in publicworks, which are expected to return an ample revenue, cannot bepresented as an annual charge against the citizen until he is called onto pay it. 

Having said so much about the part that Mr. Harris has had in thiscontroversy, I owe it to truth to add, that his course has, at least, the merit of frankness, and that he is just so much the more to becommended than that portion of our ex-agents and actual agents who havetaken the same side of the question, covertly. 

I have dwelt on this subject at some length, because I think it isconnected, not only with the truth, but with the character, of America. I have already told you the startling manner in which I was addressed byone of the first men in England, on the subject of the tone of ourforeign agents; and since that time, occasions have multiplied, to learnthe mortifying extent to which this unfavourable opinion of theirsincerity has spread. If the United States has neither sufficient forcenor sufficient dignity to maintain its interests abroad, without makingthese sacrifices of opinion and principle, we are in a worse conditionthan I had believed; but you will require no logic from me, tounderstand the effect that must be, and is produced, by thiscontradiction between the language that is studiously used--used tonauseous affectation--at home, and so much of the language that is usedby too many of the agents abroad. 

I very well know that the government of the Union guarantees neitherthe civil nor religious liberty of the citizen, except as against itsown action; that any state may create an establishment, or a closehereditary aristocracy, to-morrow, if it please, the general provisionthat its polity must be that of a republic, meaning no more than thatthere should not be an hereditary monarchy; and that is quite within thelimits of constitutional possibilities, that the base of the nationalrepresentation should be either purely aristocratical, purelydemocratical, or a mixture of both. But in leaving this option to thestates, the constitution has, in no manner, impaired the force of facts. The states have made their election, and, apart from the anomaly of aslave population, the fundamental feature of the general government isdemocratic. Now, it is indisputably the privilege of the citizen toexpress the opinions of government that he may happen to entertain. Thesystem supposes consultation and choice, and it would be mockery tomaintain that either can exist without entire freedom of thought andspeech. If any man prefer a monarchy to the present polity of thenation, it is his indefeasible right to declare his opinion, and to beexempt from persecution and reproach. He who meets such a declaration inany other manner than by a free admission of the right, does not _feel_the nature of the institutions under which he lives, for theconstitution, in its spirit, everywhere recognises the principle. ButOne, greater than the constitution of America, in divine ordinances, everywhere denies the right of a man to profess one thing and to meananother. There is an implied pledge given by every public agent that hewill not misrepresent what he knows to be the popular sentiment at home, and which popular sentiment, directly or indirectly, has clothed hislanguage with the authority it carries in foreign countries; and thereis every obligation of faith, fidelity, delicacy, and discretion, thathe should do no discredit to that which he knows to be a distinguishingand vital principle with his constituents. As respects our agents inEurope, I believe little is hazarded in saying, that too many have doneinjury to the cause of liberty. I have heard this so often from variousquarters of the highest respectability, [29] it has been so frequentlyaffirmed in public here, and I have witnessed so much myself, that, perhaps, the subject presents itself with more force to me, on the spot, than it will to you, who can only look at it through the medium ofdistance and testimony. I make no objection to a rigid neutrality in thestrife of opinions that is going on here, but I call for the self-denialof concealing all predilections in favour of the government of one or ofthe few; and should any minister of despotism, or political exclusion, presume to cite an American agent as being of his way of thinking, allmotives of forbearance would seem to disappear, and, if really anAmerican in more than pretension, it appears to me the time would become to vindicate the truth with the frankness and energy of a freeman. 

[Footnote 29: In 1833, the writer was in discourse with a person who hadfilled one of the highest political situations in Europe, and he wasasked who represented the United States at the court of ----. On beingtold, this person paused, and then resumed, "I am surprised that yourgovernment should employ that man. He has always endeavoured toingratiate himself in my favour, by depreciating everything in his owncountry. " But why name a solitary instance? Deputies, members ofparliament, peers of France and of England, and public men of half thenations of Europe, have substantially expressed to the writer the sameopinion, under one circumstance or another, in, perhaps, fifty differentinstances. ]

LETTER XIII. 

Ferry across the Rhine. --Village of Rudesheim. --The _Hinter-hausen_Wine, --Drunkenness. --Neapolitan curiosity respecting America. --TheRhenish Wines enumerated. --Ingelheim. --Johannisberg. --ConventualWine. --Unseasonable praise. --House and Grounds of Johannisberg. --Stateof Nassau. --Palace at Biberich. --The Gardens. --Wiesbaden. --Its publicPromenade. --Frankfort on the Maine. 

Dear ----, Within an hour after we left the Ritterstein, we were crossing thebridge that leads into Bingen. Like true _flaneurs_, we had not decidedwhere to sleep, and, unlike _flaneurs_, we now began to look wistfullytowards the other side of the Rhine into the duchy of Nassau. There wasno bridge, but then there might be a ferry. Beckoning to the postmaster, who came to the side of the carriage, I put the question. "Certainly, asgood a ferry as there is in Germany. "--"And can we cross with yourhorses?"--"Ja--ja--we do it often. " The affair was arranged in a minute. The leaders were led back to the stable, and with two horses we drovedown to the water-side. A skiff was in readiness, and spreading asprit-sail, we were in the middle of the stream before there was timefor thought. In ten minutes we landed in the celebrated Rheingau, and atthe foot of a hill that was teeming with the vines of Rudesheim. "Charlemagne observing, from the window of his palace at Ingelheim, "says an old legend, "that the snow disappeared from the bluff aboveRudesheim earlier than from any of the neighbouring hills, caused thesame to be planted with vines. " What has become of Charlemagne and hisdescendants, no one knows; but here are the progeny of his vines to thepresent hour. 

François followed us in a few minutes with the carriage and horses, andwe were soon comfortably housed in an inn, in the village of Rudesheim. Here, then, we were in the heart of the richest wine region in Europe, perhaps in the world. I looked curiously at mine host, to see whateffect this fact might have had on him, but he did nor appear to haveabused the advantage. He told me there had just been a sale, at which Ishould have been most welcome; complained that much sour liquor waspalmed off on the incredulous as being the pure beverage; and said thatothers might prefer Johannisberger, but for his part, good_hinter-hausen_[30] was good enough for him. "Would I try a bottle?" Theproposition was not to be declined, and with my dinner I did try abottle of his oldest and best; and henceforth I declare myself a convertto _Rudesheimer hinter-hausen. _ One cannot drink a gallon of it withimpunity, as is the case with some of the French wines; but I feelpersuaded it is the very article for our _market_, to use the vernacularof a true Manhattanese. It has body to bear the voyage, without beingthe fiery compound that we drink under the names of Madeira and Sherry. 

[Footnote 30: _Behind the houses_; so termed, from the vines standing onlower land than the hill, behind the village. ]

It is a singular fact, that in none but wine growing countries are thetrue uses of the precious gift understood. In them, wine is not aluxury, but a necessary; its use is not often abused, and its beneficialeffect can scarcely be appreciated without being witnessed. I do notmean that there is no drunkenness in these countries, for there isprobably as much of the vice in France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland, as there is with us; but they who drink hard generally drink some of thevile compounds which exist everywhere under the names of brandy, _aguadiente_, or something else. I was one day crossing the bay of Naples inmy hired craft, La Divina Providenza, rowed by a crew of twenty-one menwho cost me just the price of a carriage and horses for the same time, when the _padrone_, who had then been boating about with us severalweeks, began to be inquisitive concerning America, and our manner ofliving, more especially among the labouring classes. The answersproduced a strong sensation in the boat; and when they heard thatlabourers received a ducat a-day for their toil, half of the honestfellows declared themselves ready to emigrate. "_Et, il vino, signore;quale è il prezzo del vino?_" demanded the _padrone_. I told him winewas a luxury with us, and beyond the reach of the labourer, the generalsneer that followed immediately satisfied me that no emigrants would gofrom La Divina Providenza. 

It is scarcely necessary to tell one of your habits, that the wines wecall Hock are Rhenish, and that each properly bears the name of its ownvintage. This rule prevails everywhere, the names of Claret, Burgundy, and Sherry, being unknown in France and Spain. It is true the Frenchhave their Burgundy wines, and the Spaniards their Xeres wines; but _vinde Bourgogne_ includes liquors of different colours and very differentqualities. The same is true of other places. What we call Claret theFrench term Bordeaux wines; though _Clairet_ is an old French word, still occasionally used, signifying a thin weak potation. 

The Rheingau, or the part of the Nassau in which we now are, producesthe best wines of the Rhine. The principal vineyards are those ofJohannisberg, Hochheim, (whence the name of Hock, ) Geissenheim, Steinberg, and Rudesheim Johannisberg is now the property of PrinceMetternich; Geissenheim belongs to the Count of Ingelheim; and Hochheimand Rudesheim are villages, the vines having different proprietors. I donot know the situation of Steinberg. The best wine of Johannisberg hasthe highest reputation; that of Geissenheim is also delicious, and isfast growing in value; Hochheimer _Dom_, (or houses growing near thevillage, ) is also in great request; and of the _hinter-hausen_ ofRudesheim you have already heard. Dr. Somerville once told me he hadanalysed the pure Johannisberger, and that it contained less aciditythan any other wine he knew. The Steinberger is coming into favour; itis the highest flavoured of all the German wines, its perfume or_bouquet_, being really too strong. 

Rudesheim was a Roman station, and it is probable that its wines datefrom their government. There is still a considerable ruin, belonging, Ibelieve to the Count of Ingelheim, that is supposed to have been builtby the Romans, and which has been partially fitted up by its proprietor, as a place of retreat, during the vintage. This is truly a classical_villagiatura_. It was curious to examine these remains, which areextensive, so soon after going over the feudal castle, and it must beconfessed that the sons of the South maintained their long establishedsuperiority here, as elsewhere. Ingelheim, where Charlemagne had apalace, and where some pretend he was born, is in plain view on theother side of the river, but no traces of the palace are visible fromthis spot. Such is the difference between the false and the true Roman. There is also a ruin, a small high circular tower, that is connectedwith our inn, forming even one of our own rooms, and which is veryancient, probably as ancient as the great Frank. 

We left Rudesheim after breakfast, driving quite near to the hill ofGeissenheim, and quitting the main road, for the purpose of visitingJohannisberg, which lies back a mile from the great route. We wound ourway around the hill, which on three sides is shaped like a cone, and onthe other is an irregular ridge, and approached the house by the rear. If you happen to have a bottle of the wine of this vineyard (real orreputed, for in this respect the false Simon Pure is quite as likely tobe true as the real, ) you will find a sufficiently good resemblance ofthis building on its label. 

I can give you no other reason why this wine was formerly so littleknown, while that of Hochheim had so great a reputation, than the factthat the mountain, house, and vines were all the property of areligious community, previously to the French revolution, and that themonks probably chose to drink their own liquors. In this particular theywere unlike the people of Brie; for walking one day with Lafayette, overhis estate at La Grange, I expressed surprise at seeing some labourersmaking wine. "Oh, yes, my dear friend, " returned the General, "we do_make_ wine here, but then we take very good care not to _drink_ it. "The monks of Johannisberg most likely both made wine and drank it. 

Johannisberg has changed owners several times. Shortly after our returnfrom the journey on the Rhine of last year, chance placed me, at Paris, at table between the _chargé d'affaires_ of Nassau and the Duc de Valmy. The former observed that I had lately been in Nassau, and asked how Iliked the country. Under such circumstances one would wish to praise, and as I could honestly do so, I expressed my admiration of what I hadseen. Among other things, I spoke of its rich vineyards, and, as amatter of course, began to extol that of Johannisberg. The more Ipraised, the graver the _diplomate_ looked, until thinking I had notcome up to his own feelings, I began to be warmer still in myexpressions. A touch under the table silenced me. The _chargé_ soonafter gave me to understand that Johannisberg produced only sour grapesfor my neighbour, as Napoleon had given the estate to the first Duke, and the allies had taken it away from his son. This was not the firsttime I have had occasion to see the necessity of being guarded how onespeaks, lest he offend some political sensibility or other in thisquarter of the world. 

The present owner of Johannisberg has fitted up the house, which isquite spacious, very handsomely, though without gorgeousness, and thereis really a suite of large and commodious rooms. I saw few or no signsof the monastery about the building. The vines grow all around theconical part of the hill quite up to the windows. The best wine is madefrom those near the house, on the south-eastern exposure. The view wasbeautiful and very extensive, and all that the place wants to make it adesirable residence is shade; an advantage, however, that cannot beenjoyed on the same spot in common with good wine. The nakedness of theground impaired the effect of the dwelling. The owner is seldom here, asis apparent by the furniture, which, though fresh and suitable, does notextend to the thousand little elegancies that accumulate in a regularabode. 

The books say that this celebrated vineyard contains sixty-three acres, and this is near the extent I should give it, from the eye. The produceis stated at twenty-five hogsheads, of thirteen hundred bottles each. Some of the wines of the best vintages sell as high as four and evenfive dollars a bottle. I observed that the soil was mixed with stonemuch decomposed, of a shelly appearance, and whitish colour. The landwould be pronounced unsuited to ordinary agriculture, I suspect, by amajority of farmers. 

I bought a bottle of wine from a servant who professed to havepermission to sell it. The price was two florins and a half, or adollar, and the quality greatly inferior to the bottle that, for thesame money, issued from the cellar of the host at Rudesheim. It isprobable the whole thing was a deception, though the inferior wines ofJohannisberg are no better than a vast deal of the other common wine ofthe neighbourhood. 

From Johannisberg we descended to the plain and took the road toBiberich. This is a small town on the banks of the Rhine, and is theresidence of the Duke. Nassau figures in the tables of the Germanicconfederation as the fourteenth state, having three hundred andthirty-eight thousand inhabitants, and furnishing three thousand troopsas its contingent. The population is probably a little greater. Thereigning family is of the ancient line of Nassau, from a junior branchof which I believe the King of Holland is derived; the Duchess is aprincess of Wurtemberg, and a sister of the Grand-duchess Helena, ofwhom I have already spoken so often. This little state is one of thefabricated sovereignties of 1814, being composed of divers fragments, besides the ancient possessions of the family. In short, it would seemto be intended for the government and better management of a few capitalvineyards. 

Nassau has been much agitated of late with liberal opinions, though thegovernment is already what it is the fashion to term representative, onthis side of the Atlantic. It is the old theory, that small states canbetter support a popular form of government than a large state. This isa theory in which I have no faith, and one, in my opinion, that has beenfabricated to suit the accidental situation of Europe. The danger ofpopular governments are popular excesses, such as those truculent errorsthat men fall into by a misconception of truth, misstatements, ignoranceof their interests, and the sort of village-like gossip which causesevery man to think he is a judge of character, when he is not even ajudge of facts. The abuses of absolutism are straightforward, doggedtyranny, in which the rights of the mass are sacrificed to the interestsand policy of a prince and his favourites. Now, in a large country, popular excesses in one part are checked and repressed by the power andinterests of the other parts. It is not an easy matter to make a popularerror, that leads to popular excesses, extend simultaneously over a veryextended surface; and they who are tranquil, control, and finallyinfluence, those who are excited. In a small state, absolutism is heldunder the checks of neighbourhood and familiarity. Men disregardaccidents and crime in a capital, while they reason on them and act onthem in the country. Just so will the sovereign of a small state feeland submit to the authority of an active public opinion. If I must haveliberty, let it come in large draughts like learning, and form anatmosphere of its own; and if I must be the subject of despotic power, Heaven send that my sovereign be a small prince. The latter is on thesupposition that I am an honest man, for he who would rise by servilityand a sacrifice of his principles, had better at once choose thegreatest monarch he can find for a master. Small states are usually anevil in themselves, but I think they are least so when the authority isabsolute. The people of Nassau had better be moderate in their progress, while they of France should press on to their purpose; and yet thepeople of Nassau will probably be the most urgent, simply because thepower with which they have to contend is so feeble, for men rarely takethe "just medium, " though they are always talking about it. 

We entered the palace at Biberich, which, without being larger thanusual, is an edifice well worth viewing. We could not but compare thisabode with the President's house, and certainly, so far as taste andelegance are concerned, the comparison is entirely to the disadvantageof us Americans. It is easy to write unmeaning anathemas againstprodigal expenditures, and extorting the hard earnings of the poor, onsuch occasions, but I do not know that the castle of Biberich waserected by any means so foul. The general denunciation of everythingthat does not happen to enter into our own system, has no more connexionwith true republicanism than cant has to do with religion. Abuses ofthis nature have existed beyond dispute, and the public money, evenamong ourselves, is not always honestly or prudently expended; but theseare the errors inseparable from human nature, and it is silly to quarrelwith all the blandishments of life until we can find faultlesssubstitutes. The simple fact that a nation like our own has suffered anentire generation to go by with its chief magistrate living in a housesurrounded by grounds almost as naked as a cornfield, while it provesnothing in favour of its economy, goes to show either that we want thetaste and habits necessary to appreciate the privation, (as is probablythe case), or the generosity to do a liberal act, since it is notoriousthat we possess the means. 

The gardens of Biberich are extensive and beautiful. We are proofsourselves that they are not reserved, in a niggardly spirit, for theexclusive uses of a few, nor in truth are those of any other prince inEurope where we have been. The interior of the house is much ornamentedby a very peculiar marble that is found in the duchy, and which producesa good effect. A circular hall in the centre of the building, surmountedby a dome, is rather striking, from having a colonnade of this material. 

The family was here, and the preparations were making for dinner in oneof the rooms; the whole style of the domestic economy being that of anobleman of liberal means. The house was very quiet, and we saw but fewmenials, though we met two of the children, accompanied by a governess, in the grounds. 

Biberich and the castle, or palace, stand immediately on the banks ofthe river, which, between Bingen and Mayence, is straggling and wellcovered with islands, having an entire breadth of near half a mile. Theeffect, when seen from the neighbouring heights, is not unlike that of alake. 

From Biberich we diverged directly into the interior of the Rheingau, taking the road to Wiesbaden, which is a watering-place of some note, and the seat of government of the duchy. We reached it early, for it isno great matter to pass from the frontiers of one of these small statesinto its centre, ordered dinner, and went out to see the lions. Wiesbaden has little to recommend it by nature, its waters excepted. Itstands in a funnel rather than a valley, and it is said to beexcessively hot in summer, though a pleasant winter residence. I do notremember a place that so triumphantly proves how much may be made out ofa little, as the public promenade of Wiesbaden. The springs are nearly, or perhaps quite a mile from the town, the intervening land being agentle inclination. From the springs, a rivulet, scarce large enough toturn a village mill, winds its way down to the town. The banks of thislittle stream have been planted, artificial obstructions and cascadesformed, paths cut, bridges thrown across the rivulet, rocks piled, etc. , and by these simple means, one walks a mile in a belt of wood a few rodswide, and may fancy himself in a park of two thousand acres. Ten yearswould suffice to bring such a promenade to perfection, and yet nothinglike it exists in all America! One can surely smoke cigars, drinkCongress water, discuss party politics, and fancy himself a statesman, whittle, clean his nails in company and never out of it, swear thingsare good enough for him without having known any other state of society, squander dollars on discomfort, and refuse cents to elegance andconvenience, because he knows no better, and call the obliquity of tastepatriotism, without enjoying a walk in a wood by the side of a murmuringrill! He may, beyond dispute, if such be his sovereign pleasure, do allthis, and so may an Esquimaux maintain that whale's blubber ispreferable to beefsteaks. I wonder that these dogged and philosophicalpatriots do not go back to warlocks, scalps, and paint!

The town of Wiesbaden, like all German towns of any consequence I haveever been in, Cologne excepted, is neat and clean. It is alsowell-built, and evidently improving. You may have heard a good deal ofthe boulevards and similar places of resort, in the vicinity of Frenchtowns, but as a whole, they are tasteless and barren-looking spots. Eventhe Champs Elysées, at Paris, have little beauty of themselves, forlandscape gardening is but just introduced into France; whereas, to me, it would seem that the Germans make more use of it, in and near theirtowns, than the English. 

We left Wiesbaden next morning, after enjoying its baths, and wentslowly up to Frankfort on the Maine, a distance of about twenty miles. Here we took up our old quarters at the White Swan, a house of asecond-rate reputation, but of first-rate civility, into which chancefirst threw me; and, as usual, we got a capital dinner and good wine. The innkeeper, in honour of Germany, caused a dish, that he said wasnational and of great repute, to be served to us pilgrims. It was whatthe French call a _jardinière_, or a partridge garnished with cabbage, carrots, turnips, etc. 

I seized the opportunity to put myself _au courant_ of the affairs ofthe world, by going to one of the reading-rooms, that are to be foundall over Germany, under the names of _Redoutes, Casinos_, or somethingof that sort. Pipes appear to be proscribed in the _casino_ ofFrankfort, which is altogether a genteel and respectable establishment. As usual, a stranger must be introduced. 

LETTER XIV. 

Boulevards of Frankfort. --Political Disturbances in the town. --_Le petitSavoyard_. --Distant glimpse of Homberg. --Darmstadt. --TheBergestrasse. --Heidelberg. --Noisy Market-place. --The Ruins andGardens. --An old Campaigner. --Valley of theNeckar. --Heilbronn. --Ludwigsberg. --Its Palace. --The late Queen ofWurtemberg. --The Birthplace of Schiller. --Comparative claims of Schillerand Goethe. --Stuttgart. --Its Royal Residences. --The Princess ofHechingen. --German Kingdoms. --The King and Queen of Wurtemberg. --SirWalter Scott. --Tubingen. --Ruin of a Castle of the middleages. --Hechingen. --Village of Bahlingen. --The Danube. --The BlackForest. --View from a mountain on the frontier of Baden. --EnterSwitzerland. 

Dear ----, I have little new to tell you of Frankfort. It appeared to be the samebusy, clean, pretty, well-built town, on this visit, as it did at thetwo others. We examined the boulevards a little more closely thanbefore, and were even more pleased with them than formerly. I havealready explained to you that the secret of these tasteful and beautifulwalks, so near, and sometimes in the very heart (as at Dresden) of thelarge German towns, is in the circumstance of the old fortificationsbeing destroyed, and the space thus obtained having been wiselyappropriated to health and air. Leipsig, in particular, enjoys apicturesque garden, where formerly there stood nothing but grim guns, and frowning ramparts. 

Frankfort has been the subject of recent political disturbances, and, Iheard this morning from a banker, that there existed serious discontentsall along the Rhine. As far as I can learn, the movement proceeds from adesire in the trading, banking, and manufacturing classes, the _nouveauxriches_, in short, to reduce the power and influence of the old feudaland territorial nobility. The kingly authority, in our time, is not muchof itself, and the principal question has become, how many or how few, or, in short, _who_ are to share in its immunities. In this simple factlies the germ of the revolution in France, and of reform in England. Money is changing hands, and power must go with it. This is, has been, and ever will be the case, except in those instances in which the greatpolitical trust is thrown confidingly into the hands of all; and eventhen, in half the practical results, money will cheat them out of theadvantages. Where the pressure is so great as to produce a recoil, it isthe poor against the rich; and where the poor have rights to stand on, the rich are hard at work to get the better of the poor. Such is thecurse of Adam, and man himself must be changed before the disease can becured. All we can do, under the best constructed system, is to mitigatethe evil. 

We left Frankfort at eleven, declining the services of a celebrated_voiturier_, called _le petit Savoyard_, whom François introduced, witha warm recommendation of fidelity and zeal. These men are extensivelyknown, and carry their _soubriquets_, as ships do their names. Thelittle Savoyard had just discharged a cargo of _miladies_, bound toEngland, after having had them on his charter-party eighteen months, andwas now on the look-out for a return freight. As his whole equipmentswere four horses, the harness, and a long whip, he was very desirous ofthe honour of dragging my carriage a hundred leagues or so, towards anypart of the earth whither it might suit my pleasure to proceed. But itis to be presumed that _miladies_ were of full weight, for evenFrançois, who comes of a family of _voituriers_, and has afellow-feeling for the craft, is obliged to admit that the cattle of _lepetit_ appear to have been overworked. This negotiation occupied anhour, and it ended by sending the passport to the post. 

We were soon beyond the tower that marks the limits of the territory ofFrankfort, on the road to Darmstadt. While mounting an ascent, we had adistant glimpse of the town of Homberg, the capital and almost the wholeterritory of the principality of Hesse Homberg; a state whose lastsovereign had the honour of possessing an English princess for a wife. Truly there must be something in blood, after all; for this potentatehas but twenty-three thousand subjects to recommend him!

Darmstadt is one of those towns which are laid out on so large a scaleas to appear mean. This is a common fault, both in Germany and America;for the effect of throwing open wide avenues, that one can walk throughin five minutes, is to bring the intention into ludicrous contrast withthe result. Mannheim is another of these abortions. The disadvantage, however, ends with the appearance, for Darmstadt is spacious, airy, andneat; it is also well-built. 

The ancient Landgraves of Hesse Darmstadt have become Grand Dukes, witha material accession of territory, the present sovereign ruling oversome 700, 000 subjects. The old castle is still standing in the heart ofthe place, if a town which is all artery can be said to have any heart, and we walked into its gloomy old courts, with the intention ofexamining it; but the keeper of the keys was not to be found. There is amodern palace of very good architecture near it, and, as usual, extensive gardens, laid out, so far as we could perceive from theoutside, in the English taste. 

A short distance from Darmstadt, the Bergestrasse (mountain road)commences. It is a perfect level, but got its name from skirting thefoot of the mountain, at an elevation to overlook the vast plain of thePalatinate; for we were now on the verge of this ancient territory, which has been merged in the Grand Duchy of Baden by the events of thelast half century. I may as well add, that Baden is a respectable state, having nearly 1, 300, 000 subjects. 

The Bergestrasse has many ruins on the heights that overlook it, thoughthe river is never within a league or two of the road. Here we foundpostilions worthy of their fine track, and, to say the truth, of greatskill. In Germany you get but one postilion with four horses, and, asthe leaders are always at a great distance from those on the pole, it isan exploit of some delicacy to drive eight miles an hour, riding thenear wheel-horse, and governing the team very much by the use of thewhip. The cattle are taught to travel without blinkers, and, like men towhom political power is trusted, they are the less dangerous for it. Itis your well-trained animal, that is checked up and blinded, who runsaway with the carriage of state, as well as the travelling carriage, andbreaks the neck of him who rides. 

It was quite dark when we crossed the bridge of the Neckar, and plungedinto the crowded streets of Heidelberg. Notwithstanding the obscurity, we got a glimpse of the proud old ruin overhanging the place, lookinggrand and sombre in the gloom of night. 

The view from the windows next morning was one of life in the extreme. The principal market-place was directly before the inn, and it appearedas if half the peasants of the grand duchy had assembled there todisplay their fruits and vegetables. A market is always a garrulous andnoisy place; but when the advantage of speaking German is added to it, the perfection of confusion is obtained. In all _good_ society, both menand women speak in subdued voices, and there is no need to allude tothem; but when one descends a little below the _élite_, strength oflungs is rather a German failing. [31]

We went to the ruins while the fogs were still floating around thehill-tops. I was less pleased with this visit than with that of lastyear, for the surprise was gone, and there was leisure to be critical. On the whole, these ruins are vast rather than fine, though the parts ofthe edifice that were built in the Elizabethan taste have the charm ofquaintness. There is also one picturesque tower; but the finest thingcertainly is the view from the garden-terrace above. An American, whoremembers the genial soil and climate of his country, must mourn overthe want of taste that has left, and still leaves, a great nation(numerically great, at least) ignorant of the enjoyment of thosedelicious retreats! As Nelson once said, "want of frigates" would befound written on his heart were he to die, I think "want of gardens"would be found written on mine. Our cicerone, on this occasion, was aman who had served in America, during the last war, as one of the corpsof De Watteville. He was born in Baden, and says that a large portion ofthe corps were Germans. He was in most of the battles of the Niagara, and shook his head gravely when I hinted at the attack on Fort Erie. According to his account, the corps suffered exceedingly in the campaignof 1814, losing the greater portion of its men. I asked him how he cameto fight us, who had never done him any harm; and he answered thatNapoleon had made all Europe soldiers or robbers, and that he had notstopped to examine the question of right. 

[Footnote 31: Until the revolution of 1830, the writer never met but onenoisy woman in Paris. Since that period, however, one hears a littlemore of the _tintamarre_ of the _comptoir_. ]

We drove up the valley of the Neckar, after a late breakfast, by anexcellent road, and through a beautiful country, for the first post ortwo. We then diverged from the stream, ascended into a higher portion ofundulating country, that gradually became less and less interesting, until, in the end, we all pronounced it the tamest and least invitingregion we had yet seen in Europe. I do not say that the country wasparticularly sterile, but it was common-place, and offered fewer objectsof interest than any other we had yet visited. Until now, ourdestination was not settled, though I had almost decided to go toNuremberg, and thence, by Ratisbonne and the Danube, to Vienna; but weall came to the opinion that the appearance of things towards the eastwas too dreary for endurance. We had already journeyed through Bavaria, from its southern to its northern end, and we wished to vary the scene. A member of its royal family had once told me that Wurtemberg offeredbut little for the traveller, at the same time saying a good word forits capital. When one gets information from so high authority it is notto be questioned, and towards Stuttgart it was determined to turn ourfaces. At Heilbronn, therefore, we changed direction from east to south. This Heilbronn was a quaint old German town, and it had a few of itshouses painted on the exterior, like those already described to you inSwitzerland. Weinsberg, so celebrated for its wives, who saved theirhusbands at a capitulation, by carrying them out of the place on theirbacks, is near this town. As there are no walled towns in America, andthe example could do no good, we did not make a pilgrimage to the spot. That night we slept at a little town called Bessingheim, with theNeckar, which we had again met at Heilbronn, murmuring beneath ourwindows. 

The next morning we were off betimes to avoid the heat, and reachedLudwigsberg to breakfast. Here the scene began to change. Troops were atdrill in a meadow, as we approached the town, and the postilion pointedout to us a portly officer at the Duke of Wurtemberg, a cadet of theroyal family, who was present with his staff. Drilling troops, from timeimmemorial, has been a royal occupation in Germany. It is, like aManhattanese talking of dollars, a source of endless enjoyment. 

Ludwigsberg is the Windsor, the St. Denis, of the Princes of Wurtemberg. There an extensive palace, the place of sepulture, and a town of five orsix thousand inhabitants. We went through the former, which is large andimposing, with fine courts and some pretty views, but it is low andTeutonic--in plain English, squat--like some of the old statues inarmour that one sees in the squares of the German towns. There is agallery and a few good pictures, particularly a Rembrandt or two. One ofthe latter is in the same style as the "Tribute-money" that I possess, and greatly encourages me as to the authenticity of that picture. Thelate Queen of Wurtemberg was the Princess Royal of England, and sheinhabited this palace. Being mistaken for English, we were shown herapartments, in which she died lately, and which were exactly in thecondition in which she left them. She must have had strong familyattachments, for her rooms were covered with portraits of her relatives. The King of England was omnipresent; and as for her own husband, ofwhom, by the way, one picture would have been quite sufficient for anyreasonable woman, there were no less than six portraits of him in asingle room!

As one goes north, the style of ornamenting rooms is less graceful, andthe German and English palaces all have the same formal and antiquatedair. Ludwigsberg does not change the rule, though there was an unusualappearance of comfort in the apartments of the late Queen, which hadevidently been Anglicised. 

While we were standing at a balcony, that overlooks a very pretty tractof wooded country and garden, the guide pointed to a hamlet, whosechurch tower was peering above a bit of forest, in a distant valley, orrather swell. "Does Mein Herr see it?" "I do--it is no more than asequestered hamlet, that is prettily enough placed. "--It was Marbach, the birth-place of Schiller! Few men can feel less of the interest thatso commonly attaches to the habits, habitations, and personal appearanceof celebrated men, than myself. The mere sight of a celebrity nevercreates any sensation. Yet I do not remember a stronger conviction ofthe superiority enjoyed by true over factitious greatness, than thatwhich flashed on my mind, when I was told this fact. That sequesteredhamlet rose in a moment to an importance that all the appliances andsouvenirs of royalty could not give to the palace of Ludwigsberg. PoorSchiller! In my eyes he is the German genius of the age. Goethe has gotaround him one of those factitious reputations that depend as much ongossip and tea-drinking as on a high order of genius, and he isfortunate in possessing a _coddled celebrity_--for you must know thereis a fashion in this thing, that is quite independent of merit--whileSchiller's fame rests solely on its naked merits. My life for it, thatit lasts the longest, and will burn brightest in the end. The schools, and a prevalent taste and the caprice of fashion, can make Goethes indozens, at any time; but God only creates such men as Schiller. TheGermans say, _we_ cannot feel Goethe; but after all, a translation isperhaps one of the best tests of genius, for though bad translationsabound, if there is stuff in the original, it will find its way eveninto one of these. 

From Ludwigsberg to Stuttgart it is but a single post, and we arrivedthere at twelve. The appearance of this place was altogether differentfrom what we had expected. Although it contains near 30, 000 inhabitants, it has more the air of a thriving Swiss town, than that of a Germancapital, the abodes and gardens of the royal family excepted. By a Swisstown, I do not mean either such places as Geneva, and Berne, and Zurich, but such towns as Herisau and Lucerne, without including the walls ofthe latter. It stands at the termination of an irregular valley, at thebase of some mountains, and, altogether, its aspect, rustic exterior, and position, took us by surprise. The town, however, is evidentlybecoming more European, as they say on this side the Atlantic, everyday; or, in other words, it is becoming less peculiar. 

At and around the palaces there is something already imposing. The oldfeudal castle, which I presume is the cradle of the House of Wurtemberg, stands as a nucleus for the rest of the town. It is a strong prison-likelooking pile, composed of huge round towers and narrow courts, and stillserves the purposes of the state, though not as a prison, I trust. Another hotel, or royal residence, is quite near it on one side, whilethe new palace is close at hand on another. The latter is a handsomeedifice of Italian architecture, in some respects not unlike theLuxembourg at Paris, and I should think, out of all comparison the bestroyal residence to be found in the inferior states of Germany, if not inall Germany, those of Prussia and Austria excepted. 

We took a carriage, and drove through the grounds to a new classicallittle palace, that crowns an eminence at their other extremity, adistance of a mile or two. We went through this building, which is alittle in the style of the Trianons, at Versailles; smaller than LeGrand Trianon, and larger than Le Petit Trianon. This display of royalhouses, after all, struck us as a little dis portioned to the diminutivesize and poverty of the country. The last is nothing but a _maison deplaisance_, and is well enough if it did not bring taxation with it; nordo I know that it did. Most of the sovereigns have large privatefortunes, which they are entitled to use the same as others, and whichare well used in fostering elegant tastes in their subjects. 

There is a watering-place near the latter house, and preparations weremaking for the King to dine there, with a party of his own choosing. This reminded us of our own dinner, which had been ordered at six, andwe returned to eat it. While sitting at a window, waiting the service, a carriage that drove up attracted my attention. It was a large andrather elegant post chariot, as much ornamented as comported with theroad, and having a rich blazonry. A single female was in it, with a maidand valet in the rumble. The lady was in a cap, and, as her equipagedrove up, appeared to be netting. I have frequently met German familiestravelling along the highway in this sociable manner, apparently as muchat home as when they were under the domestic roof. This lady, however, had so little luggage, that I was induced to enquire who it might be. She was a Princess of Hechingen, a neighbouring state, that had justtrotted over probably to take tea with some of her cousins ofWurtemberg. 

These _quasi_ kingdoms are so diminutive that this sort of intercourseis very practicable, and (a pure conjecture) it may be that Germanetiquette, so notoriously stiff and absurd, has been invented to preventthe intercourse from becoming too familiar. The mediatising system, however, has greatly augmented the distances between the capitals, though, owing to some accidental influence, there is still here andthere a prince, that might be spared, whose territories have beenencircled, without having been absolutely absorbed, by those who havebeen gainers by the change. Bavaria has risen to be a kingdom of fourmillions of souls, in this manner; and the Dukes of Wurtemberg havebecome kings, though on a more humble scale, through the liberality orpolicy of Napoleon. The kingdom of the latter contains the twoindependent principalities of Hohenzollern (spared on account of somefamily alliances, I believe) in its bosom. One of the princes of thelatter family is married to a Mademoiselle Murat, a niece of Joachim. 

After dinner we went again to the garden, where we accidentally werewitnesses of the return of the royal party from their pic-nic. The Kingdrove the Queen in a pony phaeton, at the usual pace of monarchs, orjust as fast as the little animals could put foot to the ground. He wasa large and well-whiskered man, with a strong family likeness to theEnglish princes. The attendants were two mounted grooms, in scarletliveries. A cadet, a dark, Italian-looking personage, came soon after infull uniform, driving himself, also, in a sort of barouche. After ashort time we were benefited by the appearance of the cooks andscullions, who passed in a _fourgon_, that contained the remnants andthe utensils. Soon after we got a glimpse of the Queen and three or fourof the daughters, at a balcony of the palace, the lady of the net-workbeing among them. They all appeared to be fine women. 

At the inn I heard with regret that Sir Walter Scott, had passed but twodays before. He was represented as being extremely ill; so much so, indeed, as to refuse to quit his carriage, where he kept himself as muchas possible out of view. 

We left Stuttgart early the following morning, and as the carriage woundup the mountain that overlooks the town, I thought the place one ofsingular incongruities. The hill-sides are in vineyards; the palace, inexcellent keeping, was warm and sunny; while the old feudal-lookingtowers of the castle, rudely recalled the mind to ancient Germany, andthe Swissish habitations summoned up the images of winter, snows, andshivering February. Still I question, if a place so sheltered everendures much cold. The town appears to have been built in the nook itoccupies, expressly to save fuel. 

We met the Neckar again, after crossing a range of wooded mountain, andat Tubingen we once more found a city, a university, the remains offeodality, redoutes, pipes, and other German appliances. Here webreakfasted, and received a visit from a young countryman, whoseparents, Germans, I believe, had sent him hither to be educated. Hewill, probably return with a good knowledge of Greek, perfect master ofmetaphysics and the pipe, extravagant in his political opinions, asceptic in religion, and with some such ideas of the poetry of thought, as a New England dancing-master has of the poetry of motion, or ateacher of psalmody, of the art of music. After all, this is better thansending a boy to England, whence he would come back with the notions ofSir William Blackstone to help to overturn or pervert his owninstitutions, and his memory crammed with second-hand anecdotes of lordsand ladies. We labour under great embarrassments on this point ofeducation, for it is not easy to obtain it, suited equally to the right, and to our own peculiar circumstances, either at home or abroad. At homewe want science, research, labour, tone, manners, and time; abroad weget the accumulated prejudices that have arisen from a factitious stateof things; or, what is perhaps worse, their reaction, the servility ofcastes, or the truculence of revolution. 

About a post beyond Tubingen, a noble ruin of a castle of the middleages appeared in the distance, crowning the summit of a high conicaleminence. These were the finest remains we had seen in a long time, andviewed from the road, they were a beautiful object, for half an hour. This was the castle of Hohenzollern, erected about the year 980, and thecradle of the House of Brandenburg. This family, some pretend, wasderived from the ancient Dukes of Alsace, which, if true would give itthe same origin as those of Austria and Baden; but it is usual, andprobably much safer, to say that the Counts of Hohenzollern were itsfounders. We must all stop somewhere short of Adam. 

I was musing on the chances that have raised a cadet, or a youngerbranch, of the old feudal counts who had once occupied this hold, to thefifth throne in Europe, when we entered an irregular and stragglingvillage of some 3000 souls, that was not, by any means, as well built asone of our own towns of the same size. A sign over a door, such as wouldbe occupied by a thriving trader with us, with "Department of War" onit, induced me to open my eyes, and look about me. We were in Hechingen, the capital of Hohenzollern-Hechingen, an independent state, with aprince of its own; who is the head of his family, in one sense, and itstail in another; there being, besides the King of Prussia, a Prince ofHohenzollern-Sigmaringen adjoining, who is his junior in rank, and hisbetter in power; having some 40 or 50, 000 subjects, while he ofHechingen has but 15, 000. On ascending a hill in the place itself, wepassed an unfinished house, all front, that stood on the street, with nogrounds of any beauty near it, and which certainly was not as large, nornearly as well constructed, as one of our own principal country-houses. This building, we were told, was intended for the town residence of theheir-apparent, who is married to a daughter of Eugene Beauharnois, andof course to a niece of the King of Bavaria. 

All this was an epitome of royalty I had never before witnessed. TheSaxon duchies, and Bayreuth and Anspach, now merged in Bavaria, had beenthe subjects of curious contemplation to us, but they were all thepossessions of potentates compared to this principality. I inquired forthe abode of the prince, which could not well be far off, without beingout of his own dominions. It lay behind a wood a mile distant, and wasnot visible from the inn where we stopped. Here was a capital mistake;had the old castle, which was but half a mile from the village, beenkept up, and it seemed to be in good condition for a ruin, with thetitle of Count of Hohenzollern and the war and state departments beenput in one of the towers, no one could have laughed at the pretension, let him try as hard as he pleased; but--

We had a strong desire to visit the ruin, which puts that of Habsburgaltogether in the shade, but were prevented by a thunder-shower whichshook the principality to its centre. The Knight's Hall, the chapel andthe clock-tower are said to have been restored, and to be now in goodcondition. We could do no more, however, than cast longing eyes upwardas we drove under the hill, the ground being still too wet for femaleaccoutrements to venture. We had a Hechingen postilion in a Hechingenlivery, and, although the man was sensible of his dignity and moved withdue deliberation, we were just one hour in crossing his master'sdominions. 

Re-entering Wurtemberg, we slept that night at the village of Bahlingen. The country next morning was particularly tame, though uneven, untilnear noon, when it gradually took more interesting forms and spreaditself in pretty valleys and wooded hills. The day was pleasant; and, aswe trotted merrily through one of the vales, A---- pointed to a littlerivulet that meandered through the meadows on our right, and praised itsbeauty. "I dare say it has a name; inquire of the postilion. " "Wie istdiesen fluschen?" "Mein Herr, der Donau. " The Danube! There wassomething startling in so unexpectedly meeting this mighty stream, whichwe had seen rolling its dark flow through cities and kingdoms, a rivuletthat I could almost leap across. It was to us like meeting one we hadknown a monarch, reduced to the condition of a private man. I was musingon the particles of water that were gliding past us on their way to theBlack Sea, when we drove up to the door of the inn at Tuttlingen. 

This was in the Black Forest, and what is more, there were some trees init. The wood was chiefly larches, whence I presume the name. Our hostdiscovered from the servants that we were Americans, and he immediatelyintroduced the subject of emigration. He told us that many people wentfrom Wurtemberg to America, and gave us to understand that we ought tobe glad of it--they were all so well educated! This was a new idea, certainly, and yet I will not take it on myself to say that the fact isotherwise. 

While we were at breakfast, the innkeeper, who was also the postmaster, inquired where we meant to sleep, and I told him at Schaffhausen, on theRhine. He then gave me to understand that there was a long, but not asteep mountain to ascend, which separated the waters of the Danube fromthose of the Rhine, and that two extra horses would add greatly to thefacility of getting along. Taking a look at the road, I assented, sothat we left the inn with the honours of a coach and six. The effect wasevident from the start, and after entering Wurtemberg and travellingthrough it complaining of the dullness of the teams, we left it with_éclat_, and at the rate of ten miles the hour. The frontier of Badenmet us again on the summit of the mountain. Here we got a line andextensive view, that included the lake of Constance in its sweep. Thewater looked dark and wild, and the whole scene had a tint that stronglyreminded me of the character of Germanic mysteriousness. We must havebeen at a great elevation, though the mountains were not prominentobjects; on the contrary, the eye ranged until it found the horizon, asat sea, in the curvature of the earth. The rills near us flowed into theRhine, and, traversing half Europe, emptied themselves into the NorthSea; while the stream that wound its way through the valley below, tooka south-easterly direction towards the confines of Asia. One gets grandand pleasing images in the associations that are connected with thecontemplation of these objects. 

From this point we began to descend, shorn of our honours in the way ofquadrupeds, for it was with a good deal of difficulty we got threehorses at the next relay. Thus is it with life, in which at one momentwe are revelling in abundance, and at the next suffering with want. Wegot along, however, as in life, in the best manner we could, and afterdriving through a pretty and uneven country, that gradually descended, we suddenly plunged down to the banks of the Rhine, and found ourselvesonce more before an inn-door, in Switzerland!

SECOND VISIT

TO

SWITZERLAND. 

LETTER XV. 

A Swiss Inn. --Cataract of the Rhine. --Canton of Zurich. --Town ofZurich. --Singular Concurrence. --Formidable Ascent. --ExquisiteView. --Einsiedeln--The Convent. --"_Par exemple_. "--Shores of the Lake ofZug. --The _Chemin Creux_. --Water Excursion to Alpnach. --Lake ofLungern. --Lovely Landscape. --Effects of Mists on the prospect. --NaturalBarometer. --View from the Brunig. --Enter the great Canton of Berne. --AnEnglishman's Politics. --Our French Companion. --The Giesbach. --MountainMusic. --Lauterbrunnen. --Grindewald. --Rising of the Waters in1830. --Anecdote. --Excursion on the Lake to Thoun. 

Dear ----, We had sought refuge on the Rhine, from the tameness and monotony ofWurtemberg! I dare say the latter country has many beautiful districts, that it contains much to admire and much to awaken useful reflection, but to the mere passer-by it is not a land of interest. Like a boat thathas unexpectedly got into a strong adverse current, we had put our helmdown and steered out of it, to the nearest shore. Here we were then, andit became necessary to say where we should be next. My own eyes wereturned wistfully towards the east, following the road by the Lake ofConstance, Inspruck, and Saltzbourg, to Vienna; but several of our partywere so young when we were in Switzerland, in 1828, that it seemedungracious to refuse them this favourable opportunity to carry awaylasting impressions of a region that has no parallel. It was, therefore, settled before we slept, again to penetrate the cantons next morning. 

I heard the drum-like sound of the inn once more with greatsatisfaction; for although the house, judging from the coronets andarmorial bearings about it, had once been the abode of a count, it wasnot free from the peculiar echoes of a true Swiss tenement, any morethan it was free from its neatness. The drum, however, did not preventus all from sleeping soundly, and after an early breakfast we went forthon this new pilgrimage to the mountains. 

There was an end to posting, no relays existing in this part ofSwitzerland, and I had been compelled to confide in the honesty of anunknown _voiturier_; a class of men who are pre-eminently subject to thelong-established frailty of all who _deal_ in horses, wines, lamp-oil, and religion. Leaving this functionary to follow with the carriage, wewalked along the banks of the river, by a common-place and dirty road, among forges and mills, to the cataract of the Rhine. What accessoriesto a cataract! How long will it be before the imagination of a peoplewho are so fast getting to measure all greatness, whether in nature orart, by the yard-stick, will think of those embellishments for Niagara?Fortunately the powers of men are not equal to their wishes and a millby the side of this wonder of the world will be a mill still; whereasthese falls of the Rhine are nearly reduced to the level of a raceway, by the spirit of industry. We were less struck with them than ever, andleft the place with the conviction that, aided by a few _suitable_embellishments, they would have been among the prettiest of the prettycascades that we know, but that, as matters go, they are in danger ofsoon losing the best part of their charms. We saw no reason, in thisinstance, to change the impressions made at the former visit, but think, the volume of water excepted, that Switzerland has cascades that outdothis cataract. 

After following the course of the river, for a few miles, we met thestream, buried low in the earth, at one of its sudden bends, and, descending a sharp declivity, crossed to its left bank, and into theCanton of Zurich. We were taken by surprise, by this sudden rencontre, and could hardly believe it was the mighty Rhine, whose dark waters werehurrying beneath us, as we passed a covered bridge of merely a hundredor two feet in length. One meets with a hundred streams equal to this inwidth, while travelling in America, though it is rare to find oneanywhere with the same majesty of motion, and of its fine cerulean tint. 

We had travelled an hour or two towards Zurich, before our eyes weregreeted with the sight of peaks capped with snow. They looked like thefaces of old acquaintances, and, distance depriving them of theirseverity, they now shone in a mild sublimity. We were all walking ahead, while the horses were eating, when these noble objects came into theview, and, preceding the rest a little, I involuntarily shouted withexultation, as, turning a knoll, they stood ranged along the horizon. The rest of the party hurried on, and it was like a meeting of dearfriends, to see those godlike piles encircling the visible earth. 

The country through which we travelled, was the low land of which I haveso often spoken, nor was it particularly beautiful or well cultivateduntil we drew near the capital, when it assumed the polished look of theenvirons of a large town; and the approach to Zurich, on this side, though less romantic perhaps, wanting the lake and mountains, wethought, if anything, was more beautiful than that by which we had comein 1828. 

We were much gratified with the appearance of Zurich; more even than inour former visit, and not the less so at finding it unusually empty. Theagitated state of Europe, particularly of England, has kept the usualclass of travellers at home, though the cantons are said to be prettywell sprinkled with Carlists, who are accused of assembling here loplot. M. De Châteaubriand is in the same hotel as ourselves, but it hasnever been my fortune to see this distinguished writer to know him, evenaccidentally; although I afterwards learned that, on one occasion, I hadsat for two hours on a bench immediately before him, at a meeting of theFrench Academy. My luck was no better now, for he went away unseen, anhour after we arrived. Some imagine themselves privileged to intrude ona celebrity, thinking that those men will pardon the inconvenience forthe flattery, but I do not subscribe to this opinion: I believe thatnothing palls sooner than notoriety, and that nothing is more gratefulto those who have suffered under it, than retirement. 

By a singular concurrence, we were at Zurich the second time on Sunday, and almost on the same day of the year. In 1828, we drove along thelake-shore, August 30th, and we now left Zurich, for the same purpose, August 28th, after an interval of four years. The same objects wereassembled, under precisely the same circumstances: the lake was coveredwith boats, whose tall sails drooped in pure laziness; the solemn bellsstartled the melancholy echoes, and the population was abroad, now asthen, in holiday guise, or crowding the churches. The only perceptiblechanges in the scene were produced by the change in our own direction. Then we looked towards the foot of the lake, and had its village-linedshores before us, and the country that melts away towards the Rhine fora back-ground; while now, after passing the objects in the near view, the sight rested on the confused and mysterious mountains of Glaris. 

We took our _goûter_ at the _Paon_, and, unwilling to cross the bridgein the carriage, we all preceded it through the crowded streets ofRapperschwyl, leaving the _voiturier_ to follow at his leisure. We werejust half an hour on this bridge, which appeared as ticklish as ever, though not so much as to stifle the desire of P---- to see how near itsedge he could walk. When we entered Schweitz, the carriage overtook us, and we drove to the foot of the mountain which it is necessary to ascendto reach Einsiedeln. Here we took _chevaux de renfort_, and areinforcement they proved indeed; for I do not remember two nobleranimals than the _voiturier_ obtained for the occasion. They appeared tobe moulded on the same scale as the mountains. We were much amused bythe fellow's management, for he contrived to check his own cattle insuch a way as to throw all the work on the recruits. This was noteffected without suspicion; but he contrived to allay it, by giving hisown beasts sundry punches in the sides, so adroitly bestowed as torender them too restive to work. By way of triumph, each poke wasaccompanied by a knowing leer at François, all whose sympathies, atribute to his extraction, I have had frequent opportunities ofobserving, to my cost, were invariably on the side of the _voituriers_. So evident, indeed, was this feeling in the gentleman, that had I beenaccustomed to travel much by this mode, I should not have kept him amonth. 

It was a mild evening as we travelled our way up this formidable ascent, which is one of the severest in Switzerland, and we had loitered so muchalong the shores of the lake, as to bring us materially behind our time. Still it was too late to return, and we made the best of things as theywere. It is always more pleasant to ascend than to descend, for thepurposes of scenery; and, as picture after picture broke upon us, theold touzy-mouzy was awakened, until we once more felt ourselves in aperfect fever of mountain excitement. In consequence of diverging by afoot-path, towards the east, in descending this mountain, in 1828, I hadmissed one of the finest reaches of its different views, but which wenow enjoyed under the most favourable circumstances. The entireconverging crescent of the north shore of the lake, studded with whitechurches, hamlets, and cottages, was visible, and as the evening suncast its mild light athwart the crowded and affluent landscape, weinvoluntarily exclaimed, "that this even equalled the Neapolitan coastin the twilight. " The manner in which the obscurity settled on thispicture, slowly swallowing up tower after tower, hamlet, cottage, andfield, until the blue expanse of the lake alone reflected the light fromthe clouds, was indescribably beautiful, and was one of those fineeffects that can only be produced amid a nature as grand as that of theAlps. 

It was dark when we reached the inn at the summit; but it was notpossible to remain there, for it had room for little more thankirschwasser. The night came on dark and menacing, and for near twohours we crawled up and down the sharp ascents and descents, and, tomake the matter worse, it began to rain. This was a suitable approach tothe abodes of monastic votaries, and I had just made the remark, whenthe carriage stopped before the door of my old inn, the Ox, atEinsiedeln. It was near ten, and we ordered a cup of tea and bedsimmediately. 

The next morning we visited the church and the convent. The firstpresented a tame picture, compared to that I had witnessed in the formervisit, for there was not a pilgrim present; the past year it had beencrowded. There were, however, a few groups of the villagers kneeling atthe shrine, or at the different altars, to aid the picturesque. Weascended into the upper part of the edifice, and walked in those narrowgalleries through which I had formerly seen the Benedictines stalking instealthy watchfulness, looking down at the devotees beneath. I wasadmitted to the cloisters, cells, library, &c. , but my companions wereexcluded as a matter of course. It is merely a spacious German convent, very neat, and a little _barnish_. A recent publication caused me tosmile involuntarily once or twice, as the good father turned over thecuriosities of the library, and expatiated on the history and objects ofhis community; but the book in question had evidently not yet, if indeedit will ever reach this remote spot. 

We had a little difficulty here in getting along with the French; andour German (in which, by the way, some of the party are rather expert)had been acquired in Saxony, and was taken for base coin here. Theinnkeeper was an attentive host, and wished to express every thing thatwas kind and attentive; all of which he succeeded in doing wonderfullywell, by a constant use of the two words, "_par exemple_. " As a specimenof his skill, I asked him if an extra horse could be had at Einsiedeln, and his answer was, "_Par exemple, monsieur; par exemple, oui;c'est-à-dire, par exemple_. " So we took the other horse, _par exemple_, and proceeded. 

Our road carried us directly across the meadows that had been formed inthe lake of Lowertz, by the fall of the Rossberg. When on them, theyappeared even larger than when seen from the adjacent mountain; they arequite uneven, and bear a coarse wiry grass, though there are a few rockson their surface. Crossing the ruin of Goldau, we passed on a trot fromthe desolation around it, into the beautiful scenery of Arth. Here wedined and witnessed another monastic flirtation. 

After dinner we drove along the shores of the lake of Zug, windingdirectly round the base of the cone of the Righi, or immediately beneaththe point where the traveller gets the sublime view of which you havealready heard. This was one of the pleasantest bits of road we had thenseen in Switzerland. The water was quite near us on the right, and wewere absolutely shut in on the left by the precipitous mountain, untilhaving doubled it, we came out upon an arm of the lake of Lucerne, atKüsnacht, to which place we descended by the _chemin creux_. Nightovertook us again while crossing the beautiful ridge of land thatseparates the bay of Küsnacht from the foot of the lake, but the roadbeing excellent, we trotted on in security until we alighted, at nineo'clock, in the city of Lucerne. 

The weather appearing unusually fine the next day, François was orderedround to Berne with the carriage and luggage, and we engaged a guideand took a boat for Alpnach. At eleven we embarked and pulled up underlovely verdant banks, which are occupied by villas, till we reached thearm of the lake that stretches towards the south-west. Here a fairbreeze struck us, and making sail, away we went, skimming before it, atthe rate of eight miles an hour. Once or twice the wind came with apower that showed how necessary it is to be cautious on a water that isbounded by so many precipitous rocks. We passed the solitary tower ofStanztad on the wing, and reached Alpnach in less than two hours afterembarking. 

Here we took two of the little vehicles of the country and went on. Theroad carried us through Sarnen, where my companions, who had neverbefore visited the Unterwaldens, stopped to see the lions. I shall notgo over these details with you again, but press on towards ourresting-place for the night. On reaching the foot of the rocks whichform the natural dam that upholds the lake of Lungern, P---- and myselfalighted and walked ahead. The ascent being short, we made so muchprogress as to reach the upper end of the little sheet, a distance ofnear a league, before we were overtaken by the others; and when we didmeet, it was amid general exclamations of delight at the ravishingbeauties of the place. I cannot recall sensations of purer pleasureproduced by any scenery, than those I felt myself on this occasion, andin which all around me appeared to participate. 

Our pleasures, tastes, and even our judgments are so much affected bythe circumstances under which they are called into action, that one hasneed of diffidence on the subject of their infallibility, if it be onlyto protect himself from the imputation of inconsistency. I was pleasedwith the Lake of Lungern in 1828, but the term is not strong enough forthe gratification it gave me on this return to it. Perhaps the day, thepeculiar play of light and shade, a buoyancy of spirits, or someauxiliary causes, may have contributed to produce this state of mind;or it is possible that the views were really improved by changing thedirection of the route; as all connoisseurs in scenery know that theHudson is much finer when descending than when ascending its stream; butlet the cause be what it might, had I then been asked what particularspot in Europe had given me most delight, by the perfection of itsnatural beauties, taken in connexion with its artificial accessories, Ishould have answered that it was the shores of the lake of Lungern. Nor, as I have told you, was I alone in this feeling, for one and all, bigand little, --in short, the whole party joined in pronouncing the entirelandscape absolutely exquisite. Any insignificant change, a trifle moreor less of humidity in the atmosphere, the absence or the interventionof a few clouds, a different hour or a different frame of mind, may havediminished our pleasure, for these are enjoyments which, like theflavour of delicate wines, or the melody of sweet music, are deranged bythe condition of the nerves, or a want of harmony, in the chords. 

After this explanation you will feel how difficult it will be todescribe the causes of our delight. The leading features of thelandscape, however, were a road that ran along the shore beneath aforest, within ten feet of the water, winding, losing itself, andre-appearing with the sinuosities of the bank; water, limpid as air andblue as the void of the heavens, unruffled and even holy in its aspect, as if it reflected the pure space above; a mountain-side, on theopposite shore, that was high enough to require study to draw objectsfrom its bosom, on the distant heights, and yet near enough below, toseem to be within an arrow's flight; meadows shorn like lawns, scatteredover its broad breast; woods of larches, to cast their gloom athwart theglades and to deepen the shadows; brown chalets that seemed to rise outof the sward, at the bidding of the eye; and here and there a cottagepoised on a giddy height, with a chapel or two to throw a religious calmover all! There was nothing ambitious in this view, which was rural inevery feature, but it was the very _bean idéal_ of rustic beauty, andwithout a single visible blemish to weaken its effect. It was some suchpicture of natural objects as is formed of love by a confiding andingenuous youth of fifteen. 

We passed the night in the _drum_ of Lungern, and found it raining hardwhen we rose the following morning. The water soon ceased to fall intorrents, however, changing to a drizzle, at which time the valley, clouded in mists in constant motion, was even more beautiful than ever. So perfect, were the accessories, so minute was everything rendered bythe mighty scale, so even was the grass and so pure the verdure thatbits of the mountain pasturages, or Alps, coming into view through theopenings in the vapour, appeared like highly-finished Flemish paintings;and this the more so, because all the grouping of objects, the chalets, cottages, &c. Were exactly those that the artist would seize upon toembellish his own work. Indeed, we have daily, hourly, occasions toobserve how largely the dealers in the picturesque have drawn upon theresources of this extraordinary country, whether the pallet, or poetryin some other form, has been the medium of conveying pleasure. 

The _garçon_ of the inn pointed to some mist that was rolling along aparticular mountain, and said it was the infallible barometer ofLungern. We might be certain of getting fair weather within an hour. Areal barometer corroborated the testimony of the mist, but the changewas slower than had been predicted; and we began to tire of so gloriousa picture, under an impatience to proceed, for one does not like toswallow pleasure even, perforce. 

At ten we were able to quit the inn, one half of the party taking thebridle-path, attended by two horse-keepers, while the rest of us, choosing to use our own limbs, were led by the guide up the mountains bya shorter cut, on foot. The view from the Brunig was not as fine as Ihad round it in 1828, perhaps because I was then taken completely bysurprise, and perhaps because ignorance of the distant objects had thenthrown the charm of mystery over its back-ground. We now saw the scenein detail, too, while mounting; for, though it is better to ascend thandescend, the finest effects are produced by obtaining the whole at once. 

We joined the equestrians on the summit, where the horses weredischarged, and we proceeded the remainder of the distance on foot. Wesoon met the Bear of Berne, and entered the great canton. The view ofthe valley of Meyringen, and of the cataracts, greeted us like an oldfriend; and the walk, by a path which wound its way through the bushes, and impended over this beautiful panorama, was of course delightful. Atlength we caught a glimpse of the lake of Brientz, and hurrying on, reached the village before two. 

Here we ordered a _goûter_, and, while taking it, the first Englishparty we had yet seen, entered the inn, as we were all seated at thesame table. The company consisted of this English party, ourselves, anda solitary Frenchman, who eyed us keenly, but said nothing. It soonappeared that some great political crisis was at hand, for theEnglishman began to cry out against the growing democracy of thecantons. I did not understand all his allusions, nor do I think he hadvery clear notions about them himself, for he wound up one of hisdenunciatory appeals, by the old cant, of "instead of one tyrant theywill now have many;" which is a sort of reasoning that is notparticularly applicable to the overturning of aristocracy anywhere. Itis really melancholy to perceive how few men are capable of reasoning orfeeling on political subjects, in any other way than that which isthought most to subserve their own particular interests and selfishness. Did we not know that the real object of human institutions is torestrain human tendencies, one would be almost disposed to give up thepoint in despair; for I do affirm, that in all my associations indifferent countries, I do not recollect more than a dozen men who haveappeared to me to entertain right notions on this subject, or who haveseemed capable of appreciating the importance of any changes that werenot likely materially to affect their own pockets. 

The Frenchman heard us speaking in his own language, which we did with aview of drawing John Bull out, and he asked a passage in the boat I hadordered, as far as Interlachen. Conditioning that he should make the_détour_ to the Giesbach, his application was admitted, and we proceededforthwith. This was the fourth time I had crossed the lake of Brientz, but the first in which I visited the justly celebrated falls, towardswhich we now steered on quitting the shore. 

Our companion proved to be a merry fellow, and well disposed to work hispassage by his wit. I have long been cured of the notion "that the nameof an American is a passport all over Europe, " and have learned tounderstand in its place, that, on the contrary, it is thought to be_prima facie_ evidence of vulgarity, ignorance, and conceit; nor do Ithink that the French, as a nation, have any particular regard for us;but knowing the inherent dislike of a Frenchman for an Englishman, andthat the new-fangled fraternity, arising out of the trading-principlegovernment, only renders, to a disinterested looker on, the oldantipathies more apparent, I made an occasion, indirectly, to let ournew associate understand that we came from the other side of theAtlantic. This produced an instantaneous change in his manner, and itwas now that he began to favour us with specimens of his humour. Notwithstanding all this facetiousness, I soon felt suspicion that theman was an _employé_ of the Carlists, and that his business inSwitzerland was connected with political plots. He betrayed himself, atthe very moment when he was most anxious to make us think him a mereamateur of scenery: I cannot tell you how, but still so clearly, as tostrike all of us, precisely in the same way. 

The Giesbach is a succession of falls, whose water comes from aglacier, and which are produced by the sinuosities of the leaps andinclined planes of a mountain side, aided by rocks and precipices. It isvery beautiful, and may well rank as the third or fourth cascade ofSwitzerland, for variety, volume of water, and general effect. A familyhas established itself among the rocks, to pick up a penny by makingboxes of larch, and singing the different _ranz des raches_. Yourmountain music does not do so well, when it has an air so seriouslypremeditated, and one soon gels to be a little _blasé_ on the subject ofentertainments of this sort, which can only succeed once, and then withthe novice. Alas! I have actually stood before the entrance of thecathedral at Rouen, and the strongest feeling of the moment was that ofsurprise at the manner in which my nerves had thrilled, when it wasfirst seen. I do not believe that childhood, with its unsophisticationand freshness, affords the greatest pleasures, for every hour tells mehow much reason and cultivation enhance our enjoyments; but there arecertainly gratifications that can be felt but once; and if an opera ofRossini or Meyerbeer grows on us at each representation, or a fine poemimproves on acquaintance, the singing of your Swiss nightingales issweeter in its first notes than in its second. 

After spending an hour at the Giesbach, we rowed along the eastern, orrather the southern, shore of the lake to Interlachen. The sight of theblue Aar revived old recollections, and we landed on its banks withinfinite pleasure. Here a few civil speeches passed between the merryFrenchman and myself, when we separated, he disappearing altogether, andwe taking the way to the great lodging-house, which, like most of theother places of resort in Switzerland, was then nearly empty. TheGrand-duchess Anna, however, had come down from Ulfnau, her residence onthe Aar, for a tour in the Oberland, and was among the guests. We got aglimpse of her coming in from a drive, and she appeared to resemble herbrother the Duke, more than her brother the King. 

In the morning we drove up to Lauterbrunnen, and I am compelled to saythat so completely fickle had we become, that I believe all who had seenthis valley before, pronounced it less beautiful than that of Lungern. By the way of proving to you how capricious a thing is taste, I likedthe Staubbach better than in the former visit. We did not attempt themountains this time, but drove round in our _chars_ to Grindewald, wherewe dined and slept. Either a new approach, or improved tastes, or someother cause, wrought another change here; for we now preferredGrindewald to Lauterbrunnen, as a valley. The vulgar astonishment wasgone, and our eyes sought details with critical nicety. We went to thelower glacier, whose form had not materially changed in four years, andwe had fine views of both of them from the windows of the inn. There wasa young moon, and I walked out to watch the effect on the high glaciers, which were rendered even more than usually unearthly in appearance, under its clear bland light. These changes of circumstances strangelyincrease the glories of the mountains!

We left Grindewald quite early next morning, and proceeded towardsNeuhaus. The road led us through a scene of desolation that had beencaused by a rising of the waters in 1830, and we examined thedevastation with the more interest, as some of our acquaintances hadnearly perished in the torrent. 

The family in question were residing temporarily at Interlachen, whentwo of the ladies with a child, attended by a black servant, drove upthe gorge of Lauterbrunnen for an airing. They were overtaken by atempest of rain, and by the torrent, which rose so rapidly as to cut offall retreat, except by ascending the precipice, which to the eye isnearly perpendicular. There is, however, a hamlet on one of the terracesof the mountain, and thither the servant was despatched for succour. Thehonest peasants at first believed he was a demon, on account of hiscolour, and it was not without difficulty they were persuaded to followhim. The ladies eventually escaped up the rocks; but our coachman, whohad acted as the coachman on that occasion, assured us it was with theutmost difficulty he saved his horse. 

This accident, which was neither a _sac d'eau_ nor an avalanche, givesone a good idea of the sudden dangers to which the traveller is liable, in the midst of a nature so stupendous. A large part of the beautifulmeadows of Interlachen was laid desolate, and the calamity was so suddenthat it overtook two young and delicate females in their morning drive!

We drove directly to the little port at Neuhaus, and took a boat forThoun, pulling cut into the lake, with a fresh breeze directly in ourteeth. The picturesque little chateau of Spietz stood on its greenpromontory, and all the various objects that we had formerly gazed atwith so much pleasure, were there, fresh, peculiar, and attractive asever. At length, after a heavy pull, we were swept within the current ofthe Aar, which soon bore us to the landing. 

At Thoun we breakfasted, and, taking a return carriage, trotted up toBerne, by the valley of which you have already heard so much. Françoiswas in waiting for us, and we got comfortable rooms at the Crown. 

Our tastes are certainly altering, whether there be any improvement ornot. We are beginning to feel it is vulgar to be astonished, and even inscenery, I think we rather look for the features that fill up thekeeping, and make the finish, than those which excite wonder. We haveseen too much to be any longer taken in, by your natural clap-traps; astep in advance, that I attribute to a long residence in Italy, acountry in which the sublime is so exquisitely blended with the soft, asto create a taste which tells us they ought to be inseparable. 

In this little excursion to the Oberland, while many, perhaps most, ofour old impressions are confirmed, its relative beauties have notappeared to be entitled to as high praises as we should have giventhem, had they not been seen a second time. We had fine weather, wereall in good spirits and happy, and the impression being so general, I aminclined to think, it is no more than the natural effect which isproduced by more experience and greater knowledge. I now speak of thevalleys, however, for the high Alps are as superior to the caprices oftaste, as their magnificent dimensions and faultless outline are beyondchange. 

LETTER XVI. 

Conspiracy discovered. --The Austrian Government and the FrenchCarlists. --Walk to La Lorraine. --Our old friend "Turc. "--Conversationwith M. W----. --View of the Upper Alps. --Jerome Bonaparte at LaLorraine. --The Bears of Berne. --Scene on the Plateforme. 

Dear ----, Soon after we reached Berne, François came to me in a mysterious manner, to inquire if I had heard any news of importance. I had heard nothing;and he then told me that many arrests had just taken place, and that aconspiracy of the old aristocracy had been discovered, which had acounter-revolution for its object. I say a counter-revolution, for youought to have heard that great political changes have occurred inSwitzerland since 1830, France always giving an impulse to the cantons. Democracy is in the ascendant, and divers old opinions, laws, andinstitutions have been the sacrifice. This, in the land of theBurgerschaft, has necessarily involved great changes, and the threatenedplot is supposed to be an effort of the old privileged party to regaintheir power. As François, notwithstanding he has seen divers charges ofcavalry against the people, and has witnessed two or three revolutions, is not very clear-headed in such matters, I walked out immediately toseek information from rather better authority. 

The result of my inquiries was briefly as follows:--Neufchâtel, whoseprince is the King of Prussia, has receded from the confederation, onaccount of the recent changes, and the leaders of the aristocratic partywere accused of combining a plan, under the protection and with theknowledge of the authorities of this state, to produce acounter-revolution in Berne, well knowing the influence of this cantonin the confederation. This very day is said to be the one selected forthe effort, and rumour adds, that a large body of the peasants of theOberland were to have crossed the Brunig yesterday, with a view toco-operate in other sections of the country. A merry company we shouldhave been, had it been our luck to have fallen in with this escort! Now, rightfully or not, the Austrian government and the French Carlists areopenly accused of being concerned in this conspiracy, and probably notwithout some cause. The suspicions excited concerning ourfellow-traveller, through his own acts, recurred to me, and I now thinkit probable he was in waiting for the aforesaid peasants, most probablyto give them a military direction, for he had the air and _franchise_ ofan old French soldier. The plot had been betrayed; some were alreadyarrested, and some had taken refuge in flight. The town was tranquil, but the guards were strengthened, and the popular party was actively onthe alert. 

The next morning we went forth to look once more at picturesque, cloistered, verdant Berne. Nothing appeared to be changed, though thestrangers were but few, and there was, perhaps, less movement thanformerly. We crossed the Aar, and walked to La Lorraine. As we weregoing through the fields, several dogs rushed out against us; but whenP---- called out "_Turc_" the noble animal appeared to know him, and wewere permitted to proceed, escorted, rather than troubled, by the wholepack. This was a good omen, and it was grateful to be remembered, byeven a dog, after an absence of four years. 

We found the same family in possession of the farm, though on the pointof removing to another place. Our reception in the house was still morecordial than that given by Turk, and our gratitude in proportion. Theold abode was empty, and we walked over it with feelings in which painand pleasure were mingled; for poor W----, who was with us, full ofyouth and spirits, when we resided here, is now a tenant of PèreLachaise. When we went away, all the dogs, with Turk at their head, escorted us to the ferry, where they stood looking wistfully at us fromthe bank, until we landed in Berne. 

Soon after, I met M. W---- in the streets, and, as he had not been athome, I greeted him, inviting him to dine with us at the Crown. Thepresent aspect of things was of course touched upon during the dinner, when the worthy member of the Burgerschaft lamented the changes, in amanner becoming his own opinions, while I rejoiced in them, in a mannerbecoming mine. He asked me if I really thought that men who were totallyinexperienced in the affairs of government could conduct mattersproperly, --an old and favourite appeal with the disciples of politicalexclusion. I endeavoured to persuade him that the art of administeringwas no great art; that there was more danger of rulers knowing _toomuch_ than of their knowing _too little_, old soldiers proverbiallytaking better care of themselves than young soldiers; that he must notexpect too much, for they that know the practices of free governments, well know it is hopeless to think of keeping pure and disinterested menlong in office, even as men go, there being a corrupting influence aboutthe very exercise of power that forbids the hope; and that all whichshrewd observers look for in popular institutions is a greater checkthan common on the selfishness of those to whom authority is confided. Itold him the man who courts popular favour in a republic, would court aprince in a monarchy, the elements of a demagogue and a courtier beingexactly the same; and that, under either system, except in extraordinaryinstances, it was useless to attempt excluding such men from authority, since their selfishness was more active than the feelings of thedisinterested; that, in our own case, so long as the impetus of therevolution and the influence of great events lasted, we had great men inthe ascendant, but, now that matters were jogging on regularly, andunder their common-place aspects, we were obliged to take up with merelyclever managers; that one of the wisest men that had ever lived (Bacon)had said, that "few men rise to power in a state, without a union of_great_ and _mean_ qualities, " and that this was probably as true atBerne as it is at Washington, and as true at Paris as at either; thatthe old system in his country savoured too much of the policy of givingthe milk of two cows to one calf, and that he must remember it was asystem that made very bad as well as very good veal, whereas forordinary purposes it was better to have the same quantity of merely goodveal; and, in short, that he himself would soon be surprised atdiscovering how soon the new rulers would acquire all the useful habitsof their predecessors, and I advised him to look out that they did notacquire some of their bad ones too. 

I never flattered myself with producing a change of opinion in thecaptain, who always listened politely, but with just such an air ofcredulity as you might suppose one born to the benefits of theBurgerschaft, and who had got to be fifty, would listen to a dead attackon all his most cherished prejudices. 

The next day was Sunday, and we still lingered in our comfortablequarters at the Crown. I walked on the Plateforme before breakfast, andgot another of those admirable views of the Upper Alps, which, notwithstanding the great beauty of its position and immediate environs, form the principal attraction of Berne. The peaks were draped ratherthan veiled in clouds, and it was not easy to say which was the mostbrilliant, the snow-white vapour that adorned their sides, or the icyglaciers themselves. Still they were distinct from each other, formingsome such contrast as that which exists between the raised and sunkenparts on the faces of new coin. 

We went to church and listened to some excellent German, after which wepaid our last visit to La Lorraine. This house had been hired by KingJerome for a short time, after his exile in 1814, his brother Josephoccupying a neighbouring residence. The W----s told me that Jeromearrived, accompanied by his amiable wife, like a king, with horses, chamberlains, pages, and all the other appliances of royalty, and thatit was curious, as well as painful, to witness how fast these followersdropped off, as the fate of the family appeared to be settled. Fewbesides the horses remained at the end of ten days!

On our return from this visit we went in a body to pay our respect toour old friends, the bears. I believe you have already been told thatthe city of Berne maintains four bears in certain deep pens, where it isthe practice to feed them with nuts, cakes, apples, etc. , according tothe liberality and humour of the visitor. The usage is very ancient, andhas some connexion with a tradition that has given its name to thecanton. A bear is also the arms of the state. One of these animals is amodel of grace, waddling about on his hind legs like an alderman in aball-room. You may imagine that P---- was excessively delighted at thesight of these old friends. The Bernese have an engraving of thegraceful bear in his upright attitude; and the stove of our salon at theCrown, which is of painted tile, among a goodly assemblage of gods andgoddesses, includes Bruin as one of its ornaments. 

François made his appearance after dinner, accompanied by his friend, _le petit Savoyard_, who had arrived from Frankfort, and came once moreto offer his services to conduct us to Lapland, should it be ourpleasure to travel in that direction. It would have been ungracious torefuse so constant a suitor, and he was ordered to be in attendance nextmorning, to proceed towards the lake of Geneva. 

In the evening we went on the Plateforme to witness the sunset, but themountains were concealed by clouds. The place was crowded, andrefreshments were selling in little pavilions erected for the purpose. We are the only Protestants who are such rigid observers of the Sabbath, the Scotch perhaps excepted. In England there is much less restraintthan in America, and on the Continent the Protestants, though less gaythan the Catholics, very generally consider it a day of recreation, after the services of the church are ended. I have heard some of themmaintain that we have misinterpreted the meaning of the word holy, whichobtains its true signification in the term holiday. I have never heardany one go so far, however, as Hannah Moore says was the case withHorace Walpole, who contended that the ten commandments were not meantfor people of quality. No one whose mind and habits have got extricatedfrom the fogs of provincial prejudices, will deny that we have manyodious moral deformities in America, that appear in the garb ofreligious discipline and even religious doctrine, but which are no morethan the offspring of sectarian fanaticism, and which, in fact, byannihilating charity, are so many blows given to the essential featureof Christianity; but, apart from these, I still lean to the opinion thatwe are quite as near the great truths as any other people extant. 

Mr. ----, the English _chargé d'affaires_, whom I had known slightly atParis, and Mr. ----, who had once belonged to the English legation inWashington, were on the Plateforme. The latter told me that Carroll ofCarrolton was dead; that he had been dead a year, and that he hadwritten letters of condolence on the occasion. I assured him that theold gentleman was alive on the 4th July last, for I had seen one of hisletters in the public journals. Here was a capital windfall for aregular _diplomate_, who now, clearly, had nothing to do but to hurryhome and write letters of felicitation!

The late changes in England have produced more than the usual mutationsin her diplomatic corps, which, under ordinary circumstances, importanttrusts excepted, has hitherto been considered at the disposal of anyminister. In America we make it matter of reproach that men aredismissed from office on account of their political opinions, and it isusual to cite England as an example of greater liberality. All this issingularly unjust, because in its spirit, like nine-tenths of ourpopular notions of England, it is singularly untrue. The changes ofministry, which merely involve the changes incident on taking power fromone clique of the aristocracy to give it to another, have not hithertoinvolved questions of sufficient importance to render it matter ofmoment to purge all the lists of the disaffected; but since the recentserious struggles we have seen changes that do not occur even inAmerica. Every Tory, for instance, is ousted from the legations, if weexcept nameless subordinates. The same purification is going onelsewhere, though the English system does not so much insist on thechanges of _employés_, as that the _employés_ themselves should changetheir opinions. How long would an English tide-waiter, for instance, keep his place should he vote against the ministerial candidate? Iapprehend these things depend on a common principle (_i. E_. Self-interest) everywhere, and that it makes little difference, insubstance, what the form of government may happen to be. 

But of all the charges that have been brought against us, thecomparative instability of the public favour, supposed to be aconsequence of fluctuations in the popular will, is the most audacious, for it is contradicted by the example of every royal government inChristendom. Since the formation of the present American constitution, there have been but two changes of administration, that have involvedchanges of principles, or changes in popular will;--that which placedMr. Jefferson in the seat of Mr. Adams, senior, and that which placedMr. Jackson in the seat of Mr. Adams, junior: whereas, during the shortperiod of my visit to Europe, I have witnessed six or seven absolutechanges of the English ministry, and more than twenty in France, besidesone revolution. Liberty has been, hitherto, in the situation of the lionwhose picture was drawn by a man, but which there was reason to thinkwould receive more favourable touches, when the lion himself should takeup the pallet. 

LETTER XVII. 

Our Voiturier and his Horses. --A Swiss Diligence. --Morat. --Inconstancyof feeling. --Our Route to Vévey. --Lake Leman. --Difficulty in hiring aHouse. --"Mon Repos" engaged for a mouth. --Vévey. --Tne great Square--TheTown-house. --Environs of Vévey. --Summer Church and WinterChurch. --Clergy of the Canton. --Population of Vaud. --Electivequalifications of Vaud. 

Dear ----, Le Petit Savoyard was punctual, and after breakfasting, away we rolled, along the even and beaten road towards Morat. This man and his team wereepitomes of the _voiturier_ caste and their fixtures. He himself was afirm, sun-burned, compact little fellow, just suited to ride a wheeler, while the horses were sinewy, and so lean, that there was no mistakingtheir vocation. Every bone in their bodies spoke of the weight of_miladi_, and her heavy English travelling chariot, and I really thoughtthey seemed to be glad to get a whole American family in place of anEnglishwoman and her maid. The morning was fine, and our last look atthe Oberland peaks was sunny and pleasant. There they stood rangedalong the horizon, like sentinels (not lighthouses) of the skies, severe, chiseled, brilliant, and grand. 

Another travelling equipage of the gregarious kind, or in which thecarriage as well as the horses was the property of the _voiturier_, andthe passengers mere _pic-nics_, was before us in ascending a long hill, affording an excellent opportunity to dissect the whole party. As it isa specimen of the groups one constantly meets on the road, I will giveyou some idea of the component parts. 

The _voiturier_ was merely a larger brother of _le petit Savoyard_, andhis horses, three in number, were walking bundles of chopped straw. Thecarriage was spacious, and I dare say convenient, though anything butbeautiful. On the top there was a rail, within which effects were stowedbeneath an apron, leaving an outline not unlike the ridges of the Alps. The merry rogues within had chosen to take room to themselves, and not apackage of any sort encumbered their movements. And here I will remark, that America, free and independent, is the only country in which I haveever journeyed, where the comfort and convenience in the vehicle is thefirst thing considered, that of the baggage the next, and that of thepassengers the last. [32] Fortunately for the horses, there were but fourpassengers, though the vehicle could have carried eight. One, by hislittle green cap, with a misshapen shade for the eyes; light, shaggy, uncombed hair; square high shoulders; a coat that appeared to behalf-male half-female; pipe and pouch--was undeniably a German student, who was travelling south to finish his metaphysics with a few practicalnotions of men and things. A second was a Jew, who had trade in everylineament, and who belonged so much to _the_ nation, that I could notgive him to any other nation in particular. He was older, more wary, less joyous, and probably much more experienced, than either of hiscompanions. When they laughed, he only smiled; when they sang, hehummed; and when they seemed thoughtful, he grew sad. I could makenothing out of him, except that he ran a thorough bass to the higherpitches of his companions' humours. The third was Italian "for a ducat. "A thick, bushy, glossy, curling head of hair was covered by a littlescarlet cap, tossed negligently on one side, as if lodged there bychance; his eye was large, mellow, black as jet, and full of fun andfeeling; his teeth white as ivory; and the sun, the glorious sun, andthe thoughts of Italy, towards which he was travelling, had set all hisanimal spirits in motion. I caught a few words in bad French, whichsatisfied me that he and the German were jeering each other on theirrespective national peculiarities. Such is man; his egotism and vanityfirst centre in himself, and he is ready to defend himself against thereproofs of even his own mother; then his wife, his child, his brother, his friend is admitted, in succession, within the pale of his self-love, according to their affinities with the great centre of the system; andfinally he can so far expand his affections as to embrace his country, when that of another presents its pretensions in hostility. When thequestion arises, as between humanity and the beasts of the field, hegets to be a philanthropist!

[Footnote 32: The Americans are a singularly good-natured people, andprobably submit to more impositions, that are presented as appeals tothe spirit of accommodation, than any other people on earth. The writerhas frequently ridden miles in torture to _accommodate_ a trunk, and thesteam-boats manage matters so to _accommodate everybody_, that everybodyis put to inconvenience. All this is done, with the most indomitablekindness and good nature, on all sides, the people daily, nay hourlyexhibiting, in all their public relations, the truth of the axiom, "thatwhat is everybody's business, is nobody's business. "]

Morat, with its walls of Jericho, soon received us, and we drove to aninn, where chopped straw was ordered for the horses, and a moresubstantial _goûter_ for ourselves. Leaving the former to discuss theirmeal, after finishing our own, we walked ahead, and waited theappearance of the little Savoyard, on the scene of the great battlebetween the Swiss and the Burgundians. The country has undergone vastchanges since the fifteenth century, and cultivation has long sincecaused the marsh, in which so many of the latter perished, to disappear, though it is easy to see where it must have formerly been. I havenothing new to say concerning Avenche, whose Roman ruins, after Romeitself, scarce caused us to cast a glance at them, and we drove up tothe door of the _Ours_ at Payerne, without alighting. When we arechildren, we fancy that sweets can never cloy, and indignantly repel theidea that tarts and sugar-plums will become matters of indifference tous; a little later we swear eternal constancy to a first love, and formeverlasting friendships: as time slips away, we marry three or fourwives, shoot a bosom-friend or two, and forget the looks of those whoseimages were to be graven on our hearts for ever. You will wonder at thisdigression, which has been excited by the simple fact that I actuallycaught myself gaping, when something was said about Queen Bertha and hersaddle. The state of apathy to which one finally arrives is reallyfrightful!

We left Payerne early, and breakfasted at the "inevitable inn" ofMoudon. Here it was necessary to decide in what direction to steer, forI had left the charter-party with _le petit Savoyard_, open, on thisessential point. The weather was so fine, the season of the year sonearly the same, and most of the other circumstances so very much likethose under which we had made the enchanting passage along the head ofthe Leman four years before, that we yielded to the desire to renew thepleasures of such a transit, and turned our faces towards Vévey. 

At the point where the roads separate, therefore, we diverged from themain route, which properly leads to Lausanne, inclining southward. Wesoon were rolling along the margin of the little blue lake that lies onthe summit of the hills, so famous for its prawns. We knew that a fewminutes would bring us to the brow of the great declivity, and all eyeswere busy, and all heads eagerly in motion. As for myself, I took mystation on the dickey, determined to let nothing escape me in a scenethat I remembered with so much enduring delight. 

Contrary to the standing rule in such cases, the reality surpassedexpectation. Notwithstanding our long sojourn in Italy, and the greatvariety and magnificence of the scenery we had beheld, I believe therewas not a feeling of disappointment among us all. There lay the Leman, broad, blue, and tranquil; with its surface dotted by sails, or shadowedby grand mountains; its shores varying from the impending precipice, tothe sloping and verdant lawn; the solemn, mysterious, and glen-likevalley of the Rhone; the castles, towns, villages, hamlets, and towers, with all the smiling acclivities loaded with vines, villas, andchurches; the remoter pastures, out of which the brown chalets rose likesubdued bas-reliefs, and the back-ground of _dents_, peaks, andglaciers. Taking it altogether, it is one of the most ravishing views ofan earth that is only too lovely for its evil-minded tenants; a worldthat bears about it, in every lineament, the impression of its divineCreator!

One of our friends used to tell an anecdote of the black servant of avisitor at Niagara, who could express his delight, on seeing the falls, in no other way than by peals of laughter; and perhaps I ought tohesitate to confess it, but I actually imitated the Negro, as thisglorious view broke suddenly upon me. Mine, however, was a laugh oftriumph, for I instantly discovered that my feelings were not quite wornout, and that it was still possible to awaken enthusiasm within me, bythe sight of an admirable nature. 

Our first resolution was to pass a month in this beautiful region. Pointing to a building that stood a thousand feet below us, on a littlegrassy knoll that was washed by the lake, and which had the quaintappearance of a tiny chateau of the middle ages, we claimed it, at once, as the very spot suited for the temporary residence of yourscenery-hunters. We all agreed that nothing could possibly suit usbetter, and we went down the descent, among vineyards and cottages, notbuilding "castles in the air, " but peopling one in a valley. It wasdetermined to dwell in that house, if it could be had for love or money, or the thing was at all practicable. 

It was still early when we reached the inn in Vévey, and I was scarcelyon the ground, before I commenced the necessary inquiries about thelittle chateauish house. As is usual in some parts of Europe, I wasimmediately referred to a female commissionnaire, a sort of domesticbroker of all-work. This woman supplies travelling families with linen, and, at need, with plate; and she could greatly facilitate matters, byknowing where and to whom to apply for all that was required; animprovement in the division of labour that may cause you to smile, butwhich is extremely useful, and, on the whole, like all division oflabour, economical. 

The commissionnaire informed us that there were an unusual number offurnished houses to be let, in the neighbourhood, the recent politicalmovements having driven away their ordinary occupants, the English andRussians. Some of the proprietors, however, might object to theshortness of the time that we could propose for (a month), as it wascustomary to let the residences by the year. There was nothing liketrying, however, and, ordering dinner to be ready against our return, wetook a carriage and drove along the lake-shore as far as Clarens, sorenowned in the pages of Rousseau. I ought, however, to premise that Iwould not budge a foot, until the woman assured me, over and over, thatthe little antiquated edifice, under the mountain, which had actuallybeen a sort of chateau, was not at all habitable for a genteel family, but had degenerated to a mere coarse farm-house, which, in this country, like "love in a cottage, " does better in idea than in the reality. Wegave up our "castle under the hill" with reluctance, and proceeded toClarens, where a spacious, unshaded building, without a spark of poetryabout it, was first shown us. This was refused, incontinently. We thentried one or two more, until the shades of night overtook us. At oneplace the proprietor was chasing a cow through an orchard, and, probablya little heated with his exercise, he rudely repelled the application ofthe commissionnaire, by telling her, when he understood the house waswanted for only a month, that he did not keep a _maison garnie_. I couldnot affirm to the contrary, and we returned to the inn discomfited, forthe night. 

Early next morning the search was renewed with zeal. We climbed themountain-side, in the rear of the town, among vines, orchards, hamlets, terraces castles, and villas, to see one of the latter, which wasrefused on account of its remoteness from the lake. We then went to seea spot that was the very _beau idéal_ of an abode for people likeourselves, who were out in quest of the picturesque. It is called theChateau of Piel, a small hamlet, immediately on the shore of the lake, and quite near Vévey, while it is perfectly retired. The house isspacious, reasonably comfortable, and had some fine old towers builtinto the modern parts, a detached ruin, and a long narrow terrace, underthe windows, that overhung the blue Leman, and which faced the gloriousrocks of Savoy. Our application for their residence was also refused, onaccount of the shortness of the time we intended to remain. [33]

[Footnote 33: It is not easy for the writer to speak of many personalincidents, lest the motive might be mistaken, in a country where thereare so many always disposed to attach a base one if they can; but, it isso creditable to the advanced state of European civilization andintelligence, that, at any hazard, he will here say, that even his smallpretensions to literary reputation frequently were of great service tohim, and, in no instance, even in those countries whose prejudices behad openly opposed, had he any reason to believe it was of any personaldisadvantage. This feeling prevailed at the English custom-houses, atthe bureaux all over the Continent, and frequently even at the inns. Inone instance, in Italy, an apartment that had been denied, wassubsequently offered to him on his own terms, on this account; and, onthe present occasion, the proprietor of the Chateau de Piel, who residedat Geneva, sent a handsome expression of his regret that his agentshould have thought it necessary to deny the application of a gentlemanof his pursuits. Even the cow-chaser paid a similar homage to letters. In short, let the truth be said, the only country in which the writerhas found his pursuits a disadvantage, _is his own_. ]

We had in reserve, all this time, two or three regular _maisonsmeublées_ in the town itself, and finally took refuge in one called"Mon repos, " which stands quite near the lake, and in a retired cornerof the place. A cook was engaged forthwith, and in less than twenty-fourhours after entering Vévey, we had set up our household gods, and wereto be reckoned among them who boiled our pot in the commune. This wasnot quite as prompt as the proceedings had been at Spa; but here we hadbeen bothered by the picturesque, while at Spa we consulted nothing butcomfort. Our house was sufficiently large, perfectly clean, and, thoughwithout carpets or mats, things but little used in Switzerland, quite ascomfortable as was necessary for a travelling bivouac. The price wassixty dollars a month, including plate and linen. Of course it mighthave been got at a much lower rate, had we taken it by the year. 

One of the first measures, after getting possession of Mon Repos, was tosecure a boat. This was soon done, as there are several in constantattendance, at what is called the port. Harbour, strictly speaking, Vévey has none, though there is a commencement of a mole, which scarcelyserves to afford shelter to a skiff. The crafts in use on the lake arelarge two-masted boats, having decks much broader than their true beam, and which carry most of their freight above board. The sails arestrictly neither latine nor lug, but sufficiently like the former to bepicturesque, especially in the distance. These vessels are not requiredto make good weather, as they invariably run for the land when it blows, unless the wind happen to be fair, and sometimes even then. Nothing canbe more primitive than the outfit of one of these barks, and yet theyappear to meet the wants of the lake. Luckily Switzerland has nocustom-houses, and the King of Sardinia appears to be wise enough to letthe Savoyards enjoy nearly as much commercial liberty as theirneighbours. Three cantons, Geneva, which embraces its foot; Vaud, whichbounds nearly the whole of the northern shore; Valais, which encirclesthe head; together with Savoy, which lies along the cavity of thecrescent, are bounded by the lake. There are also many towns andvillages on the lake, among which Geneva, Lausanne, and Vévey are theprincipal. 

This place lies immediately at the foot of the Chardonne, a highretiring section of the mountains called the Jorat, and is completelysheltered from the north winds. This advantage it possesses in commonwith the whole district between Lausanne and Villeneuve, a distance ofsome fifteen miles, and, the mountains acting as great natural walls, the fruits of milder latitudes are successfully cultivated, notwithstanding the general elevation of the lake above the sea is nearthirteen hundred feet. Although a good deal frequented by strangers, Vévey is less a place of fashionable resort than Lausanne, and isconsequently much simpler in its habits, and I suppose cheaper, as aresidence. It may have four or five thousand inhabitants, and possessingone or two considerable squares, it covers rather more ground thanplaces of that population usually do, in Europe. It has no edifice ofmuch pretension, and yet it is not badly built. 

We passed the first three or four days in looking about us, and, on thewhole, we have been rather pleased with the place. Our house is but astone's throw from the water, at a point where there is what in theManhattanese dialect would be called a battery. [34] This _battery_ leadsto the mole and the great square. At the first corner of the latterstands a small semi-castellated edifice, with the colours of the cantonon the window-shutters, which is now in some way occupied for publicpurposes, and which formerly was the residence of the _bailli_, or thelocal governor that Berne formerly sent to rule them in the name of theBurgerschaft. The square is quite large, and usually contains certainpiles of boards, &c. That are destined for the foot of the lake, lumberbeing a material article in the commerce of the place. On this square, also, is the ordinary market and several inns. The town-house is anancient building in a more crowded quarter, and at the northern gate arethe remains of another structure that has an air of antiquity, which Ibelieve also belongs to the public. Beyond these and its glorious views, Vévey, in itself, has but little to attract attention. But its environscontain its sources of pride. Besides the lake-shore, which varies inits form and beauties, it is not easy to imagine a more charmingacclivity than that which lies behind the town. The inclination is by nomeans as great, just at this spot, at it is both farther east andfarther west, but it admits of cultivation, of sites for hamlets, and ismuch broken by inequalities and spacious natural terraces. I cannotspeak with certainty of the extent of this acclivity, but, taking theeye for a guide, I should think there is quite a league of the inclinedplane in view from the town. It is covered with hamlets, chateaux, country-houses, churches and cottages, and besides its vines, of whichthere are many near the town, it is highly beautiful from the verdure ofits slopes, its orchards, and its groves of nut-trees. 

[Footnote 34: The manner in which the English language is becomingcorrupted in America, as well as in England, is a matter of seriousregret. Some accidental circumstance induced the Manhattanese to call acertain enclosure the Park. This name, probably, at first wasappropriate enough, as there might have been an intention really to forma park, though the enclosure is now scarcely large enough to be termed apaddock. This name, however, has extended to the enclosures in otherareas, and we have already, in vulgar parlance, St. John's Park, Washington Park, and _least_ though not _last_, Duane-street _Park_, anenclosure of the shape of, and not much larger than, a cocked-hat. Thesite of an ancient fort on the water has been converted into apromenade, and has well enough been called _the Battery_. But othersimilar promenades are projected, and the name is extended to them! Thusin the Manhattanese dialect, any enclosure in a town, _off the water_, that is a _park_, and any similar enclosure, on _the water_, a_battery!_ The worthy aldermen may call this English, but it will not beeasy to persuade any but their constituents to believe them. ]

Among other objects that crowd this back-ground, is a church whichstands on a sharp acclivity, about a quarter of a mile on the rear ofthe town. It is a stone building of some size, and has a convenientartificial terrace that commands, as a matter of course, a most lovelyview. We attended service in it the first Sunday after our arrival, andfound the rites homely and naked, very much like those of our ownPresbyterians. There was a luxury about this building that you wouldhardly expect to meet among a people so simple, which quite puts thecoquetry of our own carpeted, cushioned, closet-like places of worshipto shame. This is the summer church of Vévey, another being used forwinter. This surpasses the refinement of the Roman ladies, who had theirsummer and their winter rings, but were satisfied to use the sametemples all the year round. After all there is something reasonable inthis indulgence: one may love to go up to a high place to worship, whence he can look abroad on the glories of a magnificent nature, whichalways disposes the mind to venerate Omnipotence, and, unable to enjoythe advantage the year round, there is good sense in seizing suchoccasions as offer for the indulgence. I have frequently met withchurches in Switzerland perched on the most romantic sites, though thisis the first whose distinctive uses I have ascertained. There is amonument to the memory of Ludlow, one of Charles' judges, in thischurch, and an inscription which attributes to him civic and moralmerits of a high order. 

The clergy in this canton, as in most, if not all the others, aresupported by the state. There is religious toleration, much as itformerly existed in New England, each citizen being master of hisreligious professions, but being compelled to support religion itself. Here, however, the salaries are regulated by a common scale, withoutreference to particular congregations or parishes. The pastors at firstreceive rather less than three hundred dollars a year. This allowance isincreased about fifty dollars at the end of six years, and by the samesum at each successive period of six years, until the whole amounts totwo thousand Swiss, or three thousand French francs, which is somethingless than six hundred dollars. There is also a house and a garden, andpensions are bestowed on the widows and children. On the whole, thestate has too much connexion with this great interest, but the systemhas the all-important advantage of preventing men from profaning thealtar as a pecuniary speculation. The population of Vaud is about155, 000 souls, and there are one hundred and fifty-eight Protestantpastors, besides four Catholics, or about one clergyman to each thousandsouls, which is just about the proportion that exists in New York. 

In conversing with an intelligent Vaudois on returning from the church, I found that a great deal of interest is excited in this Canton by thelate conspiracy in Berne. The Vaudois have got that attachment toliberty which is ever the result of a long political dependence, andwhich so naturally disposes the inferior to resist the superior. It isnot pretended, however, that the domination of Berne was particularlyoppressive, though as a matter of course, whenever the interests of Vaudhappened to conflict with those of the great canton, the former had tosuccumb. Still the reaction of a political dependency, which lasted morethan two centuries and a half, had brought about, even previously to thelate changes, a much more popular form of government than was usual inSwitzerland, and the people here really manifest some concern on thesubject of this effort of aristocracy. As you may like to compare theelective qualifications of one of the more liberal cantons of theconfederation with some of our own, I will give you an outline of thoseof Vaud, copied, in the substance, from Picot. 

The voter must have had a legal domicile in the canton one year, be acitizen, twenty-five years old, and be of the number of _thethree-fourths of the citizens who pay the highest land-tax_, or havethree sons enrolled and serving in the militia. Domestics, personsreceiving succour from the parishes, bankrupts, outlaws, and convictedcriminals, are perpetually excluded from the elective franchise. 

This system, though far better than that of France, which establishes acertain _amount_ of direct taxation, is radically vicious, as it makesproperty, and that of a particular species, the test of power. It is, intruth, the old English plan a little modified; and the recent revolutionthat has lately taken place in England under the name of reform, goes toprove that it is a system which contains in itself the seeds of vitalchanges. As every political question is strictly one of practice, _changes_ become necessary everywhere with the changes of circumstances, and these are truly reforms; but when they become so serious as tooverturn principles, they produce the effects of revolutions, thoughpossibly in a mitigated form. Every system, therefore, should be soframed as to allow of all the alterations which are necessary toconvenience, with a strict regard to its own permanency as connectedwith its own governing principle. In America, in consequence of havingattended to this necessity from the commencement, we have undergone norevolution in principle in half a century, though constantly admittingof minor changes, while nearly all Europe has, either in theory or inpractice, or in both, been effectually revolutionized. Nor does theshort period from which our independent existence dates furnish anyargument against us, as it is not so much _time_, as the _changes_ ofwhich time is the parent, that tries political systems; and America hasundergone the ordinary changes, such as growth, extension of interests, and the other governing circumstances of society, that properly belongto two centuries, within the last fifty years. America to-day, in allbut government, is less like the America of 1776, than the France ofto-day is like the France of 1600. While it is the fashion to scout ourexample as merely that of an untried experiment, ours is fast gettingto be the oldest political system in Christendom, as applied to one andthe same people. _Nations_ are not easily destroyed, --they exist under avariety of mutations, and names last longer than things; but I now speakin reference to distinguishing and prominent facts, without regard tothe various mystifications under which personal interests disguisethemselves. 

LETTER XVIII. 

Neglect of the Vine in America. --Drunkenness in France. --Choleraespecially fatal to Drunkards. --The Soldier's and the Sailor'sVice. --Sparkling Champagne and Still Champagne. --Excessive Price ofthese Wines in America. --Burgundy. --Proper soil for theVine. --Anecdote. --Vines of Vévey. --The American Fox-grape. 

Dear ----, A little incident has lately impressed me with the great wealth of thisquarter of the world in wines, as compared with our own poverty. Bypoverty, I do not mean ignorance of the beverage, or a want of goodliquors; for I believe few nations have so many varieties, or varietiesso excellent, as ourselves. Certainly it is not common to meet as goodBordeaux wines in Paris as in New York. The other good liquors of Franceare not so common; and yet the best Burgundy I ever drank was inAmerica. [35] This is said without reference to the different qualitiesof the vineyards--but, by poverty, I mean the want of the vines. 

[Footnote 35: Since his return, the author can say the same of Rhenishwines; though the tavern wines of Germany are usually much better thanthe tavern wines of France. ]

Vineyards abound all over the American continent, within the properlatitudes, except in the portions of it peopled by the colonists whohave an English origin. To this fact, then, it is fair to infer, thatwe owe the general neglect of this generous plant among ourselves. TheSwiss, German, and French emigrants are already thinking of the vine, while we have been in possession of the country two centuries withoutmaking a cask of wine. If this be not literally true it is so nearlytrue, as to render it not less a leading fact. I do not attach exactlythe same moral consequences to the want of the vine as is usuallyattributed to the circumstances by political economists; though I am ofopinion that serious physical evils may be traced to this cause. Menwill seek some stimulus or other, if it be attainable, place them inwhat situations you will, although wine is forbidden by the Koran, theMahomedan is often intoxicated; and my own eyes have shown me how muchdrunkenness exists in the vine-growing countries of Europe. On thissubject it may be well to say a word _en passant_. 

I came to Europe under the impression that there was more drunkennessamong us than in any other country, England, perhaps, excepted. Aresidence of six months in Paris changed my views entirely. You willjudge of my surprise when first I saw a platoon of the RoyalGuard, --literally a whole platoon, so far as numbers and the order oftheir promenade was concerned, --staggering drunk, within plain view ofthe palace of their master. From this time I became more observant, andnot a day passed that I did not see men, and even women, in the samesituation in the open streets. Usually, when the fact was mentioned toAmericans, they expressed surprise, declaring they had never seen such athing! They were too much amused with other sights to regard this; andthen they had come abroad with different notions, and it is easier tofloat in the current of popular opinion than to stem it. In two or threeinstances I have taken the unbelievers with me into the streets, where Ihave never failed to convince them of their mistake in the course of anhour. These experiments, too, were usually made in the better quartersof the town, or near our own residence, where one is much less apt tomeet with drunkenness than in the other quarters. On one occasion, aparty of four of us went out with this object, and we passed thirteendrunken men, during a walk of an hour. Many of them were so far gone asto be totally unable to walk. I once saw, on the occasion of a festival, three men literally wallowing in the gutter before my window; a degreeof beastly degradation I never witnessed in any other country. 

The usual reply of a Frenchman, when the subject has been introduced, was that the army of occupation introduced the habit into the capital. But I have spoken to you of M----, a man whose candour is only equalledby his information. He laughed at this account of the matter, sayingthat he had now known France nearly sixty years; it is his nativecountry; and he says that he cannot see any difference, in thisparticular, in his time. It is probable that, during the wars ofNapoleon, when there was so great a demand for men of the lower classes, it was less usual to encounter this vice in the open streets, than now, for want of subjects; but, by all I can learn, there never was a timewhen drunkards did not abound in France. I do assure you that, in thecourse of passing between Paris and London, I have been more struck bydrunkenness in the streets of the former, than in those of the latter. 

Not long since, I asked a labourer if he ever got _grisé_, and helaughingly told me--"yes, whenever he could. " He moreover added, that agood portion of his associates did the same thing. Now I take it, thisword _grisé_ contains the essence of the superiority of wine overwhiskey. It means fuddled, a condition from which one recovers morereadily, than from downright drunkenness, and of which the physicaleffects are not so injurious. I believe the consequences of even totalinebriety from wine, are not as bad as those which follow inebriety fromwhiskey and rum. But your real amateur here is no more content with winethan he is with us; he drinks a white brandy that is pretty near thepure alcohol. 

The cholera has laid bare the secrets of drunkenness, all over Europe. At first we were astonished when the disease got among the upperclasses; but, with all my experience, I confess I was astonished athearing it whispered of a gentleman, as I certainly did in a dozeninstances--"_mais il avait l'habitude de boire trop_. " Cholera, beyond aquestion, killed many a sober man, but it also laid bare the fault ofmany a devotee of the bottle. 

Drunkenness, almost as a matter of course, abounds in nearly all, if notin all, the armies of Europe. It is peculiarly the soldier's and thesailor's vice, and some queer scenes have occurred directly under my owneyes here, which go to prove it. Take among others, the fact, that awhole guard, not long since, got drunk in the Faubourg St. Germain, andactually arrested people in the streets and confined them in theguard-house. The Invalids are notorious for staggering back to theirquarters; and I presume I have seen a thousand of these worthies, firstand last, as happy as if they had all their eyes, and arms, and legsabout them. The official reports show ten thousand cases of femalesarrested for drunkenness, in Paris, during the last year. --But to returnto our vineyards. 

Although I am quite certain drunkenness is not prevented by the factthat wine is within the reach of the mass, it is easy to see that itsuse is less injurious, physically, than that of the stronger compoundsand distillations, to which the people of the non-vine-growing regionshave recourse as substitutes. Nature is a better brewer than man, andthe pure juice of the grape is less injurious than the mixed and fierybeverages that are used in America. In reasonable quantities, it is notinjurious at all. Five-and-twenty years since, when I first visitedEurope, I was astonished to see wine drunk in tumblers. I did not atfirst understand that half of what I had up to that time been drinkingwas brandy, under the name of wine. 

While our imported wines are, as a whole, so good, we do not alwaysshow the same discrimination in choosing. There is very little goodchampagne, for instance, drunk in America. A vast deal is consumed, andwe are beginning to understand that it is properly a table-wine, or onethat is to be taken with the meats; but sparkling champagne is, _exnecessitate_, a wine of inferior quality. No wine _mousses_, as theFrench term it, that has body enough to pass a certain period withoutfermentation. My friend de V---- is a proprietor of vines at Aï, and hetells me that the English take most of their good wines, which are the"still champagnes, " and the Russians and the Americans the poor, or thesparkling. A great deal of the sparkling, however, is consumed inFrance, the price better suiting French economy. But the wine-growers ofChampagne themselves speak of us as consumers of their second-classliquors. 

I drunk at Paris, as good "sparkling champagne" as anybody I knew, deV---- having the good nature to let me have it, from his cellar, for theprice at which it is sold to the dealer and exporter, or at three francsthe bottle. The _octroi_ and the transportation bring the price up toabout three francs and a half. This then is the cost to the restaurateurand the innkeeper. These sell it again to their customers, at six francsthe bottle. Now a bottle of wine ought not, and I presume does not, costthe American dealer any more; the difference in favour of the duty morethan equalling the difference against them, in the transportation. Thiswine is sold in our eating-houses and taverns at two dollars, and evenat two dollars and a half, the bottle! In other words, the consumer paysthree times the amount of the first cost and charges. Now, it happens, that there is something very like free trade in this article, (to usethe vernacular), and here are its fruits; You also see in this fact, thetruth of what I have told you of our paying for the want of a class ofmen who wilt be content to be shopkeepers and innkeepers, and who do notlook forward to becoming anything more. I do not say that we are theless respectable for this circumstance, but we are, certainly, as apeople, less comfortable. Champagne, Rhenish, and Bordeaux wines oughtto be sold in New York, quite as cheap as they are sold in the greattowns of the countries in which they are made. They can be bought of thewine-merchants nearly as low, even as things are. 

If the innkeepers and steam-boat stewards, of America, would buy andsell low-priced Burgundy wines, that, as the French call it, _carrywater well_, as well as some other wines that might be named, the customof drinking this innocent and useful beverage at table would becomegeneral, attention would then be paid to the vine, and in twenty yearswe should be consumers of the products of our own vineyards. 

The idea that our winters are too severe can hardly be just. There maybe mountainous districts where such is the fact, but, in a country thatextends from the 27th to the 47th degrees of latitude, it is scarcelypossible to suppose the vine cannot flourish. I have told you that wineis made on the Elbe, and it is made in more than half the Swiss cantons. Proper exposures and proper soil are necessary for good wines, anywhere, but nothing is easier than to have both. In America, I fear, we havehitherto sought land that was too rich; or rather, land that is wantingin the proper and peculiar richness that is congenial to the vine. Allthe great vineyards I have seen, and all of which I can obtain authenticaccounts, are on thin gravelly soils; frequently, as is the case in theRheingau, on decomposed granite, quartz, and sienite. Slate mixed withquartz on a clayish bottom, and with basalt, is esteemed a good soil, asis also marl and gravel. The Germans use rich manures, but I do notthink this is the case in France. 

The grape that makes good wine is rarely fit to eat. Much care is had toreject the defective fruit, when a delicate wine is expected, just as wecull apples to make fine cider. A really good vineyard is a fortune atonce, and a tolerable one is as good a disposition as can be made ofland. All the fine wines of Hockheim are said to be the produce of onlyeight or ten acres. There is certainly more land than this, in the vine, south of the village, but the rest is not esteemed to be Hockheimer. 

Time is indispensable to fine wines, and time is a thing that anAmerican lives too fast to spare. The grapes become better by time, although periodically renewed, and the wine improves in the same way. Ihave told you in these letters, that I passed a vineyard on the lake ofZurich of which there are records to show it has borne the vine fivehundred years. Five centuries since, if historians are to be believed, the winters on this lake must have been as severe as they are usually onChamplain; they are almost as severe, even now. 

Extraordinary characters are given to some of the vines here. Thus someof the Moselle wines, it is said, will not make good vinegar! If this betrue, judging by my own experience, vinegar is converted into wines ofthe Moselle. I know no story of this sort, after all, that is moremarvellous than one I have heard of the grandfather of A----, and whichI believe to be perfectly true, as it is handed down on authority thatcan scarcely be called in question. 

A pipe of Madeira was sent to him, about the year 1750, which proved tobe so bad that, giving it up as a gone case, he ordered it to be put inthe sun, with a bottle in its bung-hole, in order that it might, atleast, make good vinegar. Bis official station compelled him toentertain a great deal, and his factotum, on these occasions, was anegro, whose name I have forgotten. This fellow, a capital servant whensober, occasionally did as he saw his betters do, and got drunk. Ofcourse this greatly deranged the economy of the government dinners. Onone occasion, particular care was taken to keep him in his right senses, and yet at the critical moment he appeared behind his master's chair, ashappy as the best of them. This matter was seriously inquired into nextday, when it was discovered that a miracle had been going on out ofdoors, and that the vinegar had been transformed into wine. Thetradition is, that this wine was remarkable for its excellence, and thatit was long known by the name of the negro, as the best wine of acolony, where more good wine of the sort was drunk, probably, than wasever known by the same number of people, in the same time, anywhereelse. Now should one experimenting on a vineyard, in America, findvinegar come from his press, he would never have patience to let itferment itself back into good liquor. Patience, I conceive, is the onlyobstacle to our becoming a great wine-growing and a great silk-growingcountry. 

I have been led into these remarks by observing the vineyards here. The_qualities_ of wines, of course, are affected by the positions of thevineyards, for all who can make wine do not make good wine, but thevines of Vévey, owing most probably to their exposure, are said to bethe best of Switzerland. The best liquor comes from St. Saphorin, ahamlet that is quite near the town, which lies at the foot of theacclivity, described to you in our approach to this place. The littlechateau-looking house that so much struck our fancies, on that occasion, is, in fact, in the immediate neighbourhood of the spot. All thesecircumstances show how much depends on minor circumstances in thecultivation of the vine, and how much may be expected from the plant, when care is had to respect them. 

The heat may be too great for the vineyard as well as the cold. In Italythere is a practice of causing the vines to run on trees, in order todiminish the effect of the heat, by means of the shade they create. Butthe good wines are nearly everywhere, if not positively everywhere, produced from the short, clipped standards. This fact has induced me tothink that we may succeed better with the vine in the middle, and evenin the eastern, than in the southern and western states. I take it, thecold is of no importance, provided it be not so intense as to kill theplant, and the season is long enough to permit the fruit to ripen. Itwould be absurd in me, who have but a very superficial knowledge of thesubject, to pretend to be very skillful in this matter, but I cannothelp thinking that, if one had patience to try the experiment, it wouldbe found the common the American fox-grape would in time bring a finewine. It greatly resembles the grapes of some of the best vineyardshere, and the fact of its not being a good eating grape is altogether inits favour. 

In short, I throw it out as a conjecture more than as an ascertainedfact, it is true, but from all I have seen in Europe, I am induced tothink that, in making our experiments on the vine, we have been tooambitious to obtain a fat soil, and too warp of the higher latitudes ofthe country. A gravelly hill-side, in the interior, that has been wellstirred, and which has the proper exposure, I cannot but thing wouldbring good wine, in all the low countries of the middle states. 

LETTER XIX. 

The Leman Lake. --Excursions on it. --The coast of Savoy. --Grandeur andbeauty of the Rocks. --Sunset. --Evening Scene. --American Familiesresiding on the banks of the Lake. --Conversation with a Vévaisan on thesubject of America. --The Nullification Question. --America misrepresentedin Europe. --Rowland Stephenson in the United States. --Unworthy arts tobring America into disrepute. --Blunders of Europe in respect ofAmerica. --The Kentuckians. --Foreign Associations in theStates. --Illiberal Opinions of many Americans. --Prejudices. 

Dear ----, Our residence at Vévey, thus far, has been fruitful of pleasure. Thelake, with its changeful aspects and movement, wears better even thanthe Oberland Alps, and we have now become thoroughly convinced of ourmistake in establishing ourselves at Berne, beautiful as is that place, in 1828. The motive was a desire to be central, but Switzerland is sosmall that the distances are of no great moment, and I would advise allour friends who intend to pass a summer in the cantons, and who haveneed of a house, to choose their station somewhere on the shores of theLeman. Two steam-boats ply daily in different directions, and it is oflittle consequence at which end one may happen to be. Taking everythinginto consideration "_mon lac est le premier_" is true; though it may bequestioned if M. De Voltaire ever saw, or had occasion to see, half ofits advantages. 

We never tire of the Leman, but spend two or three hours every day inthe boat. Sometimes we row in front of the town, which literally standsin the water, in some places, musing on the quaint old walls, andlistening to the lore of honest John, who moves two crooked oars asleisurely as a lady of the tropic utters, but who has seen great eventsin his time. Sometimes even this lazy action is too much for the humourof the moment, and we are satisfied with drifting along the shore, forthere is generally current enough to carry us the whole length of Véveyin half an hour. Occasionally we are tossed about like an egg-shell, thewinds at a distance soon throwing this part of the sheet into commotion. On the whole, however, we have, as yet, had little besides calms, and, what is unusual in Switzerland, not a drop of rain. 

We have no reason to suspect the lake to be unhealthy, for we are oftenout until after sunset, without experiencing any ill effects. The shoresare everywhere bold about Vévey, though the meadows and the waters meetnear the entrance of the Rhone, some eight or ten miles from this place, in a way to raise the thoughts of rushes and lilies, and a suspicion offevers. The pure air and excellent food of the mountains, however, havedone us all good thus far, and we are looking eagerly forward to theseason of grapes, which is drawing near, and which every body says makethose who are perfectly well, infinitely better. 

I have not yet spoken to you of the greatest charm in the scenery ofVévey, and the one which perhaps has given us the highest degree ofsatisfaction. The coast of Savoy, immediately opposite the town, is arange of magnificent rocks, that rises some four or five thousand feetabove the surface of the water. In general these precipices are nearlyperpendicular, though their surfaces are broken by huge ravines, thatmay well be termed valleys. This is the region that impends overMeillerie, St. Gingoulph, and Evian, towns or hamlets that cling to thebases of the mountains, and form, of themselves, beautiful objects, fromthis side of the lake. The distance from Vévey to the opposite shore, agreeably to the authority of old John, our boatman, is about fivemiles, though the great purity of the atmosphere and the height of theland make it appear less. The summit of the rocks of Savoy are brokeninto the most fantastical forms, so beautifully and evenly drawn, thoughthey are quite irregular and without design, that I have termed themnatural arabesques. No description can give you an accurate idea oftheir beauty, for I know nothing else in nature to compare them to. Asthey lie nearly south of us, I cannot account for the unusual glow ofthe atmosphere behind them, at every clear sunset, except from thereflection of the glaciers; Mont Blanc lying in that direction, at thedistance of about fifty miles, though invisible. Now the effect of theoutline of these rocks, at, or after sunset, relieved by a soft, goldensky, is not only one of the finest sights of Switzerland, but, in itsway, is just the most perfect spectacle I have ever beheld. It is not soapt to extort sudden admiration, as the rosy tints and spectral hues ofthe high Alps, at the same hour; but it wins on you, in the way thelonely shadows of the Apennines grow on the affections, and, so far fromtiring or becoming satisfied with their view, each successive eveningbrings greater delight than the last. You may get some idea of what Imean, by imagining vast arabesques, rounded and drawn in a way that noart can equal, standing out huge, and dark, and grand, in high relief, blending sublimity with a bewitching softness, against a sky. Whoselight is slowly passing from the glow of fiery gold, to the mildesttints of evening. I scarcely know when this scene is most to be admired;when the rocks appear distinct and brown, showing their material, andthe sky is burnished; or when the first are nearly black masses, onwhose surfaces nothing is visible, and the void beyond is just pregnantwith sufficient light to expose their exquisite forms. Perhaps this isthe perfection of the scene, for the gloom of the hour throws a noblemystery over all. 

These are the sights that form the grandest features in Swiss scenery. That of the high peaks cut off from the earth by the clouds, is perhapsthe most extraordinary of them all; but I think this of the rocks ofSavoy the one that wins the most on the affections, although thisopinion is formed from a knowledge of the general fact that objectswhich astonish so greatly at first, do not, as a rule, continue thelongest to afford pleasure, for I never saw the former spectacle buttwice and on one of those occasions, imperfectly. No _dilettanti_ wereever more punctual at the opening of the orchestra, than we are at thisevening exhibition, which, very much like a line and expressive harmony, grows upon us at each repetition. All this end of the lake, as we floatlazily before the town, with the water like a mirror, the acclivitybehind the town gradually darkening upward under the retiring light, theremote Alpine pastures just throwing out their chalets, the rocks ofSavoy and the sublime glen of the Rhone, with the glacier of Mont Velanin its depths, raising its white peak into the broad day long afterevening has shadowed everything below, forms the most perfect naturalpicture I have ever seen. 

You can easily fancy how much we enjoy all this. John and his boat havebeen in requisition nearly every evening since our arrival; and the oldfellow has dropped so readily into our humours, that his oars rise andfall in a way to produce a melancholy ripple, and little else. Thesympathy between us is perfect, and I have almost fancied that his oarsdaily grow more crooked and picturesque. 

We are not alone, however, in the possession of so much natural beauty. No less than seven American families, including ourselves, are eithertemporarily established on or quite near this lake, or are leisurelymoving around its banks. The fame of the beauty of the women has alreadyreached our ears, though, sooth to say, a reputation of that sort is notvery difficult of attainment in this part of the world. With one ofthese families we were intimate in Italy, the tie of country being alittle increased by the fact that some of their connexions were alsoours. They hurried from Lausanne to meet us, the moment they wereapprized of our arrival, and the old relations have been re-establishedbetween us. Since this meeting excursions have been planned, and it isprobable that I may have something to communicate, in reference to them. 

A day or two since I met a Vévaisan on the public promenade, with whombusiness had led to a slight acquaintance. We saluted, and pursued ourwalk together. The conversation soon turned on the news from America, where nullification is, just now, menacing disunion. The Swiss are theonly people, in Europe, who appear to me to feel any concern in what hasbeen generally considered to be a crisis in our affairs. I do not wishto be understood as saying that individuals of other nations do not feelthe same friendly interest in our prosperity, for perhaps a million suchmight be enumerated in the different nations of Europe, the extremeliberals everywhere looking to our example as so much authority infavour of their doctrines; but, after excluding the mass, who have toomuch to do to live, to trouble themselves with concerns so remote, sofar as my knowledge extends, the great majority on this side theAtlantic, without much distinction of country, Switzerland excepted, arewaiting with confidence and impatience for the knell of the Union. Imight repeat to you many mawkish and unmeaning declarations to thecontrary of all this, but I deem them to be mere phrases of society towhich no one, in the least acquainted with the world, can attach anyimportance; and which, as they have never deceived me, I cannot wishshould be made the means of deceiving you. Men generally hesitate toavow in terms, the selfishness and illiberality that regulate all theiracts and wishes, and he who is credulous enough to mistake words fordeeds, or even thoughts, in this quarter of the world, will soon becomethe dupe of more than half of those he meets. I believe I nevermentioned to you an anecdote of Sir James Mackintosh, which bearsdirectly on this subject. It was at a dinner given by Sir ----, thatsome one inquired if he (Sir James Mackintosh) had ever discovered theauthor of a certain libellous attack on himself. "Not absolutely, thoughI have no doubt that ---- was the person. I suspected him at once; butmeeting him in Pall Mall, soon after the article appeared, he turnedround and walked the whole length of the street with me, covering mewith protestations of admiration and esteem, and then I felt quite sureof my man!"

My Vévaisan made many inquiries as to the probable result of the presentstruggle, and appeared greatly gratified when I told him that Iapprehended no serious danger to the republic. I made him laugh bymentioning the opinion of the witty Abbé Correa, who said, "TheAmericans are great talkers on political subjects; you would think theywere about to fly to their arms, and just as you expect a revolution, _they go home and drink tea_. " My acquaintance was anxious to know ifour government had sufficient strength to put down nullification byforce, for he had learned there was but a single sloop of war, and lessthan a battalion of troops, in the disaffected part of the country. Itold him we possessed all the means that are possessed in othercountries to suppress rebellion, although we had not thought itnecessary to resort to the same system of organization. Our governmentwas mild in principle, and did not wish to oppress even minorities; butI made no doubt of the attachment of a vast majority to the Union, and, when matters really came to a crisis, if rational compromise could noteffect the object, I thought nine men in ten would rally in its defence. I did not believe that even civil war was to produce results in Americadifferent from what it produced elsewhere. Men would fight in a republicas they fought in monarchies, until they were tired, and an arrangementwould follow. It was not common for a people of the same origin, ofsimilar habits, and contiguous territory, to dismember an empire bycivil war, unless violence had been used in bringing them together, orconquest had first opened the way to disunion. I did not know that wewere always to escape the evils of humanity any more than others, or whythey were to fall heavier on us, when they proceeded from the samecauses, than on our neighbours. As respects the small force in Carolina, I thought it argued our comparative strength, rather than ourcomparative weakness. Here were loud threats of resistance, organizedand even legal means to effect it, and yet the laws were respected, whensustained by only a sloop of war and two companies of artillery. IfFrance were to recall her battalions from La Vendée, Austria herdivisions from Italy, Russia her armies from Poland, or England hertroops from India or Ireland, we all know that those several countrieswould be lost, in six months, to their present possessors. As we had ourforce in reserve, it really appeared to me that either our disaffectionwas very different from the disaffection of Europe, or that ourinstitutions contained some conservative principle that did not usuallyexist in this hemisphere. My Vévaisan was curious to know to which ofthese circumstances I ascribed the present quiet in Carolina. I toldhim to both. The opposition in that state, as a whole, were honest intheir views; and, though some probably meant disunion, the greater partdid not. It was a governing principle of our system to seek redress byappeals to the source of power, and the majority were probable lookingstill, to that quarter, of relief. Under other systems, rebellion, ninetimes in ten, having a different object, would not be checked by thisexpectation. 

The Swiss listened to all this attentively, and remarked that Americahad been much misrepresented in Europe, and that the opinion was thengetting to be general in his country, from improper motives. He told methat a great deal had been said about the proceedings in the case ofRowland Stephenson, and he frankly asked me to explain them; for, beinga commercial man, he admitted that injurious impressions had been madeeven on himself in relation to that affair. This was the third Swiss whohad alluded to this subject, the other two instances occurring at Rome. In the latter cases, I understood pretty distinctly that there werereports current that the Americans were so desirous of obtaining richemigrants, that they had rescued a criminal in order to reap the benefitof his gold!

Of course I explained the matter, by simply stating the facts, adding, that the case was an admirable illustration of the treatment America hadreceived from Europe, ever since 1776. An Englishman, _a member ofParliament, by the way_, had absconded from his own country, takingshelter in ours, by the mere accident of meeting at sea a Swedish brigbound thither. A reward was offered for his arrest, and certainindividuals had taken on themselves, instigated by whom I know not, toarrest him on a retired road, in Georgia, and to bring him covertlywithin the jurisdiction of New York, with the intention to send himclandestinely on board a packet bound to Europe. Now a grosser abusethan an act like this could not well be committed. No form of law wasobserved, and the whole proceeding was a violation of justice, and ofthe sovereignty of the two states interested. It is true the manarrested was said to be guilty of gross fraud; but where such practicesobtain, guilt will soon cease to be necessary in order to commitviolence. The innocent may be arrested wrongfully, too. As soon as thecircumstances became known, an application was made to the properauthorities for relief, which was granted on a principle that obtainedin all civilized countries, where right is stronger than might. Had anyone been transferred from Canada to England, under similarcircumstances, he would have been entitled to the same relief, and thereis not a jurist in England who does not know the fact; and yet thistransaction, which, if it redound to the discredit of either nation atall, (an exaggerated opinion, I admit, ) must redound to the discredit ofthat which produced the delinquent, and actually preferred him to one ofits highest legislative stations, has been so tortured all over Europe, as to leave an impression unfavourable to America!

Now I tell you, dear ----, as I told my Vévaisan, that this case is avery fair example of the manner in which, for seven years, I have nowbeen an attentive observer of the unworthy arts used to bring us intodisrepute. The power to injure, in order to serve their own selfishviews, which old-established and great nations possess over one like ourown, is not fully appreciated in America, nor do we attach sufficientimportance to the consequences. I am not conscious of a disposition toshut my eyes to our own peculiar national defects, more especially sincethe means of comparison have rendered me more sensible of their natureand existence; but nothing can be more apparent to any man of ordinarycapacity, who has enjoyed the opportunities necessary to form a correctjudgment, than the fact, that the defects usually imputed to us here, such as the want of morals, honesty, order, decency, liberality, andreligion, are, in truth, _as the world goes_, the strong points ofAmerican character; while some of those on which we are a little too aptto pride ourselves, --intelligence, taste, manners, and education, forinstance, as applied to all beyond the base of society, --are, in truth, those on which it would most become us to be silent. Others may tell youdifferently, especially those who are under the influence of the"trading humanities, " a class that is singularly addicted tophilanthropy or vituperation, as the balance-sheet happens to showvariations of profit and loss. 

I told my Swiss that one of the reasons why Europe made so many blundersin her predictions about America, was owing to the fact that she soughther information in sources ill qualified, and, perhaps, ill disposed toimpart it. Most of the information of this nature that either entered orleft America, came, like her goods, through two or three great channels, or sea-ports, and these were thronged with the natives of half thecountries of Europe; commercial adventurers, of whom not one in fiveever got to feel or think like Americans. These men, in some places, possess even a direct influence over a portion of the press, and bythese means, as well as by their extended correspondence, theydisseminate erroneous notions of the country abroad. The citiesthemselves, as a rule, or rather the prominent actors in the towns, donot represent the tone of the nation, as is proved on nearly everydistinctive political question that arises, by the towns almostuniformly being found in the minority, simply because they are purelytrading communities, follow the instinct of their varying interests, andare ready to shout in the rear of any leader who may espouse them. Nowthese foreign merchants, as a class, are always found on the side whichis the most estranged from the regular action of the institutions of thecountry. In America, intelligence is not confined to the towns; but, asa rule, there is less of it there than among the rural population. As aproof of the errors which obtain on the subject of America in Europe, Iinstanced the opinion which betrayed itself in England, the nationwhich ought to know us best, during the war of 1812. Feeling acommercial jealousy itself, its government naturally supposed herenemies were among the merchants, and that her friends were to be foundin the interior. The fact would have exactly reversed this opinion, anopinion whose existence is betrayed in a hundred ways, and especially inthe publications of the day. It was under this notion that our invadersmade an appeal to the Kentuckians for support! Now, there was not, probably, a portion of the earth where less sympathy was to be found forEngland than in Kentucky, or, in short, along the whole western frontierof America, where, right or wrong, the people attribute most of theirIndian wars to the instigation of that power. Few foreigners tooksufficient interest in the country to probe such a feeling; and England, being left to her crude conjectures, and to theories of her own, hadprobably been thus led into one of the most absurd of all the blundersof this nature that she could possibly have committed. I believe that alarge proportion of the erroneous notions which exist in Europe, concerning American facts, proceed from the prejudices of this class ofthe inhabitants. [36]

[Footnote 36: This was the opinion of the writer, while in Europe. Sincehis return, he has seen much reason to confirm it. Last year, in a freeconversation with a foreign diplomatic agent on the state of publicfeeling in regard to certain political measures, the _diplomate_affirmed that, according to his experience, the talent, property, andrespectability of the country were all against the government. This isthe worn-out cant of England; and yet, when reform has been brought tothe touchstone, its greatest opponents have been found among the_parvenus_. On being requested to mention individuals, the diplomaticman in question named three New York merchants, all of whom areforeigners by birth, neither of whom can speak good English, neither ofwhom could influence a vote--neither of whom had, probably, ever readthe constitution or could understand it if he had read it, and neitherof whom was, in principle, any more than an every-day common-placereflection of the antiquated notions of the class to which he belongedin other nations, and in which he had been, educated, and under theinfluence of which he had arrived here. ]

In order to appreciate the influence of such a class of men, it isnecessary to recollect their numbers, wealth, and union, it has oftenbeen a source of mortification to me to see the columns of the leadingjournals of the largest town of the republic, teeming with reports ofthe celebrations of English, Irish, German, French, and Scotchsocieties; and in which the sentiments promulgated, half of the time, are foreign rather than American. Charitable associations, _ascharities_, may be well enough, but the institutions of the country, sogenerous and liberal in themselves, are outraged by every factitiousattempt to overshadow them by these appeals to the prejudices andrecollections of another state of society. At least, we might be sparedthe parade in the journals, and the offensive appearance of monopolizingthe land, which these accounts assume. Intelligent travellers observeand comment on these things, and one of them quaintly asked me, not longsince, "if really there were no Americans in America?" Can it be matterof surprise that when the stranger sees these men so prominent in printand in society, (in many instances quite deservedly), he should mistaketheir influence, and attach an importance to their opinions which theydo not deserve? That Europe has been receiving false notions of Americafrom some source, during the present century, is proved by the resultsso completely discrediting her open predictions; and, while I know thatmany Americans have innocently aided in the deception, I have littledoubt that the foreign merchants established in the country have beenone of the principal causes of the errors. 

It is only necessary to look back within our own time, to note theprogress of opinion, and to appreciate the value of those notions thatsome still cherish, as containing all that is sound and true in humanpolicy. Thirty years ago, the opinion that it was unsafe to teach theinferior classes to read, "_as it only enabled then to read bad books_, "was a common and favourite sentiment of the upper classes in England. To-day, it is a part of the established system of Austria to instructher people! I confess that I now feel mortified and grieved when I meetwith an American gentleman who professes anything but liberal opinions, as respects the rights of his fellow-creatures. Although neverilliberal, I trust, I do not pretend that my own notions have notundergone changes, since, by being removed from the pressure of thesociety in which I was born, my position, perhaps, enables me to lookaround, less influenced by personal considerations than is usual; butone of the strongest feelings created by an absence of so many yearsfrom he me, is the conviction that no American can justly lay claim tobe, what might be and ought to be the most exalted of human beings, themilder graces of the Christian character excepted, an Americangentleman, without this liberality entering thoroughly into the wholecomposition of his mind. By liberal sentiments, however, I do not meanany of the fraudulent cant that is used, in order to delude thecredulous; but the generous, manly determination to let all enjoy equalpolitical rights, and to bring those to whom authority is necessarilyconfided, as far as practicable, under the control of the community theyserve. Opinions like these have little in common with the miserabledevices of demagogues, who teach the doctrine that the people areinfallible; or that the aggregation of fallible parts, acting, too, withdiminished responsibilities, form an infallible whole; which is adoctrine almost as absurd as that which teaches us to believe "thepeople are their own worst enemies;" a doctrine, which, if true, oughtto induce those who profess it, to forbid any man from managing his ownaffairs, but compel him to confide them to the management of others;since the elementary principle is the same in communities andindividuals, and, as regards interests, neither would go wrong unlessdeceived. 

I shall not conceal from you the mortification and regret I have felt atdiscovering, from this distance, and it is more easily discovered from adistance than when near by, how far, how very far, the educated classesof America are, in opinion, (in my poor judgment, at least), behind thefortunes of the country. Notions are certainly still entertained athome, among this class, that are frankly abandoned here, by men of anycapacity, let their political sect be what it may; and I have frequentlyseen assertions and arguments used, in Congress, that, I think, thedullest Tory would now hesitate about using in Parliament. I do not saythat certain great prejudices are not yet prevalent in England, that areexploded with us; but my remark applies to some of the old and cherishedtheories of government, which have been kept alive as theories inEngland, long after they have ceased to be recognised in practice, andsome of which, indeed, like that of the doctrine of a balance betweendifferent powers in the state, never had any other than a theoreticalexistence, at all. The absurd doctrine just mentioned has many devoutbelievers, at this moment, in America, when a moment's examination mustshow its fallacy. The democracy of a country, in the nature of things, will possess its physical force. Now give to the physical force of acommunity an equal political power, and the moment it finds itselfgravely interested in supporting or defeating any measure, it will fallback on its strength, set the other estates at defiance, and blow yourboasted balance of power to the winds! There never has been an activedemocratical feature in the government of England; nor have the commons, since they have enjoyed anything like independence, been aught but anauxiliary to the aristocracy, in a modified form. While the king wasstrong, the two bodies united to put him down, and, as he got to beweak, they gradually became identified, to reap the advantages. What isto come remains to be seen. 

LETTER XX. 

The Equinox. --Storm on the Lake. --Chase of a little Boat. --Chateau ofBlonay. --Drive to Lausanne. --Mont Benon. --Trip to Geneva in theWinkelried. --Improvements in Geneva. --Russian Travellers. --M. Pozzo diBorgo. --Table d'hôte. --Extravagant Affirmations of aFrenchman. --Conversation with a Scotchman. --American Duels. --Visit at aSwiss Country-house. --English Customs affected in America. --SocialIntercourse in the United States. --Difference between a European and anAmerican Foot and Hand. --Violent Gale. --Sheltered position ofVévey. --Promenade. --Picturesque View. --The greatSquare. --Invitation. --Mountain Excursion. --An AmericanLieutenant. --Anecdote. --Extensive Prospect. --Chateau of Glayrole. 

Dear ----, We have had a touch of the equinox, and the Leman has been in a foam, but its miniature anger, though terrible enough at times, to those whoare embarked on its waters, can never rise to the dignity of a surf anda rolling sea. The rain kept me housed, and old John and I seized theoccasion to convert a block of pine into a Leman bark, for P----. Thenext day proving fair, our vessel, fitted with two latine sails, andcarrying a weather helm, was committed to the waves, and away she went, on a wind, toward the opposite shore. P----, of course, was delighted, and clapped his hands, until, perceiving that it was getting off theland, he compelled us to enter the boat and give chase. A chase it was, truly; for the little thing went skipping from wave, to wave, in such abusiness-like manner, that I once thought it would go all the way toSavoy. Luckily a flaw caused it to tack, when it soon became our prize. We were a long distance off when the boat was overtaken, and I thoughtthe views behind the town finer, at that position, than when nearer in. I was particularly struck with the appearance of the little chateau ofBlonay, which is still the residence of a family of the same name, thathas been seated, for more than seven centuries, on the same rockyterrace. I was delighted to hear that its present owner is a liberal, asevery ancient gentleman should be. Such a man ought to be cautious howhe tarnishes his lineage with unjust or ungenerous sentiments. 

The equinoctial blow returned the next day, and the lake became reallyfine, in a new point of view; for, aided by the mountains, it succeededin getting up a very respectable appearance of fury. The sail-boatsvanished, and even the steamers went through it with a good deal ofstruggling and reluctance. 

As soon as the weather became better, we went to Lausanne, preferringthe road, with a view to see the country. It is not easy to fancyanything prettier than this drive, which ran, nearly the whole distance, along the foot of hills, that would be mountains anywhere else, andquite near the water. The day was beautiful, and we had the lake, withits varying scenery and movement, the whole time in sight; while theroad, an excellent solid wheel-track, wound between the walls ofvineyards, and was so narrow as scarcely to admit the passage of twocarriages at a time. At a short distance from Lausanne, we left themargin of the lake, and ascended to the level of the town, through awooded and beautifully ornamented country. 

We found our friends established in one of the numberless villas thatdot the broken land around the place, with their windows commanding mostof that glorious view that I have already described to you. Mont Benon, a beautiful promenade, was close at hand, and, in the near view, the eyeranged over fields, verdant and smooth lawns, irregular in theirsurfaces, and broken by woods and country-houses. A long attenuatedreach of the lake stretched away towards Geneva, while the upper endterminated in its noble mountains, and the mysterious, glen-like gorgeof Valais. We returned from this excursion in the evening, delightedwith the exterior of Lausanne, and more and more convinced that, allthings considered, the shores of this lake unite greater beauties, withbetter advantages as a residence, than any other part of Switzerland. 

After remaining at Vévey a day or two longer, I went to Geneva, in theWinkelried, which had got a new commander; one as unaffected as hispredecessor had been fantastical. Our progress was slow, and, althoughwe reached the port early enough to prevent being locked out, with theexception of a passage across Lake George, in which the motion seemedexpressly intended for the lovers of the picturesque, I think this themost deliberate run, or rather _walk_, I ever made by steam. 

I found Geneva much changed, for the better, in the last four years. Most of the hideous sheds had been pulled down from the fronts of thehouses, and a stone pier is building, that puts the mighty port of NewYork, with her commercial _energies_, to shame. In other respects, I sawno material alterations in the place. The town was crowded, more of thetravellers being French, and fewer English, than common. As for theRussians, they appear to have vanished from the earth, to my regret; forin addition to being among the most polished people one meets, (I speakof those who travel), your Russian uniformly treats the American kindly. I have met with more personal civilities, conveyed in a delicate manner, from these people, and especially from the diplomatic agents of Russia, than from any others in Europe, and, on the whole, I have cause, personally, to complain of none; or, in other words, I do not think thatpersonal feeling warps my judgment, in this matter. M. Pozzo di Borgo, when he gave large entertainments, sent a number of tickets to Mr. Brownto be distributed among his countrymen, and I have heard this gentlemansay, no other foreign minister paid him this attention. All this may bethe result of policy, but it is something to obtain civil treatment inthis world, on any terms. You must be here, to understand how completelywe are overlooked. 

Late as we were, we were in time for dinner, which I took at a _tabled'hôte_ that was well crowded with French. I passed as an Englishman, asa matter of course, and had reason to be much amused with some of theconversation. One young Frenchman very coolly affirmed that two membershad lately fought with pistols in the hall of Congress, during thesession, and his intelligence was received with many very properexclamations of horror. The young man referred to the rencontre whichtook place on the terrace of the Capitol, in which the party assailed_was_ a member of Congress; but I have no doubt he believed all he said, for such is the desire to blacken the American name just now, that everyunfavourable incident is seized upon and exaggerated, without shame orremorse. I had a strong desire to tell this young man that the affair towhich he alluded, did not differ essentially from that of M. Calémard deLafayette[37], with the exception that no one was slain at Washington;but I thought it wiser to preserve my _incognito_. 

[Footnote 37: This unfortunate gentleman was no relation of the familyof Lafayette, his proper appellation being that of M. Calémard. _Fayette_, so far as I can discover, is an old French word, or perhaps aprovincial word, that signifies a sort of _hedge_, and has beenfrequently used as a territorial appellation, like _de la Haie_. ]

The next day our French party was replaced by another, and the master ofthe house promoted me to the upper end of his table, as an old boarder. Here I found myself, once more, in company with an Englishman, anIrishman, and a Scotchman. The two former sat opposite to me, and thelast at my side. The civilities of the table passed between us, especially between the Scotchman and myself, with whom I fell intodiscourse. After a little while, my neighbour, a sensible shrewd fellowenough, by the way of illustrating his opinion, and to get the better ofme, cited some English practice, in connexion with "you in England. " Itold him I was no Englishman. "No Englishman! you are not a Scotchman?""Certainly not. " "Still less an Irishman!" "No. " My companion now lookedat me as hard as a well-bred man might, and said earnestly, "Where didyou learn to speak English so well?" "At home, as you did--I am anAmerican. " "Umph!" and a silence of a minute; followed by abruptlyputting the question of--"What is the reason that your duels in Americaare so bloody?--I allude particularly to some fought in theMediterranean by your naval officers. We get along, with lessvindicative fighting. " As this was rather a sharp and sudden shot, Ithought it best to fire back, and I told him, "that as to theMediterranean, our officers were of opinion they were ill-treated, tillthey began to shoot those who inflicted the injuries; since which timeall had gone on more smoothly. According to their experience, their ownmode of fighting was much the most efficacious, in that instance atleast. "

As he bore this good-naturedly, thinking perhaps his abrupt questionmerited a saucy answer, we soon became good friends. He made a remark ortwo, in better taste than the last, on the facts of America, and Iassured him he was in error, showing him wherein his error lay. He thenasked me why some of our own people did not correct the falseimpressions of Europe, on the subject of America, for the European couldonly judge by the information laid before him. He then mentioned two orthree American writers, who he thought would do the world a service bygiving it a book or two, on the subject. I told him that if they wrotehonestly and frankly, Europe would not read their books, for prejudicewas not easily overcome, and no favourable account of us would beacceptable. It would not be enough for us to confess our real faults, but we should be required to confess the precise faults that, accordingto the notions of this quarter of the world, we are morally, logically, and politically bound to possess. This he would not admit, for what manis ever willing to confess that his own opinions are prejudiced?

I mention this little incident, because its spirit, in my deliberatejudgment, forms the _rule_, in the case of the feeling of all Britishsubjects, and I am sorry to say the subjects of most other Europeancountries; and the mawkish sentiment and honeyed words that sometimesappear in toasts, tavern dinners, and public speeches, the exception. Imay be wrong, as well as another, but this, I repeat for the twentiethtime, is the result of my own observations; you know under whatopportunities these observations have been made, and how far they arelikely to be influenced by personal considerations. 

In the evening I accompanied a gentleman, whose acquaintance I had madeat Rome, to the country-house of a family that I had also had thepleasure of meeting during their winter's residence in that town. Wepassed out by the gate of Savoy, and walked a mile or two, amongcountry-houses and pleasant alleys of trees, to a dwelling not unlikeone of our own, on the Island of Manhattan, though furnished with moretaste and comfort than it is usual to meet in America. M. And Mad. N----were engaged to pass the evening at the house of a connexion near by, and they frankly proposed that we should be of the party. Of course weassented, leaving them to be the judges of what was proper. 

At this second dwelling, a stone's throw from the other, we found asmall party of sensible and well-bred people, who received me as astranger, with marked politeness, but with great simplicity. I wasstruck with the repast, which was exactly like what a country tea is, orperhaps I ought to say, used to be, in respectable families, at home, who have not, or had not, much of the habits of the world. We all satround a large table, and, among other good things that were served, wasan excellent fruit tart! I could almost fancy myself in New England, where I remember a judge of a supreme court once gave me _custards_, ata similar entertainment. The family we had gone to see, were perhaps alittle too elegant for such a set-out, for I had seen them in Rome with_mi-lordi_ and _monsignori_, at their six o'clock dinners; but the quietgood sense with which everybody dropped into their own distinctivehabits at home, caused me to make a comparison between them andourselves, much to the disadvantage of the latter. I do not mean thatusages ought not to change, but that usages should be consistent withthemselves, and based on their general fitness and convenience for thesociety for which they are intended. This is good sense, which iscommonly not only good-breeding, but high-breeding. 

The Genevois are French in their language, in their literature, andconsequently in many of their notions. Still they have independenceenough to have hours, habits, and rules of intercourse that they findsuited to their own particular condition. The fashions of Paris, beyondthe point of reason, would scarcely influence them; and the answer wouldprobably be, were a discrepancy between the customs pointed out, "thatthe usage may suit Paris, but it does not suit Geneva. " How is it with, us? Our women read in novels and magazines, that are usually written bythose who have no access to the society they write about, and which theyoftener caricature than describe, that people of quality in England golate to parties; and they go late to parties, too, to be like Englishpeople of quality. Let me make a short comparison, by way ofillustration. The English woman of quality, in town, rises at an hourbetween nine and twelve. She is dressed by her maid, and if there arechildren, they are brought to her by a child's maid: nourishing themherself is almost out of the question. Her breakfast is eaten betweeneleven and one. At three or four she may lunch. At four she drives out;at half-past seven she dines. At ten she begins to think of theevening's amusement, and is ready for it, whatever it may be, unless itshould happen to be the opera, or the theatre, (the latter being almostproscribed as vulgar), when she necessarily forces herself to hours alittle earlier. She returns home, between one and four, is undressed byher maid, and sleeps until ten or even one, according to circumstances. These are late hours, certainly, and in some respects unwise; but theyhave their peculiar advantages, and, at all events, _they are consistentwith themselves_. 

In New York, the house is open for morning visits at twelve, and with alarge straggling town, bad attendance at the door, and a total want ofconvenience in public vehicles, unless one travels in a stage-coach, yclept an omnibus, it is closed at three, for dinner. _Sending_ a cardwould be little short of social treason. We are too country-bred forsuch an impertinence. After dinner, there is an interval of three hours, when tea is served, and the mistress of the house is at a loss foremployment until ten, when she goes into the world, in order to visit atthe hour she has heard, or read, that fashion prescribes such visitsought to be made, in other countries, England in particular. Here sheremains until one or two, returns home, undresses herself, passes asleepless morning, perhaps, on account of a cross child, and rises atseven to make her husband's coffee at eight!

There is no exaggeration in this, for such is the dependence andimitation of a country that has not sufficient tone to think and act foritself, in still graver matters, that the case might even be madestronger, with great truth. --The men are no wiser. When _invited_, theydine at six; and at home, as a rule, they dine between three and four. Aman who is much in society, dines out at least half his time, andconsequently he is eating one day at four and the next at six, allwinter!

The object of this digression is to tell you that, so far as myobservation goes, we are the only people who do not think and act forourselves, in these matters. French millinery may pass currentthroughout Christendom, for mere modes of dress are habits scarce worthresisting; but in Germany, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, or wherever wehave resided, I have uniformly found that, in all essentials, thepeople have hours and usages of their own, founded on their owngoverning peculiarities of condition. In America, there is a constantstruggle between the force of things and imitation, and the former oftenproving the strongest, it frequently renders the latter lame, and, ofcourse, ungraceful. In consequence of this fact, social intercourse withus is attended with greater personal sacrifices, and returns lesssatisfaction, than in most other countries. There are other causes, beyond a doubt, to assist in producing such a result; more especially ina town like New York, that doubles its population in less than twentyyears; but the want of independence, and the weakness of not adaptingour usages to our peculiar condition, ought to be ranked among thefirst. In some cases, necessity compels us to be Americans, but wheneverthere is a tolerable chance, we endeavour to become "second chopEnglish. "

In a fit of gallantry, I entered a jeweller's shop, next day, and boughta dozen or fifteen rings, with a view to distribute them, on my return, among my young country women at Vévey, of whom there were now not lessthan eight or ten, three families having met at that place. It may serveto make the ladies of your family smile, when I add, that, though I wasaware of the difference between a European and an American foot andhand, [38] every one of my rings, but three, had to be cut, in order tobe worn! It will show you how little one part of mankind know the other, if I add, that I have often met with allusions in this quarter of theworld to the females of America, in which the writers have evidentlysupposed them to be coarse and masculine! The country is deemed vulgar, and by a very obvious association, it has been assumed that the women ofsuch a country must have the same physical peculiarities as the coarseand vulgar here. How false this notion is, let the rings of Genevatestify; for when I presented my offerings, I was almost laughed out ofcountenance. 

[Footnote 38: The southern parts of Europe form an exception. ]

A wind called the _bise_ had been blowing for the last twenty-fourhours, and when we left Vévey the gale was so strong, that thesteam-boat had great difficulty in getting ahead. This is a north wind, and it forces the water, at times, into the narrow pass at the head ofthe lake, in a way to cause a rise of some two or three feet. We hadtaken a large empty bark in tow, but by the time we reached Nyon, wherethe lake widens suddenly, the boat pitched and struggled so hard, as torender it advisable to cast off the tow, after which we did much better. The poor fellow, as he fell off broadside to the sea, which made a fairbreach over him, and set a shred of sail, reminded me of a man who hadbeen fancying himself in luck, by tugging at the heels of a prosperousfriend, but who is unexpectedly cut adrift, when he is foundtroublesome. I did not understand his philosophy, for, instead ofhauling in for the nearest anchorage, he kept away before it, and randown for Geneva, as straight as a bee that is humming towards its hive. 

The lake gradually grew more tranquil as we proceeded north, and fromLausanne to Vévey we actually had smooth water. I saw vessels becalmed, or with baffling winds, under this shore, while the _bise_ was blowingstiff, a few leagues farther down the lake. When I got home I wassurprised to hear that the family had been boating the previous evening, and that there had scarcely been any wind during the day. Thisdifference was owing to the sheltered position of Vévey, of which thefact may serve to give you a better notion than a more laboureddescription. 

The following morning was market-day, and I walked upon the promenadeearly, to witness the arrival of the boats. There was not a breath ofwind, even to leeward, for the _bise_ had blown itself out of breath. The bay of Naples, in a calm, scarcely presents a more picturesque view, than the head of the lake did, on this occasion. I counted more thanfifty boats in sight; all steering towards Vévey, stealing along thewater, some crossing from Savoy, in converging lines, some coming down, and others up the sheet, from different points on the Swiss side. Thegreat square was soon crowded, and I walked among the peasants toobserve their costumes and listen to their language. Neither, however, was remarkable, all speaking French, and, at need, all I believe using a_patois_, which does not vary essentially from that of Vaud. There was agood deal of fruit, some of which was pretty good, though it did notappear in the abundance we had been taught to expect. The grapes werecoming in, and they promised to be fine. Though it is still early forthem, we have them served at breakfast, regularly, for they are said tobe particularly healthful when eaten with the morning dew on them. Wetry to believe ourselves the better for a regimen that is too agreeableto be lightly dropped. Among other things in the market, I observed theinner husks of Indian corn, that had been dried in a kiln or oven, rubbed, and which were now offered for sale as the stuffing of beds. Itstruck me that this was a great improvement on straw. 

I had received a visit the day before from a principal inhabitant ofVévey, with an invitation to breakfast, at his country-house, on theheights. This gratuitous civility was not to be declined, though it wasour desire to be quiet, as we considered the residence at Vévey, a sortof _villagiatura_, after Paris. Accordingly, I got into a _char_, andclimbed the mountain for a mile and a half, through beautiful pasturesand orchards, by narrow winding lanes, that, towards the end, got to beof a very primitive character. Without this little excursion, I shouldhave formed no just idea of the variety in the environs of the place, and should have lost a good deal of their beauty. I have told you thatthis acclivity rises behind the town, for a distance exceeding a mile, but I am now persuaded it would have been nearer the truth had I said aleague. The majesty of Swiss nature constantly deceives the eye, and itrequires great care and much experience to prevent falling into thesemistakes. The house I sought, stood on a little natural terrace, a speckon the broad breast of the mountain, or what would be called a mountain, were it not for the granite piles in its neighbourhood, and wasbeautifully surrounded by woods, pastures, and orchards. We were abovethe vine. 

A small party, chiefly females, of good manners and great good sense, were assembled, and our entertainment was very much what it ought to be, simple, good, and without fuss. After I had been formally presented tothe rest of the company, a young man approached, and was introduced as acountryman. It was a lieutenant of the navy, who had found his way upfrom the Mediterranean squadron to this spot. It is so unusual to meetAmericans under such circumstances, that his presence was an agreeablesurprise. Our people abound in the taverns and public conveyances, butit is quite rare that they are met in European society at all. 

One of the guests to-day recounted an anecdote of Cambacérè's, which wasin keeping with a good banquet. He and the _arch-chancelier_ werereturning from a breakfast in the country, together, when he made aremark on the unusual silence of his companion. The answer was, "_Jedigère_. "

We walked through the grounds, which were prettily disposed, and hadseveral good look-outs. From one of the latter we got a commanding viewof all the adjacent district. This acclivity is neither a _côte_, as theFrench call them, nor a hill-side, nor yet a mountain, but a region. Itsbreadth is sufficiently great to contain hamlets, as you already know, and, seen from this point, the town of Vévey came into the view, as amere particle. The head of the lake lay deep in the distance, and it wasonly when the eye rose to the pinnacles of rock, hoary with glaciersabove, that one could at all conceive he was not already perched on amagnificent Alp. The different guests pointed out their severalresidences, which were visible at the distance of miles, perhaps, allseated on the same verdant acclivity. 

I descended on foot, the road being too precipitous in places to rendereven a _char_ pleasant. On rejoining the domestic circle, we took boatand pulled towards the little chateau-looking dwelling, on a narrowverdant peninsula, which, as you may remember, had first caught my eyeon approaching Vévey, as the very spot that a hunter of the picturesquewould like for a temporary residence. The distance was about a mile, and, the condition of the house excepted, a nearer view confirmed allour first impressions. It had been a small chateau, and was calledGlayrole. It stands near the hamlet of St. Saphorin, which, bothFrançois and Jean maintain, produces the best wines of Vaud, and, thoughnow reduced to the condition of a dilapidated farm-house, has still someremains of its ancient state. There is a ceiling, in the Ritter Saal, that can almost vie with that of the castle of Habsburg, though it isless smoked. The road, more resembling the wheel-track of a lawn than ahighway, runs quite near the house on one side, while the blue andlimpid lake washes the foot of the little promontory. 

LETTER XXI. 

Embark in the Winkelried. --Discussion with an Englishman. --TheValais. --Free Trade. --The Drance. --TerribleInundation. --Liddes. --Mountain Scenery. --A MountainBasin. --Dead-houses. --Melancholy Spectacle. --Approach ofNight. --Desolate Region. --Convent of the Great St. Bernard. --OurReception there. --Unhealthiness of the Situation. --TheSuperior. --Conversation during Supper. --Coal-mine on theMountain. --Night in the Convent. 

Dear ----, After spending a few more days in the same delightful and listlessenjoyments, my friend C---- came over from Lausanne, and we embarked inthe Winkelried, on the afternoon of the 25th September, as she hove-tooff our mole, on her way up the lake. We anchored off Villeneuve in lessthan an hour, there being neither port, nor wharf, nor mole at thatplace. In a few minutes we were in a three-horse conveyance, called adiligence, and were trotting across the broad meadows of the Rhonetowards Bex, where we found one of our American families, the T----s, ontheir way to Italy. 

C---- and myself ate some excellent quails for supper in the publicroom. An Englishman was taking the same repast, at another table, nearus, and he inquired for news, wishing particularly to know the state ofthings about Antwerp. This led to a little conversation, when I observedthat, had the interests of France been consulted at the revolution of1830, Belgium would have been received into the kingdom. Our Englishmangrunted at this, and asked me what Europe would have said to it. Myanswer was, that when both parties were agreed, I did not see whatEurope had to do with the matter; and that, at all events, the rightEurope could have to interfere was founded in might; and such was thestate of south-western Germany, Italy, Savoy, Spain, and even England, that I was of opinion Europe would have been glad enough to take thingsquietly. At all events, a war would only have made the matter worse forthe allied monarchs. The other stared at me in amazement, muttered anaudible dissent, and, I make no doubt, set me down as a most disloyalsubject; for, while extending her empire, and spreading her commercialsystem, (her Free Trade _à l'Anglaise!_) over every nook and corner ofthe earth where she can get footing, nothing sounds more treasonable tothe ears of a loyal Englishman than to give the French possession ofAntwerp, or the Russians possession of Constantinople. So inveteratebecome his national feelings on such subjects, that I am persuaded aportion of his antipathy to the Americans arises from a disgust athearing notions that have been, as it were, bred in and in, through hisown moral system, contemned in a language that he deems his own peculiarproperty. Men, in such circumstances, are rarely very philosophical orvery just. 

We were off in a _char_ with the dawn. Of course you will understandthat we entered the Valais by its famous bridge, and passed St. Maurice, and the water-fall _à la Teniers_; for you have already travelled alongthis road with me. I saw no reason to change my opinion of the Valais, which looked as chill and repulsive now as it did in 1828, though wewere so early on the road as to escape the horrible sight of the basking_crétins_, most of whom were still housed. Nor can I tell you how farthese people have been elevated in the scale of men by an increasingdesire for riches. 

At Martigny we breakfasted, while the innkeeper sent for a guide. Thecanton has put these men under a rigid police, the prices beingregulated by law, and the certificate of the traveller becomingimportant to them. This your advocate of the absurdity called Free Tradewill look upon as tyranny, it being more for the interest of humanintercourse than the traveller who arrives in a strange country shouldbe cheated by a hackney-coachman, or the driver of a cart, or standhiggling an hour in the streets, than to violate an abstraction that cando no one any good! If travelling will not take the minor points of freetradeism out of a man, I hold him to be incorrigible. But such ishumanity! There cannot be even a general truth, that our infirmities donot lead us to push it into falsehood, in particular practice. Men areno more fitted to live under a system that should carry out the extremedoctrines of this theory, than they are fitted to live without law; andthe legislator who should attempt the thing in practice, would soon findhimself in the condition of Don Quixote, after he had liberated thegalley-slaves from their fetters:--in other words, he would be cheatedthe first moment circumstances compelled him to make a hard bargain witha stranger. Were the canton of Valais to say, you _shall_ be a guide, and such _shall_ be your pay, the imputation of tyranny might lie; bysaying, you _may_ be a guide, and such _must_ be your pay, it merelylegislates for an interest that calls for particular protection in aparticular way, to prevent abuses. 

Our guide appeared with two mules harnessed to a _char à banc_, and weproceeded. The fragment of a village which the traveller passes forMartigny, on his way to Italy, is not the true hamlet of that name, buta small collection of houses that has sprung up since the constructionof the Simplon road. The real place is a mile distant, and of a muchmore rural and Swiss character. Driving through this hamlet, we took ourway along the winding bank of a torrent called the Drance, thedirection, at first, being south. The road was not bad, but the valleyhad dwindled to a gorge, and, though broken and wild, was notsufficiently so to be grand. After travelling a few miles, we reached apoint where our own route diverged from the course of the Drance, whichcame in from the east, while we journeyed south. This Drance is thestream that produced the terrible inundation a few years since. Thecalamity was produced by an accumulation of ice higher in the gorges, which formed a temporary lake. The canton made noble efforts to avertthe evil, and men were employed as miners, to cut a passage for thewater, through the ice, but their labour proved useless, although theyhad made a channel, and the danger was greatly lessened. Before half thewater had escaped, however, the ice gave way, and let the remainder ofthe lake down in a flood. The descent was terrific, sweeping before itevery thing that came in its way, and although so distant, and there wasso much space, the village of Martigny was deluged, and several of itspeople lost their lives. The water rose to the height of several feet onthe plain of the great valley, before it could disgorge itself into theRhone. 

The ascents now became more severe, though we occasionally made as sharpdescents. The road lay through a broken valley, the mountains retiringfrom each other a little, and the wheel-track was very much like thosewe saw in our own hilly country, some thirty years since, though lessobstructed by mud. At one o'clock we reached Liddes, a crowded, rude, and dirty hamlet, where we made a frugal repast. Here we were compelledto quit the _char_, and to saddle the mules. The guide also engagedanother man to accompany us with a horse, that carried provender forhimself, and for the two animals we had brought with us. We thenmounted, and proceeded. 

On quitting Liddes, the road, or rather path, for it had dwindled tothat, led through a valley that had some low meadows; after which theascents became more decided, though the course had always been upward. The vegetation gradually grew less and less, the tree diminishing to thebush, and finally disappearing altogether, while the grasses becamecoarse and wiry, or were entirely superseded by moss. We went through ahamlet or two, composed of stones stained apparently with iron ore, and, as the huts were covered with the same material, instead of lending thelandscape a more humanized air, they rather added to its appearance ofsterile dreariness. There were a few tolerably good bits of savagemountain scenes, especially in a wooded glen or two by the wayside; but, on the whole, I thought this the least striking of the Swiss mountains Ihad ascended. 

We entered a sort of mountain basin, that was bounded on one side by theglacier of Mont Vélan; that which so beautifully bounds the view up theValais, as seen from Vévey. I was disappointed in finding an objectwhich, in the distance, was so white and shining, much disfigured andtarnished by fragments of broken rock. Still the summit shone, in coldand spotless lustre. There was herbage for a few goats here, and someone had commenced the walls of a rude building that was intended for aninn. No one was at work near it, a hut of stone, for the shelter of thegoatherds, being all that looked like a finished human habitation. 

Winding our way across and out of this valley, we came to a turn in therocks, and beheld two more stone cabins, low and covered, so as toresemble what in America are called root-houses. They stood a littlefrom the path, on the naked rock. Crossing to them, we dismounted andlooked into the first. It was empty, had a little straw, and wasintended for a refuge, in the event of storms. Thrusting my head intothe other, after the eye had got a little accustomed to the light, I sawa grinning corpse seated against the remotest side. The body looked likea mummy, but the clothes were still on it, and various shreds ofgarments lay about the place. The remains of other bodies, that hadgradually shrunk into shapeless masses, were also dimly visible. Humanbones, too, were scattered around. It is scarcely necessary to add thatthis was one of the dead-houses, or places in which the bodies of thosewho perish on the mountain are deposited, to waste away, or to beclaimed, as others may or may not feel an interest in their remains. Interment could only be effected by penetrating the rock, for there wasno longer any soil, and such is the purity of the atmosphere thatputrescence never occurs. 

I asked the guide if he knew anything of the man, whose body stillretained some of the semblance of humanity. He told me he remembered himwell, having been at the convent in his company. It was a poor mason, who had crossed the _col_, from Piémont, in quest of work; failing ofwhich, he had left Liddes, near nightfall, in order to enjoy theunremitting hospitality of the monks on his return, about a fortnightlater. His body was found on the bare rock, quite near the refuge, onthe following day. The poor fellow had probably perished in the dark, within a few yards of shelter, without knowing it. Hunger and cold, aided, perhaps, by that refuge of the miserable, brandy, had destroyedhim. He had been dead now two years, and yet his remains preserved ahideous resemblance to the living man. 

Turning away from this melancholy spectacle, I looked about me withrenewed interest. The sun had set, and evening was casting its shadowsover the valley below, which might still be seen through the gorges ofour path. The air above, and the brown peaks that rose around us likegloomy giants, were still visible in a mellow saddened light, and Ithought I had never witnessed a more poetical, or a more vivid pictureof the approach of night. Following the direction of the upward path, atrack that was visible only by the broken fragments of rock, and whichnow ascended suddenly, an opening was seen between two dark granitepiles, through which the sky beyond still shone, lustrous and pearly. This opening appeared to be but a span. It was the _col_, or the summitof the path, and gazing at it, in that pure atmosphere, I supposed itmight be half a mile beyond and above us. The guide shook his head atthis conjecture, and told me it was still a weary league!

At this intelligence we hurried to bestride our mules, which by thistime were fagged, and as melancholy as the mountains. When we left therefuge there were no traces of the sun on any of the peaks or glaciers. A more sombre ascent cannot be imagined. Vegetation had absolutelydisappeared, and in its place lay scattered the fragments of theferruginous looking rocks. The hue of every object was gloomy asdesolation could make it, and the increasing obscurity served to deepenthe intense interest we felt. Although constantly and industriouslyascending towards the light, it receded faster than we could climb. After half an hour of toil, it finally deserted us to the night. At thismoment the guide pointed to a mass that I had thought a fragment of theliving rock, and said it was the roof a building. It still appeared sonear, that I fancied we had arrived; but minute after minute went by, and this too was gradually swallowed up in the gloom. At the end ofanother quarter of an hour, we came to a place where the path, alwayssteep since quitting the refuge, actually began to ascend by a flight ofbroad steps formed in the living rock, like that already mentioned onthe Righi, though less precipitous. My weary mule seemed at times, to betottering beneath my weight, or hanging in suspense, undecided, whetheror not to yield to the downward pressure. It was quite dark, and Ithought it best to trust to his instinct and his recollections. Thisunpleasant struggle between animal force and the attraction ofgravitation, in which the part I played was merely to contribute to thelatter, lasted nearly a quarter of an hour longer, when the mulesappeared to be suddenly relieved. They moved more briskly for a minute, and then stopped before a pile of rock, that a second look in the darkenabled us to see was made of stone, thrown into the form of a largerude edifice. This was the celebrated convent of the Great St. Bernard!

I bethought me of the Romans, of the marauders of the middle ages, ofthe charity of a thousand years, and of Napoleon, as throwing a leg overthe crupper, my foot first touched the rock. Our approach had beenheard, for noises ascend far through such a medium, and we were met atthe door by a monk in a black gown, a queer Asiatic-looking cap, and amovement that was as laical as that of a _garçon de café_. He hastilyenquired if there were any ladies, and I thought he appeareddisappointed when we told him no. He showed us very civilly, however, into a room, that was warmed by a stove, and which already contained twotravellers, who had the air of decent tradesmen who were crossing themountain on business. A table was set for supper, and a lamp or twothrew a dim light around. 

The little community soon assembled, the prior excepted, and the supperwas served. I had brought a letter for the _clavier_, a sort of caterer, who is accustomed to wander through the vallies in quest ofcontributions; and this appeared to be a good time for presenting it, asour reception had an awkward coldness that was unpleasant. The letterwas read, but it made no apparent difference in the warmth of ourtreatment then or afterwards. I presume the writer had unwittinglythrown the chill, which the American name almost invariably carries withit, over our reception. 

By this time seven of the Augustines were in the room; four of whom werecanons, and three novices. The entire community is composed of aboutthirty, who are professed, with a suitable number who are in theirnoviciate; but only eight in all are habitually kept on the mountain, the rest residing in a convent in the _bourg_, as the real village ofMartigny is called. It is said that the keen air of the _col_ affectsthe lungs after a time, and that few can resist its influence for a longcontinued period. You will remember that this building is the mostelevated permanent abode in Europe, if not in the Old World, standing ata height of about 8, 000 English feet above the sea. 

As soon as the supper was served, the superior or prior entered. He hada better air than most of his brethren, and was distinguished by a goldchain and cross. The others saluted him by removing their caps; andproceeding to the head of the table, he immediately commenced the usualoffices in Latin, the responses being audibly made by the monks andnovices. We were then invited to take our places at table, the seats ofhonour being civilly left for the strangers. The meal was frugal, without tea or coffee, and the wine none of the best. But one ought tobe too grateful for getting anything in such a place, to be toofastidious. 

During supper there was a free general conversation, and we were askedfor news, the movements in La Vendée being evidently a subject of greatinterest with them. Our French fellow-traveller on the lake of Brientzhad been warm in his eulogiums on this community, and, coupling hisconversation with the present question, the suspicion that they wereconnected by a tie of common feeling flashed upon me. A few remarks soonconfirmed this conjecture, and I found, as indeed was natural for men intheir situation, that these religious republicans[39] took a stronginterest in the success of the Carlists. Men may call themselves whatthey will, live where they may, and assume what disguises artifice ornecessity may impose, political instincts, like love, or any otherstrong passion, are sure to betray themselves to an experiencedobserver. How many of our own republicans, of the purest water, have Iseen sighing for ribands and stars--ay, and men too who appear beforethe nation as devoted to the institutions and the rights of the mass. The Romish church is certain to be found in secret on the side ofdespotic power, let its pretensions to liberty be what it may, its ownform of government possessing sympathies with that of political powertoo strong to be effectually concealed. I will not take on myself to saythat the circumstance of our being Americans caused the fraternity tomanifest for us less warmth than common, but I will say that our Carlistof the lake of Brientz eloquently described the warm welcome and earnesthospitality of _les bons pères_, as he called them, in a way that wasentirely inapplicable to their manner towards us. In short, the only waywe could excite any warmth in them, was by blowing the anthracite coal, of which we had heard they had discovered a mine on the mountain. Thiswas a subject of great interest, for you should know that, waterexcepted, every necessary of life is to be transported, for leagues tothis place, up the path we came, on the backs of mules; and that about8, 000 persons cross the mountain annually; all, or nearly all, of whomlodge, of necessity, at the convent. The elevation renders firesconstantly necessary for comfort, to say nothing of cooking; and a mineof gold could scarcely be as valuable to such a community, as one ofcoal. Luckily, C----, like a true Pennsylvanian, knew something aboutanthracite, and by making a few suggestions, and promising furtherintelligence, he finally succeeded in throwing one or two of thecommunity into a blaze. 

[Footnote 39: Your common-place logicians argue from these sentimentsthat distinctions are natural, and ought to be maintained. Thesephilosophers forget that human laws are intended to restrain the naturalpropensities, and that this argument would be just as applicable to theright of a strong man to knock down a weak one, and to take the breadfrom his mouth, as it is to the institution of exclusive politicalprivileges. ]

A little before nine, we were shown into a plain but comfortable room, with two beds loaded with blankets, and were left to our slumbers. Before we fell asleep, C---- and myself agreed, that, taking the conventaltogether, it was a _rum_ place, and that it required more imaginationthan either of us possessed, to throw about it the poetry of monasticseclusion, and the beautiful and simple hospitality of the patriarchs. 

LETTER XXII. 

Sublime Desolation. --A Morning Walk. --The Col. --A Lake. --Site of a RomanTemple. --Enter Italy. --Dreary Monotony. --Return to theConvent--Tasteless Character of the Building. --Its Origin andPurposes. --The Dead-house. --Dogs of St. Bernard. --The Chapel. --Desaixinterred here. --Fare of St. Bernard, and Deportment of the Monks. --Leavethe Convent. --Our Guide's Notion of the Americans. --Passage of Napoleonacross the Great St. Bernard. --Similar Passages in formertimes. --Transport of Artillery up the Precipices. --Napoleon's perilousAccident. --Return to Vévey. 

Dear ----, The next morning we arose betimes, and on thrusting my head out of awindow, I thought, by the keen air, that we had been suddenlytransferred to Siberia. There is no month without frost at this greatelevation, and as we had now reached the 27th September, the season wasessentially beginning to change. Hurrying our clothes on, and our beardsoff, we went into the air to look about us. 

Monks, convent, and historical recollections were, at first, allforgotten, at the sight of the sublime desolation that reigned around. The _col_ is a narrow ravine, between lofty peaks, which happens toextend entirely across this point of the Upper Alps, thus forming apassage several thousand feet lower than would otherwise be obtained. The convent stands within a few yards of the northern verge of theprecipice, and precisely at the spot where the lowest cavity is formed, the rocks beginning to rise, in its front and in its rear, at very shortdistances from the buildings. A little south of it, the mountains recedesufficiently to admit the bed of a small, dark, wintry-looking sheet ofwater, which is oval in form, and may cover fifty or sixty acres. Thislake nearly fills the whole of the level part of the _col_, beingbounded north by the site of the convent, east by the mountain, west bythe path, for which there is barely room between the water and therising rocks, and south by the same path, which is sheltered on itsother side by a sort of low wall of fragments, piled some twenty orthirty feet high. Beyond these fragments, or isolated rocks, wasevidently a valley of large dimensions. 

We walked in the direction of this valley, descending gradually from thedoor of the convent, some thirty feet to the level of the lake. This weskirted by the regular path, rock smoothed by the hoof of horse and footof man, until we came near the last curve of the oval formation. Herewas the site of a temple erected by the Romans in honour of Jupiter ofthe Snows, this passage of the Alps having been frequented from the mostremote antiquity. We looked at the spot with blind reverence, for theremains might pass for these of a salad-bed of the monks, of which therewas one enshrined among the rocks hard by, and which was about as large, and, I fancy, about as productive, as those that are sometimes seen onthe quarter-galleries of ships. At this point we entered Italy!

Passing from the frontier, we still followed the margin of the lake, until we reached a spot where its waters trickled, by a low passage, southward. The path took the same direction, pierced the barrier of lowrocks, and came out on the verge of the southern declivity, which wasstill more precipitous than that on the other side. For a short distancethe path ran _en corniche_ along the margin of the descent, until itreached the remotest point of what might be called the _col_, whosesouthern edge is irregular, and then it plunged, by the most practicabledescent which could be found, towards its Italian destination. When atthis precise point our distance from the convent may have been half amile, which, of course, is the breadth of the _col_. We could see morethan half a league down the brown gulf below, but no sign of vegetationwas visible. Above, around, beneath, wherever the eye rested--the voidof the heavens, the distant peaks of snow, the lake, the convent and itsaccessories excepted--was dark, frowning rock, of the colour of ironrust. As all the buildings, even to the roofs, were composed of thismaterial, they produced little to relieve the dreary monotony. 

The view from the _col_ is in admirable keeping with its desolation. Oneis cut off completely from the lower world, and, beyond its ownimmediate scene, nothing is visible but the impending arch of heaven, and heaving mountain tops. The water did little to change this characterof general and savage desolation, for it has the chill and wintry air ofall the little mountain reservoirs that are so common in the Alps. Ifanything, it rather added to the intensity of the feeling to which theother parts of the scenery gave rise. 

Returning from our walk, the convent and its long existence, the natureof the institution, its present situation, and all that poetical feelingcould do for both, were permitted to resume their influence; but, alas!the monks were common-place, their movements and utterance wanted thecalm dignity of age and chastened habits, the building had too much ofthe machinery, smell, and smoke of the kitchen; and, altogether, wethought that the celebrated convent of St. Bernard was more picturesqueon paper than in fact. Even the buildings were utterly tasteless, resembling a _barnish_-looking manufactory, and would be quiteabominable, but for the delightfully dreary appearance of theirmaterial. 

It is a misfortune that vice so often has the best of it in outwardappearance. Although a little disposed to question the particularinstance of taste, in substance, I am of the opinion of that religionistwho was for setting his hymns to popular airs, in order "that the devilmight not monopolize all the good music, " and, under this impression, Ithink it a thousand pities that a little better keeping betweenappearances and substance did not exist on the Great St. Bernard. 

The convent is said to have been established by a certain Bernard deMenthon, an Augustine of Aoste, in 962, who was afterwards canonized forhis holiness. In that remote age the institution must have beeneminently useful, for posting and Macadamized roads across the Alps werenot thought of. It even does much good now, as nine-tenths who stop hereare peasants that pay nothing for their entertainment. At particularseasons, and on certain occasions, they cross in great numbers, my guideassuring me he had slept at the convent when there were eight hundredguests; a story, by the way, that one of the monks confirmed. Some fairor festival, however, led to this extraordinary migration. Formerly theconvent was rich, and able to bear the charges of entertaining so manyguests; but since the Revolution it has lost most of its property, andhas but a small fixed income. It is authorized, however, to makeperiodical _quêtes_ in the surrounding country, and obtains a good dealin that way. All who can pay, moreover, leave behind them donations ofgreater or less amount, and by that means the charity is stillmaintained. 

As many perish annually on the mountain, and none are interred, anotherdead-house stands quite near the convent for the reception of thebodies. It is open to the air, and contained forty or fifty corpses inevery stage of decay apart from putrescency, and was a most revoltingspectacle. When the flesh disappears entirely, the bones are cast into asmall enclosure near by, in which skulls, thigh-bones, and ribs werelying in a sort of waltz-like confusion. 

Soon after our return from the walk into Italy, a novice opened a littledoor in the outer wall of the convent, and the famous dogs of St. Bernard rushed forth like so many rampant tigers, and most famousfellows they certainly were. Their play was like that of elephants, andone of them rushing past me, so near as to brush my clothes, gave me tounderstand that a blow from him might be serious. There were five ofthem in all, long-legged, powerful mastiffs, with short hair, longbushy tails, and of a yellowish hue. I have seen very similar animalsin America. They are trained to keep the paths, can carry cordials andnourishment around their necks, and frequently find bodies in the snowby the scent. But their instinct and services have been greatlyexaggerated, the latter principally consisting in showing the travellerthe way, by following the paths themselves. Were one belated in winteron this pass, I can readily conceive that a dog of this force that knewhim, and was attached to him, would be invaluable. Some pretend that theancient stock is lost, and that their successors show the want of bloodof all usurpers. 

We were now shown into a room where there was a small collection ofminerals, and of Roman remains found about the ruins of the temple. Atseven we received a cup of coffee and some bread and butter, after whichthe prior entered, and invited us to look at the chapel, which is ofmoderate dimensions, and of plain ornaments. There is a box attached toa column, with _tronc pour les pauvres_, and as all the poor in thismountain are those who enjoy the hospitality of the convent, the hintwas understood. We dropped a few francs into the hole, while the priorwas looking earnestly the other way, and it then struck us we were atliberty to depart. The body of Desaix lies in this chapel, and there isa small tablet in it, erected to his memory. 

It would be churlish and unreasonable to complain of the fare, in a spotwhere food is to be had with so much difficulty; and, on that head, Ishall merely say, in order that you may understand the fact, that wefound the table of St. Bernard very indifferent. As to the deportment ofthe monks, certainly, so far as we were concerned, it had none of thatwarmth and hospitality that travellers have celebrated; but, on thecontrary, it struck us both as cold and constrained, strongly remindingme, in particular, of the frigidity of the ordinary American manner. [40]This might be discipline; it might be the consequence of habitual andincessant demands on their attentions and services; it might beaccidental; or it might be prejudice against the country from which wecame, that was all the stronger for the present excited state of Europe. 

[Footnote 40: The peculiar coldness of our manners, which are too apt topass suddenly from the repulsive to the familiar, has often beencommented on, but can only be appreciated by those who have beenaccustomed to a different. Two or three days after the return of thewriter from his journey in Europe (which had lasted nearly eight years), a public dinner was given, in New York, to a distinguished navalofficer, and he was invited to attend it, _as a guest_. Here he met acrowd, one half of whom he knew personally. Without a single exception, those of his acquaintances who did speak to him (two-thirds did not), addressed him as if they had seen him the week before, and so cold andconstrained did every man's manner seem, that he had great difficulty inpersuading himself there was not something wrong. He could not believe, however, that he was especially invited to be neglected, and he tried torevive his old impressions; but the chill was so thorough, that he foundit impossible to sit out the dinner. ]

Our mules were ready, and we left the _col_ immediately after breakfast. A ridge in the rock, just before the convent, is the dividing line forthe flow of the waters. Here a little snow still lay; and there werepatches of snow, also, on the northern face of the declivity, theremains of the past winter. 

We chose to walk the first league, which brought us to the refuge. Theprevious day, the guide had given us a great deal of gossip; and, amongother things, be mentioned having been up to the convent lately, with afamily of Americans, whom he described as a people of peculiarappearance, and _peculiar odour_. By questioning him a little, wediscovered that he had been up with a party of coloured people from St. Domingo. His head was a perfect Babel as it respected America, which wasnot a hemisphere, but one country, one government, and one people. Tothis we were accustomed, however; and, finding that we passed forEnglish, we trotted the honest fellow a good deal on the subject of hisnasal sufferings from travelling in such company. On the descent we knewthat we should encounter the party left at Bex, and our companion wasproperly prepared for the interview. Soon after quitting the refuge, themeeting took place, to the astonishment of the guide, who gravelyaffirmed, after we had parted, that there must be two sorts ofAmericans, as these we had just left did not at all resemble those hehad conducted to the convent. May this little incident prove an enteringwedge to some new ideas in the Valais, on the subject of the "twelvemillions!"

The population of this canton, more particularly the women, were muchmore good-looking on the mountain than in the valley. We saw no_crétins_ after leaving Martigny; and soft lineaments, and clearcomplexions, were quite common in the other sex. 

You will probably wish to know something of the celebrated passage ofNapoleon, and of its difficulties. As far as the ascent was concerned, the latter has been greatly exaggerated. Armies have frequently passedthe Great St. Bernard. Aulus Coecinna led his barbarians across in 69;the Lombards crossed in 547; several armies in the time of Charlemagne, or about the year 1000; and in the wars of Charles le Téméraire, as wellas at other periods, armies made use of this pass. Near the year 900, astrong body of Turkish corsairs crossed from Italy, and seized the passof St. Maurice. Thus history is full of events to suggest the idea ofcrossing. 

Nor is this all. From the time the French entered Switzerland in 1796, troops occupied, manoeuvred, and even _fought_ on this mountain. TheAustrians having succeeded in turning the summit, contended an entireday with their enemies, who remained masters of the field, or ratherrock. Ebel estimates the number of the hostile troops who were on thispass, between the years 1798 and 1801, 150, 000, including the army ofNapoleon, which was 30, 000 strong. 

These facts of themselves, and I presume they cannot be contested, givea totally different colouring, from that which is commonly entertained, to the conception of the enterprise of the First Consul, so far as thedifficulties of the ascent were concerned. If the little community cantransport stores for 8, 000 souls to the convent, there could be no greatdifficulty in one, who had all France at his disposal, in throwing anarmy across the pass. When we quitted Martigny, I began to study thedifficulties of the route, and though the road as far as Liddes hasprobably been improved a little within thirty years, taking its worstparts, I have often travelled, in my boyhood, during the earlysettlement of our country, in a heavy, high, old-fashioned coach overroads that were quite as bad, and, in some places, over roads that wereactually more dangerous, than any part of this, _as far as Liddes_. Evena good deal of the road after quitting Liddes is not worse than that weformerly travelled, but wheels are nearly useless for the last league ortwo. As we rode along this path, C---- asked me in what manner I wouldtransport artillery up such an ascent. Without the least reflection Ianswered, by making sledges of the larches, which is an expedient that Ithink would suggest instantly itself to nineteen men in twenty. I havesince understood from the Duc de ----, who was an aide of Napoleon, onthe occasion of the passage, that it was precisely the expedientadopted. Several thousand Swiss peasants were employed in drawing thelogs, thus loaded, up the precipices. I do not think it absolutelyimpracticable to take up guns limbered, but the other plan would be muchthe easiest, as well as the safest. In short, I make no doubt, so far asmere toil and physical difficulties are concerned, that a hundredmarches have been made through the swamps and forests of America, inevery one of which, mile for mile, greater natural obstacles have beenovercome than those on this celebrated passage. The French, it will beremembered, were unresisted, and had possession of the _col_, a garrisonhaving occupied the convent for more than a year. 

The great merit of the First Consul was in the surprise, the militarymanner in which the march was effected, and the brilliant success of hissubsequent movements. Had he been defeated, I fancy few would havethought so much of the simple passage of the mountain, unless toreproach him for placing the rocks between himself and a retreat. As he_was not_ defeated, the _audace_ of the experiment, a great militaryquality sometimes, enters, also, quite properly into the estimate of hisglory. 

The guide pointed to a place where, according to his account of thematter, the horse of the First Consul stumbled and pitched him over aprecipice, the attendants catching him by his great-coat, assisted by afew bushes. This may be true, for the man affirmed he had heard it fromthe guide who was near Napoleon at the time, and a mis-step of a horsemight very well produce such a fall. The precipice was both steep andhigh, and had the First Consul gone down it, it is not probable he wouldever have gone up the St. Bernard. 

At Liddes we re-entered the _char_ and trotted down to Martigny in goodtime. Here we got another conveyance, and pushed down the valley, through St. Maurice, across the bridge, and out of the gate of thecanton, again, reaching Bex a little after dark. 

The next morning we were off early for Villeneuve, in order to reach theboat. This was handsomely effected, and heaving-to abreast of Vévey, wesucceeded in eating our breakfast at "Mon Repos. "

LETTER XXIII. 

Democracy in America and in Switzerland. --EuropeanPrejudices. --Influence of Property. --Nationality of the Swiss. --Want ofLocal Attachments in Americans. --Swiss Republicanism. --Political Crusadeagainst America. --Affinities between America and Russia. --Feeling of theEuropean Powers towards Switzerland. 

Dear ----, It is a besetting error with those who write of America, whether astravellers, political economists, or commentators on the moral featuresof ordinary society, to refer nearly all that is peculiar in the countryto the nature of its institutions. It is scarcely exaggerated to saythat even its physical phenomena are ascribed to its democracy. Reflecting on this subject, I have been struck by the fact that no suchflights of the imagination are ever indulged in by those who speak ofSwitzerland. That which is termed the rudeness of liberty and equality, with us, becomes softened down here into the frankness of mountaineers, or the sturdy independence of republicans; what is vulgarity on theother side of the Atlantic, is unsophistication on this, and truculencein the States dwindles to be earnest remonstrances in the cantons!

There undeniably exist marked points of difference between the Swiss andthe Americans. The dominion of a really popular sway is admitted nowherehere, except in a few unimportant mountain cantons, that are but littleknown, and which, if known, would not exercise a very serious influenceon any but their own immediate inhabitants. With us, the case isdifferent. New York and Pennsylvania and Ohio, for instance, with aunited population of near five millions of souls, are as puredemocracies as can exist under a representative form of government, andtheir trade, productions, and example so far connect them with the restof Christendom, as to render them objects of deep interest to all wholook beyond the present moment, in studying the history of man. 

We have States, however, in which the franchise does not materiallydiffer from those of many of the cantons, and yet we do not find thatstrangers make any material exceptions even in _their_ favour. Few thinkof viewing the States in which there are property qualifications, in alight different from those just named; nor is a disturbance in Virginiadeemed to be less the consequence of democratic effervescence, than itis in Pennsylvania. 

There must be reasons for all this. I make no doubt they are to be foundin the greater weight of the example of a large and growing community, of active commercial and political habits, than in one like this, whichis satisfied with simply maintaining a quiet and secure existence; inour total rejection of the usual aristocratical distinctions which stillexist, more or less, all over Switzerland; in the jealousy of commercialand maritime power, and in the recollections which are inseparable fromthe fact that the parties once stood to each other, in the relation ofprincipals and dependants. This latter feeling, an unavoidableconsequence of metropolitan sway, is more general than you may imagine, for, as nearly all Europe once had colonies, the feelings of superioritythey uniformly excite, have as naturally led to jealousy of the risingimportance of our hemisphere. You may smile at the suggestion, but I donot remember a single European in whom, under proper opportunities, Ihave not been able to trace some lingering feeling of the old notion ofthe moral and physical superiority of the man of Europe over the man ofAmerica. I do not say that all I have met have betrayed this prejudice, for in not one case in ten have I had the means to probe them; but such, I think, has uniformly been the case, though in very different degrees, whenever the opportunity has existed. 

Though the mountain, or the purely rural population, here, possess moreindependence and frankness of manner than those who inhabit the townsand advanced valleys, neither has them in so great a degree, as to leaveplausible grounds for believing that the institutions are veryessentially connected with the traits. Institutions may _depress menbelow_ what may be termed the natural level of feeling in this respect, as in the case of slavery; but, in a civilized society, where propertyhas its influence, I much question if any political regulations canraise them above it. After allowing for the independence of manner andfeeling that are coincident to easy circumstances, and which is theresult of obvious causes, I know no part of America in which this is notalso the fact. The employed is, and will be everywhere, to a certainpoint, dependent on his employer, and the relations between the twocannot fail to bring forth a degree of authority and submission, thatwill vary according to the character of individuals and thecircumstances of the moment. 

I infer from this that the general aspects of society, after men ceaseto be serfs and slaves, can never be expected to vary essentially fromeach other, merely on account of the political institutions, except, perhaps, as those institutions themselves may happen to affect theirtemporal condition. In other words, I believe that we are to look moreto property and to the absence or presence of facilities of living, foreffects of this nature, than to the breadth or narrowness ofconstituencies. 

The Swiss, as is natural from their greater antiquity, richerrecollections, and perhaps from their geographical position, are morenational than the Americans. With us, national pride and nationalcharacter exist chiefly in the classes that lie between the yeomen andthe very bottom of the social scale; whereas, here, I think the higherone ascends, the stronger the feeling becomes. The Swiss moreover ispressed upon by his wants, and is often obliged to tear himself from hisnative soil, in order to find the means of subsistence; and yet very fewof them absolutely expatriate themselves. 

The emigrants that are called Swiss in America, either come fromGermany, or are French Germans, from Alsace and Lorrain. I have nevermet with a migration of a body of true Swiss, though some few casesprobably have existed. It would be curious to inquire how far the noblenature of the country has an influence in producing their strongnational attachments. The Neapolitans love their climate, and wouldrather be Lazzaroni beneath their sun, than gentlemen in Holland, orEngland. This is simple enough, as it depends on physical indulgence. The charm that binds the Swiss to his native mountains, must be of ahigher character, and is moral in its essence. 

The American character suffers from the converse of the very feelingwhich has an effect so beneficial on that of the Swiss. The migratoryhabits of the country prevent the formation of the intensity ofinterest, to which the long residence of a family in a particular spotgives birth, and which comes, at last, to love a tree, or a hill, or arock, because they are the same tree, and hill, and rock, that have beenloved by our fathers before us. These are attachments that depend onsentiment rather than on interest, and which are as much purer andholier, as virtuous sentiment is purer and holier than worldlyinterestedness. In this moral feature, therefore, we are inferior to allold nations, and to the Swiss in particular, I think, as their localattachments are both quickened and heightened by the exciting and grandobjects that surround them. The Italians have the same local affections, in a still stronger degree; for with a nature equally, or even morewinning, they have still prouder and more-remote recollections. 

I do not believe the Swiss, at heart, are a bit more attached to theirinstitutions than we are ourselves; for, while I complain of the _tone_of so many of our people, I consider it, after all, as the tone ofpeople who, the means of comparison having been denied them, neitherknow that which they denounce, nor that which they extol. Apart from theweakness of wishing for personal distinctions, however, I never met witha Swiss gentleman, who appeared to undervalue his institutions. Theyfrequently, perhaps generally, lament the want of greater power in theconfederation; but, as between a monarchy and a republic, so far as myobservation goes, they are uniformly Swiss. I do not believe there issuch a thing, in all the cantons, as a man, for instance, who pines forthe Prussian despotism! They will take service under kings, be theirsoldiers, body-guards--real Dugald Dalgettys--but when the questioncomes to Switzerland, one and all appear to think that the descendantsof the companions of Winkelried and Stauffer must be republicans. Now, all this may be because there are few in the condition of gentlemen, inthe democratic cantons, and the gentlemen of the other parts of theconfederation prefer that things should be as they are (or rather, solately were, for the recent changes have hardly had time to make animpression), to putting a prince in the place of the aristocrats. Selfis so prominent in everything of this nature, that I feel no great faithin the generosity of men. Still I do believe that time and history, andnational pride, and Swiss _morgue_, have brought about a state offeeling that would indispose them to bow down to a Swiss sovereign. 

A policy is observed by the other states of Europe towards thisconfederation, very different from that which is, or perhaps it would bebetter to say, has been observed toward us. As respects ourselves, Ihave already observed it was my opinion, there would have been apolitical crusade got up against us, had not the recent changes takenplace in Europe, and had the secret efforts to divide the Union failed. Their chief dependence, certainly, is on our national dissensions; butas this would probably fail them, I think we should have seen somepretence for an invasion. The motive would be the strong necessity whichexisted for destroying the example of a republic, or rather of ademocracy, that was getting to be too powerful. Strange as you may thinkit, I believe our chief protection in such a struggle would have beenRussia. 

We hear and read a great deal about the "Russian bear, " but it will beour own fault if this bear does us any harm. Let the Edinburgh Review, the advocate of mystified liberalism, prattle as much as it choose, onthis topic, it becomes us to look at the subject like Americans. Thereare more practical and available affinities between America and Russia, at this very moment, than there is between America and any other nationin Europe. They have high common political objects to obtain, and Russiahas so little to apprehend from the example of America, that no jealousyof the latter need interrupt their harmony. You see the counterpart ofthis in the present condition of France and Russia. So far as theirgeneral policy is concerned, they need not conflict, but rather ought tounite, and yet the mutual jealousy on the subject of the institutionskeeps them alienated, and almost enemies. Napoleon, it is true, saidthat these two nations, sooner or later, must fight for the possessionof the east, but it was the ambition of the man, rather than theinterests of his country, that dictated the sentiment. The France ofNapoleon, and the France of Louis-Philippe, are two very differentthings. 

Now, as I have told you, Switzerland is regarded by the powers who wouldcrush America, with other eyes. I do not believe that a congress ofEurope would convert this republic into a monarchy, if it could, to-morrow. Nothing essential would be gained by such a measure, while agreat deal might be hazarded. A king must have family alliances, andthese alliances would impair the neutrality it is so desirable tomaintain. The cantons are equally good, as outworks, for France, Austria, Bavaria, Wurtemburg, Lombardy, Sardinia, and the Tyrol. Allcannot have them, and all are satisfied to keep them as a defenceagainst their neighbours. No one hears, in the war of opinion, that isgoing on here, the example of the Swiss quoted on the side of liberty!For this purpose, they appear to be as totally out of view, as if theyhad no existence. 

LETTER XXIV. 

The Swiss Mountain Passes. --Excursion in the neighbourhood ofVévey. --Castle of Blonay. --View from the Terrace. --Memory andHope. --Great Antiquity of Blonay. --The Knight's Hall. --Prospect from theBalcony. --Departure from Blonay. --A Modern Chateau. --Travelling onHorseback. --News from America. --Dissolution of the Union predicted. --ThePrussian Polity. --Despotism in Prussia. 

Dear ----, You may have gathered from my last letters that I do not rank the pathof the Great St. Bernard among the finest of the Swiss mountain passes. You will remember, however, that we saw but little of the Italian side, where the noblest features and grandest scenes on these roads areusually found. The Simplon would not be so very extraordinary, were itconfined to its Swiss horrors and Swiss magnificence, though, by thelittle I have seen of them, I suspect that both the St. Gothard and theSplugen do a little better on their northern faces. The pass by Nice ispeculiar, being less wild and rocky than any other, while it possessesbeauties entirely its own (and extraordinary beauties they are), in theconstant presence of the Mediterranean, with its vast blue expanse, dotted with sails of every kind that the imagination can invent. It hasalways appeared to me that poets have been the riggers of that sea. 

C---- and myself were too _mountaineerish_ after this exploit to remaincontented in a valley, however lovely it might be, and the next day wesallied forth on foot, to explore the hill-side behind Vévey. The roadled at first through narrow lanes, lined by vineyards; but emerging fromthese, we soon came out into a new world, and one that I can compare tono other I have ever met with. I should never tire of expatiating on thebeauties of this district, which really appear to be created expresslyto render the foreground of one of the sublimest pictures on earthworthy of the rest of the piece. 

It was always mountain, but a mountain so gradual of ascent, so vast, and yet so much like a broad reach of variegated low land, in itsornaments, cultivation, houses, villages, copses, meadows, and vines, that it seemed to be a huge plain canted into a particular inclination, in order to give the spectator a better opportunity to examine it indetail, and at his leisure, as one would hold a picture to the properlight. Some of the ascents, nevertheless, were sufficiently sharp, andmore than once we were glad enough to stop to cool ourselves, and totake breath. At length, after crossing some lovely meadows, by themargin of beautiful woods, we came out at the spot which was the goal wehad aimed at from the commencement of the excursion. This was the castleof Blonay, of whose picturesque site and pleasant appearance I havealready spoken in my letters, as a venerable hold that stands about aleague from the town, on one of the most striking positions of themountain. 

The family of Blonay has been in possession of this place for sevenhundred years. One branch of it is in Sardinia; but I suppose its headis the occupant of the house, or castle. As the building was historical, and the De Blonays of unquestionable standing, I was curious to examinethe edifice, since it might give me some further insight into thecondition of the old Swiss nobility. Accordingly we applied foradmission, and obtained it without difficulty. 

The Swiss castles, with few exceptions, are built on the breasts, orspurs, of mountains. The immediate foundation is usually a rock, and thesites were generally selected on account of the difficulties of theapproach. This latter peculiarity, however, does not apply so rigidly toBlonay as to most of the other holds of the country, for the rock whichforms its base serves for little else than a solid foundation. I presumeone of the requisites of such a site was the difficulty orimpossibility of undermining the walls, a mode of attack that existedlong before gunpowder was known. 

The buildings of Blonay are neither extensive nor very elaborate. Weentered by a modest gateway in a retired corner, and found ourselves atonce in a long, narrow, irregular court. On the left was a _corps debâtiment_, that contained most of the sleeping apartments, and a few ofthe others, with the offices; in front was a still older wing, in whichwas the knight's hall, and one or two other considerable rooms; and onthe right was the keep, an old solid tower, that was originally thenucleus and parent of all the others, as well as a wing that is nowdegraded to the duties of a storehouse. These buildings form the circuitof the court, and complete the edifice; for the side next the mountain, or that by which we entered, had little besides the ends of the twolateral buildings and the gate. The latter was merely a sort ofchivalrous back-door, for there was another between the old tower andthe building of the knight's hall, of more pretension, and which wasmuch larger. The great gate opens on a small elevated terrace, that isbeautifully shaded by fine trees, and which commands a view, second, Ifeel persuaded, to but few on earth. I do not know that it is soperfectly exquisite as that we got from the house of Cardinal Rufo, atNaples, and yet it has many admirable features that were totally wantingto the Neapolitan villa. I esteem these two views as much the best thatit has ever been my good fortune to gaze at from any dwelling, thoughthe beauties of both are, as a matter of course, more or less shared byall the houses in their respective neighbourhoods. The greatcarriage-road, as great carriage-roads go on such a mountain-side, comesup to this gate, though it is possible to enter also by the other. 

Blonay, originally, must have been a hold of no great importance, asneither the magnitude, strength, nor position of the older parts, issufficient to render the place one to be seriously assailed orobstinately defended. Without knowing the fact, I infer that itspresent interest arises from its great antiquity, coupled with thecircumstance of its having been possessed by the same family for so longa period. Admitting a new owner for each five-and-twenty years, thepresent must be somewhere about the twenty-fifth De Blonay who has livedon this spot!

A common housemaid showed us through the building, but, unfortunately, to her it was a house whose interest depended altogether on the numberof floors there were to be scrubbed, and windows to be cleaned. Thislabour-saving sentiment destroys a great deal of excellent poetry andwholesome feeling, reducing all that is venerable and romantic to thelevel of soap and house-cloths. I dare say one could find many morecomfortable residences than this, within a league of Vévey; perhaps "MonRepos" has the advantage of it, in this respect: but there must be aconstant, quiet, and enduring satisfaction, with one whose mind isproperly trained, in reflecting that he is moving, daily and hourly, through halls that have been trodden by his fathers for near a thousandyears! Hope is a livelier, and, on the whole, a more useful, because amore stimulating, feeling, than that connected with memory; but there isa solemn and pleasing interest clinging about the latter, that nobuoyancy of the first can ever equal. Europe is fertile ofrecollections; America is pregnant with hope. I have tried hard, aidedby the love which is quickened by distance, as well as by theobservations that are naturally the offspring of comparison, to drawsuch pictures of the latter for the future, as may supplant the picturesof the past that so constantly rise before the mind in this quarter ofthe world; but, though reasonably ingenious in castle-building, I havenever been able to make it out. I believe laziness lies at the bottom ofthe difficulty. In our moments of enjoyment we prefer being led, toracking the brain for invention. The past is a fact; while, at the best, the future is only conjecture. In this case the positive prevails overthe assumed, and the imagination finds both and easier duty, and all itwants, in throwing around the stores of memory, the tints andembellishments that are wanting to complete the charm. I know little ofthe history of Blonay, beyond the fact of its great antiquity, nor is ita chateau of remarkable interest as a specimen of the architecture andusages of its time; and yet, I never visited a modern palace, with halfthe intense pleasure with which I went through this modest abode. Fancyhad a text, in a few unquestionable facts, and it preached copiously ontheir authority. At Caserta, or St. Cloud, we admire the staircases, friezes, salons, and marbles, but I never could do anything with yourkings, who are so much mixed up with history, as to leave little to thefancy; while here, one might imagine not only time, but all the variousdomestic and retired usages that time brings forth. 

The Ritter Saal, or Knight's Hall, of Blonay has positive interestenough to excite the dullest mind. Neither the room nor its ornamentsare very peculiar of themselves, the former being square, simple, and agood deal modernized, while the latter was such as properly belonged toa country gentleman of limited means. But the situation and view formits great features; for all that has just been said of the terrace, canbe better said of this room. Owing to the formation of the mountain, thewindows are very high above the ground, and at one of them is a balcony, which, I am inclined to think, is positively without a competitor inthis beautiful world of ours. Cardinal Rufo has certainly no suchbalcony. It is _le balcon des balcons_. 

I should despair of giving you a just idea of the mingled magnificenceand softness of the scene that lies stretched before and beneath thebalcony of Blonay. You know the elements of the view already, --for theyare the same mysterious glen, or valley, the same blue lake, the same_côtes_, the same solemn and frowning rocks, the same groupings oftowers, churches, hamlets, and castles, of which I have had suchfrequent occasion to speak in these letters. But the position of Blonayhas about it that peculiar nicety, which raises every pleasure toperfection. It is neither too high, nor too low; too retired, nor toomuch advanced; too distant, nor too near. I know nothing of M. De Blonaybeyond the favourable opinion of the observant Jean, the boatman, but hemust be made of flint, if he can daily, hourly, gaze at the works of theDeity as they are seen from this window, without their producing asensible and lasting effect on the character of his mind. I can imaginea man so far _blasé_, as to pass through the crowd of mites, who are hisfellows, without receiving or imparting much; but I cannot conceive of aheart, whose owner can be the constant observer of such a scene, withoutbending in reverence to the hand that made it. It would be just asrational to suppose one might have the Communion of St. Jerome hangingin his drawing-room, without ever thinking of Domenichino, as to believeone can be the constant witness of these natural glories withoutthinking of God. 

I could have liked, above all things, to have been in this balconyduring one of the fine sunsets of this season of the year. I think thecreeping of the shadows up the acclivities, the growing darkness below, and the lingering light above, with the exquisite arabesques of therocks of Savoy, must render the scene even more perfect than we foundit. 

Blonay is surrounded by meadows of velvet, the verdure reaching its verywalls, and the rocks that occasionally do thrust their heads above thegrass, aid in relieving rather than in lessening their softness. Thereare just enough of them to make a foreground that is not unworthy of therocky belt which encircles most of the picture, and to give a generalidea of the grand geological formation of the whole region. 

We left Blonay with regret, and not without lingering some time on itsterrace, a spot in which retirement is better blended with a bird's eyeview of men and their haunts, than any other I know. One is neither innor out of this world at such a spot; near enough to enjoy itsbeauties, and yet so remote as to escape its blemishes. In quilting thecastle, we met a young female of simple lady-like carriage and attire, whom I saluted as the Lady of Blonay, and glad enough we were to learnfrom an old dependant, whom we afterwards fell in with, that theconjecture was true. One bows with reverence to the possessor of such anabode. 

From Blonay we crossed the meadows and orchards, until we hit a roadthat led us towards the broad terrace that lies more immediately behindVévey. We passed several hamlets, which lie on narrow stripes of landmore level than common, a sort of _shelves_ on the broad breast of themountain, and which were rural and pretty. At length we came to theobject of our search, a tolerably spacious modern house, that is calleda _château_, and whose roofs and chimneys had often attracted our eyesfrom the lake. The place was French in exterior, though the grounds weremore like those of Germany than those of France. The terrace isirregular but broad, and walks wind prettily among woods and copses. Altogether, the place is quite modern and much more extensive than isusual in Switzerland. We did not presume to enter the house, but, avoiding a party that belonged to the place, we inclined to the left, and descended, through the vines, to the town. 

The true mode to move about this region is on horseback. The female inparticular, who has a good seat, possesses a great advantage over mostof her sex, if she will only improve it; and all things considered, Ibelieve a family could travel through the cantons in no other manner sopleasantly; always providing that the women can ride. By riding, however, I do not mean sticking on a horse, by dint of rein andclinging, but a seat in which the fair one feels secure and entirely ather ease. Otherwise she may prove to be the _gazee_ instead of thegazer. 

On my return home, I went to a reading-room that I have frequentedduring our residence here, where I found a good deal of feeling excitedby the news from America. The Swiss, I have told you, with very fewexceptions, wish us well, but I take it nothing would give greatersatisfaction to a large majority of the upper classes in most of theother countries of Europe, than to hear that the American republic wasbroken up: if buttons and broadcloths could be sent after us, it is nottoo much to add, or sent to the nether world. This feeling does notproceed so much from inherent dislike to us, as to our institutions. Asa people, I rather think we are regarded with great indifference by themass; but they who so strongly detest our institutions and deprecate ourexample, cannot prevent a little personal hatred from mingling withtheir political antipathies. Unlike the woman who was for beginning herlove "with a little aversion, " they begin with a little philanthropy, and end with a strong dislike for all that comes from the land theyhate. I have known this feeling carried so far as to refuse credit evento the productions of the earth! I saw strong evidences of this truth, among several of the temporary _habitués_ of the reading-room inquestion, most of whom were French. A speedy dissolution of the AmericanUnion was proclaimed in all the journals, on account of some freshintelligence from the other side of the Atlantic; and I dare say that, at this moment, nine-tenths of the Europeans, who think at all on thesubject, firmly and honestly believe that our institutions are not worthtwo years' purchase. This opinion is very natural, because falsehood isso artfully blended with truth, in what is published, that it requires amore intimate knowledge of the country to separate them, than a strangercan possess. I spent an hour to-day in a fruitless attempt todemonstrate to a very sensible Frenchman that nothing serious was to beapprehended from the present dispute, but all my logic was thrown away, and nothing but time will convince him of that which he is so stronglypredisposed not to believe. They rarely send proper diplomatic menamong us, in the first place; for a novel situation like that in Americarequires a fertile and congenial mind, --and then your diplomatist isusually so much disposed to tell every one that which he wishes to hear!We mislead, too, ourselves, by the exaggerations of the opposition. Yourpartizan writes himself into a fever, and talks like any other man whosepulse is unnatural. This fact ought to be a matter of no surprise, sinceit is one of the commonest foibles of man to dislike most the evils thatpress on him most; although an escape from them to any other might evenentail destruction. It is the old story of King Log and King Stork. Asdemocracy is in the ascendant, they revile democracy, while we all feelpersuaded we should be destroyed, or muzzled, under any other form ofgovernment. A few toad-eaters and court butterflies excepted, I do notbelieve there is a man in all America who could dwell five years in anycountry in Europe, without being made sensible of the vast superiorityof his own free institutions over those of every other Christian nation. 

I have been amused of late, by tracing, in the publications at home, agreat and growing admiration for the Prussian polity! There is somethingso absurd in an American's extolling such a system, that it is scarcelypossible to say where human vagaries are to end. The Prussian governmentis a _despotism_; a mode of ruling that one would think the worldunderstood pretty well by this time. It is true that the government ismildly administered, and hence all the mystifying that we hear and readabout it. Prussia is a kingdom compounded of heterogenous parts; thenorth is Protestant, the south Catholic; the nation has been overrun inour own times, and the empire dismembered. Ruled by a king of an amiableand paternal disposition, and one who has been chastened by severemisfortunes, circumstances have conspired to render his sway mild anduseful. No one disputes, that the government which is controlled by asingle will, when that will is pure, intelligent, and just, is the bestpossible. It is the government of the universe, which is perfectharmony. But men with pure intentions, and intelligent and just minds, are rare, and more rare among rulers, perhaps, than any other class ofmen. Even Frederic II, though intelligent enough, was a tyrant. He ledhis subjects to slaughter for his own aggrandizement. His father, Frederic William, used to compel tall men to marry tall women. The timefor the latter description of tyranny may be past, but oppression hasmany outlets, and the next king may discover some of them. In such acase his subjects would probably take refuge in a revolution and aconstitution, demanding guarantees against this admirable system, andblow the new model-government to the winds!

Many of our people are like children who, having bawled till they get atoy, begin to cry to have it taken away from them. Fortunately the heartand strength of the nation, its rural population, is sound andpractical, else we might prove ourselves to be insane as well asridiculous. 

LETTER XXV. 

Controversy respecting America. --Conduct of AmericanDiplomatists. --_Attachés_ to American Legations. --Unworthy State ofPublic Opinion in America. 

Dear ----, The recent arrivals from America have brought a document that has filledme with surprise and chagrin. You may remember what I have alreadywritten you on the subject of a controversy at Paris, concerning thecost of government, and the manner in which the agents of the UnitedStates, past and present, wrongfully or not, were made to figure in theaffair. There is a species of instinct in matters of this sort, whichsoon enables a man of common sagacity, who enjoys the means ofobservation, to detect the secret bias of those with whom he is broughtin contact. Now, I shall say, without reserve, that so far as I had anyconnexion with that controversy, or had the ability to detect thefeelings and wishes of others, the agents of the American governmentwere just the last persons in France to whom I would have applied foraid or information. The minister himself stood quoted by the PrimeMinister of France in the tribune, as having assured him (M. Perier)that we were the wrong of the disputed question, and that the writers ofthe French government had truth on their side. This allegation remainsbefore the world uncontradicted to the present hour. It was made sixmonths since, leaving ample time for a knowledge of the circumstance toreach America, but no instructions have been sent to Mr. Rives to clearthe matter up; or, if sent, they have not been obeyed. With theseunquestionable facts before my eyes, you will figure to yourself myastonishment at finding in the papers, a circular addressed by theDepartment of State to the different governors of the Union, formallysoliciting official reports that may enable us to prove to the world, that the position taken by our opponents is not true! This course isunusual, and, as the Federal government has no control over, orconnexion with, the expenditures of the States, it may even be said tobe extra-constitutional. It is formally requesting that which theSecretary of State had no official right to request. There was no harmin the proceeding, but it would be undignified, puerile, and unusual, for so grave a functionary to take it, without a commensurate object. Lest this construction should be put on his course, the Secretary hashad the precaution to explain his own motives. He tells the differentgovernors, in substance, _that the extravagant pretension is set up flatfreedom is more costly than despotism, and that what he requests may bedone, will be done in the defence of liberal institutions_. Here thenwe have the construction that has been put on this controversy by ourown government, _at home_, through one of its highest and ablest agents. Still the course of its agents _abroad_ remains unchanged! _Here_ theAmerican functionaries are understood to maintain opinions, which adistinguished functionary _at home_ has openly declared to be injuriousto free institutions. 

It may be, _it must be_, that the state of things here is unknown atWashington. Of this fact I have no means of judging positively; but whenI reflect on the character and intelligence of the cabinet, I can arriveat no other inference. It has long been known to me that there exists, not only at Washington, but all through the republic, great errors onthe subject of our foreign relations; on the influence and estimation ofthe country abroad; and on what we are to expect from others, no lessthan what they expect from us. But these are subjects which, in general, give me little concern, while this matter of the finance controversy hasbecome one of strong personal interest. 

The situation of the private individual, who, in a foreign nation, stands, or is supposed to stand, contradicted in his facts, by theauthorized agents of their common country, is anything but pleasant. Itis doubly so in Europe, where men fancy those in high trusts are betterauthority, than those who are not. It is true that this suppositionunder institutions like ours, is absurd; but it is not an easy thing tochange the settled convictions of an entire people. In point of truth, other things being equal, the American citizen who has been passing histime in foreign countries, employed in diplomacy, would know much lessof the points mooted in his discussion, than the private citizen who hadbeen living at home, in the discharge of his ordinary duties; but thisis a fact not easily impressed on those who are accustomed to see notonly the power, but all the machinery of government in the hands of aregular corps of _employés_. The name of Mr. Harris was introduced intothe discussion, as one thus employed and trusted by our government. Itis true he was falsely presented, for the diplomatic functions of thisgentleman were purely accidental, and of very short continuance; butthere would have been a littleness in conducting an argument that was sostrong in its facts, by stooping to set this matter right, and it wassuffered to go uncontradicted by me. He therefore possessed theadvantage, the whole time, of appearing as one who enjoyed theconfidence of his own government. We had this difficulty to overcome, aswell as that of disproving his arguments, if, indeed, the latter couldbe deemed a difficulty at all. [41]

[Footnote 41: The American government, soon after the date of thisletter, appointed Mr. Harris to be _chargé d'affaires_ at Paris. ]

The private individual, like myself, who finds himself in collision withthe agents of two governments, powerful as those of France and America, is pretty sure to get the worst of it. It is quite probable that suchhas been my fortune in this affair (I believe it to be so in publicopinion, both in France and at home), but there is one power of which nopolitical combination can deprive an honest man, short of muzzlinghim:--that of telling the truth. Of this power I have now availedmyself, and the time will come when they who have taken any note of thematter may see reason to change their minds. Louis-Philippe sits on athrone, and wields a fearful force; but, thanks to him of Harlem (or ofCologne, I care not which), it is still within my reach to promulgatethe facts. His reign will, at least, cease with his life, while that oftruth will endure as long as means can be found to disseminate it. It isprobable the purposes of the French ministers are answered, and thatthey care little now about the controversed points at all; but _their_indifference to facts can have no influence with _me_. 

Before dismissing this subject entirely, I will add another word on thatof the tone of some of our agents abroad. It is not necessary for me tosay, for the tenth time, that it is often what it ought not to be; thefact has been openly asserted in the European journals, and there can, therefore, be no mistake as to the manner in which their conduct andopinions are viewed by others. Certainly every American has a right tohis opinions, and, unless under very peculiar circumstances, a right toexpress them; but, as I have already said to you in these letters, onewho holds a diplomatic appointment is under these peculiarcircumstances. We are strangely, not to say disgracefully, situated, truly, if an American _diplomate_ is to express his private opinionsabroad on political matters only when they happen to be adverse to thesystem and action of his own government! I would promptly join incondemning the American agent who should volunteer to unite against, orfreely to give his opinions, even in society, against the politicalsystem of the country to which he is accredited. Discretion and delicacyboth tell him to use a proper reserve on a point that is of so muchimportance to others, while it is no affair of his, and by meddling withwhich he may possibly derange high interests that are entrusted to hisespecial keeping and care. All this is very apparent, and quite beyonddiscussion. Still circumstances may arise, provocations may be given, which will amply justify such a man in presenting the most unqualifiedstatements in favour of the principles he is supposed to represent. Likeevery other accountable being, when called to speak at all, he is boundto speak the truth. But, admitting in the fullest extent the obligationsand duties of the diplomatic man towards the country to which he issent, is there nothing due to that from which he comes? Is he to bejustified in discrediting the principles, denying the facts, ormystifying the results of his own system, in order to ingratiate himselfwith those with whom he treats? Are rights thus to be purchased byconcessions so unworthy and base? I will not believe that we have yetreached the degraded state that renders a policy so questionable, or acourse so mean, at all necessary. It really appears to me, that theconduct of an American minister on all these points ought to be governedby a very simple rule. He should in effect tell the other party, "Gentlemen, I wish to maintain a rigid neutrality, as is due to you; butI trust you will manifest towards me the same respect and delicacy, ifnot on my own account, at least on account of the country I represent. If you drag me into the affair in any way, I give you notice that youmay expect great frankness on my part, and nothing but the truth. " Sucha man would not only get a _treaty_ of indemnity, but he would be veryapt to get the _money_ into the bargain. 

The practice of naming _attachés_ to our legations leads to great abusesof this nature. In the first place the Constitution is violated; for, without a law of Congress to that effect (and I believe none exists), not even the President has a right to name one, without the approval ofthe Senate. In no case can a minister appoint one legally, for theConstitution gives him under no circumstances any such authority; andour system does not admit of the constructive authority that is usedunder other governments, unless it can be directly referred to anexpressly delegated power. Now the power of appointment to office isexpressly delegated; but it is to another, or rather to another throughCongress, should Congress choose to interfere. This difficulty is gotover by saying an _attaché_ is not an officer. If not an officer of thegovernment, he is nothing. He is, at all events, deemed to be an officerof the government in foreign countries, and enjoys immunities as such. Besides, it is a dangerous precedent to name to any situation under apretence like this, as the practice may become gradually enlarged. But Icare nothing as to the legality of the common appointments of thisnature, the question being as to the _tone_ of the nominees. You may beassured that I shall send you no idle gossip; but there is moreimportance connected with these things than you may be disposed at firstto imagine. Here, these young men are believed to represent the state offeeling at home, and are listened to with more respect than they wouldbe as simple travellers. It would be far better not to appoint them atall; but, if this is an indulgence that it would be ungracious towithhold, they should at least be made to enter into engagements not _toderide the institutions they are thought to represent_; for, to saynothing of principle, such a course can only re-act, by discrediting thenational character. 

In writing you these opinions, I wish not to do injustice to my ownsagacity. I have not the smallest expectation, were they laid to-morrowbefore that portion of the American public which comprises the readingclasses, that either these facts or these sentiments would produce theleast effect on the indomitable selfishness, in which nine men in ten, or even a much larger proportion, are intrenched. I am fully aware thatso much has the little national pride and national character created bythe war of 1812 degenerated, that more of this class will forgive thetreason to the institutions, on account of their hatred of the rights ofthe mass, than will feel that the republic is degraded by the course andpractices of which I complain. I know no country that has retrograded inopinion so much as our own, within the last five years. It appears to meto go back, as others advance. Let me not, therefore, be understood asexpecting any _immediate_ results, were it in my power to bring thesematters promptly and prominently before the nation. I fully know Ishould not be heard, were the attempt made; for nothing is more dullthan the ear of him who believes himself already in possession of allthe knowledge and virtue of his age, and peculiarly entitled, in rightof his possessions, to the exclusive control of human affairs. The mostthat I should expect from them, were all the facts published to-morrow, would be the secret assent of the wise and good, the expressed censureof the vapid and ignorant (a pretty numerous clan, by the way), thesurprise of the mercenary and the demagogue, and the secret satisfactionof the few who will come after me, and who may feel an interest in myconduct or my name. I have openly predicted bad consequences, in apolitical light, from the compliance of our agents here, and we shallyet see how far this prediction may prove true. [42]

[Footnote 42: Has it not? Have we not been treated by France, in theaffair of the treaty, in a manner she would not have treated anysecond-rate power of Europe. ]

LETTER XXVI. 

Approach of Winter. --The _Livret_. --Regulations respectingServants. --Servants in America. --Governments of the different Cantons ofSwitzerland. --Engagement of Mercenaries. --Population ofSwitzerland. --Physical Peculiarities of the Swiss. --Women ofSwitzerland. --Mrs. Trollope and the American Ladies. --Affected manner ofSpeaking in American Women. --Patois in America. --Peculiar manner ofSpeaking at Vévey. --Swiss Cupidity. 

Dear ----, The season is giving warning for all intruders to begin to think ofquitting the cantons. We have not been driven to fires, as in 1828, forVévey is not Berne; but the evenings are beginning to be cool, and adash of rain, with a foaming lake, are taken to be symptoms, here, asstrong as a frost would be there. Speaking of Berne, a little occurrencehas just recalled the Burgerschaft, which, shorn of its glory as it is, had some most praiseworthy regulations. During our residence near thatplace, I hired a Bernois, as a footman, discharging the man, as a matterof course, on our departure for Italy. Yesterday I got a doleful letterfrom this poor fellow, informing me, among a series of other calamities, that he had had the misfortune to lose his _livret_, and begging I wouldsend him such testimonials of character, as it might suit my sense ofjustice to bestow. It will be necessary to explain a little, in orderthat you may know what this _livret_ is. 

The commune, or district, issues to the domestics, a small certifiedblank book (_livret_), in which all the evidences of character are to beentered. The guides have the same, and in many instances, I believe, they are rendered necessary by law. The free-trade system, I very wellknow, would play the deuce with these regulations; but capitalregulations they are, and I make no doubt, that the established fidelityof the Swiss, as domestics, is in some measure owing to this excellentarrangement. If men and women were born servants, it might a littleinfringe on their natural rights, to be sure; but as even a von Erlachor a de Bonestetten would have to respect the regulation, were they todon a livery, I see no harm in a _livret_. Now, by means of this littlebook, every moment of a domestic's time might be accounted for, he beingobliged to explain what he was about in the interregnums. All this, tobe sure, might be done by detached certificates, but neither so neatlynor so accurately; for a man would pretend a need, that he had lost asingle certificate, oftener than he would pretend that he had lost thosehe really had, or in other words, his book. Besides, the commune givessome relief, I believe, when such a calamity can be proved, as proved itprobably might be. In addition, the authorities will not issue a_livret_ to any but those who are believed to be trust-worthy. Of courseI sent the man a character, so far as I was concerned, for he hadconducted himself perfectly well during the short time he was in myservice. 

A regulation like this could not exist in a very large town, without agood deal of trouble, certainly; and yet what is there of more moment tothe comfort of a population, than severe police regulations on thesubject of servants? America is almost--perhaps the only civilizedcountry in which the free-trade system is fully carried out in thisparticular, and carried out it is with a vengeance. We have thelet-alone policy, _in puris naturalibus_, and everything is truly letalone, but the property of the master. I do not wish, however, toascribe effects to wrong causes. The dislike to being a servant inAmerica, has arisen from the prejudice created by our having slaves. Thenegroes being of a degraded caste, by insensible means their idea isassociated with service; and the whites shrink from the condition. Thisfact is sufficiently proved by the circumstance that he who willrespectfully and honestly do your bidding in the field--be afarm-servant, in fact--will not be your domestic servant. There is noparticular dislike in our people to obey, and to be respectful andattentive to their duties, as journeymen, farm-labourers, day-labourers, seamen, soldiers, or anything else, domestic servants excepted, which isjust the duties they have been accustomed to see discharged by blacksand slaves. This prejudice is fast weakening, whites taking service morereadily than formerly, and it is found that, with proper training, theymake capital domestics, and are very faithful. In time the prejudicewill disappear, and men will come to see it is more creditable to betrusted about the person and house, than to be turned into the fields. 

It is just as difficult to give a minute account of the governments ofthe different cantons of Switzerland, as it is to give an account of thedifferent state governments of America. Each differs, in some respect, from all the others; and there are so many of them in both cases, as tomake it a subject proper only for regular treatises. I shall thereforeconfine the remarks I have to make on this subject to a few generalfacts. 

Previously to the recent changes, there were twenty-two cantons; anumber that the recent secession of Neufchâtel has reduced totwenty-one. [43] Until the French revolution, the number was not sogreat, many of the present cantons being then associated lessintimately with the confederation, as _allies_, and some of them beingheld as political dependents, by those that were cantons. Thus Vaud andArgovie were both provinces, owned and ruled by Berne. 

[Footnote 43: Berne, Soleure, Zurich, Lucerne, Schweitz, Unterwalden, Uri, Glarus, Tessino, Valais, Vaud, Geneva, Basle, Schaffhausen, Argovie, Thourgovie, Zug, Fribourg, St. Gall, Appenzell, and theGrisons. They are named here without reference to their rank orantiquity. ]

The system is that of a confederation, which leaves each of its membersto do pretty much as it pleases, in regard to its internal affairs. Thecentral government is conducted by a Diet, very much as our affairs wereformerly managed by the old Congress. In this Diet, each canton has onevote. The executive power, such as it is, is wielded by a committee orcouncil. Its duties do not extend much beyond being the organ ofcommunication between the Diet and the Cantons, the care of the treasury(no great matter), and the reception of, and the treating with, foreignministers. The latter duty, however, and indeed all other acts, aresubject to a revision by the Diet. 

Although the cantons themselves are only known to the confederation asthey are enrolled on its list, many of them are subdivided into localgovernments that are perfectly independent of each other. Thus there aretwo Unterwaldens in fact, though only one in the Diet; two Appenzells, also; and I may add, half a dozen Grisons and Valais. In other words, the two Unterwaldens are absolutely independent of each other, except asthey are connected through the confederation, though they unite tochoose common delegates to the Diet, in which they are known as only onecanton, and possess but one vote. The same is true of Appenzell, andwill soon, most probably, be true of Schweitz and Basle; in both ofwhich there are, at this moment, serious dissensions that are likely tolead to internal separations. [44] The Grisons is more of a consolidatedcanton than these examples, but it is subdivided into _leagues_, whichhave a good many strong features of independence. The same is true ofValais, where the subdivisions are termed _dizains_. The Diet doeslittle beyond controlling the foreign relations of the republic. Itmakes peace and war, receives ambassadors, forms treaties, and entersinto alliances. It can only raise armies, however, by calling on thecantons for their prescribed contingents. The same is true as respectstaxes. This, you will perceive, is very much like our own rejectedconfederation, and has most of its evils; though external pressure, anda trifling commerce, render them less here than they were in America. Ibelieve the confederation has some control over the public mails, thoughI think this is done, also, _through_ the cantons. The Diet neithercoins money, nor establishes any courts, beyond its own power to decidecertain matters that may arise between the cantons themselves. In short, the government is a very loose one, and it could not hold together in acrisis, were it not for the jealousy of its neighbours. 

[Footnote 44: Basle is now divided into what are called "Basle town" and"Basle country;" or the city population and the rural. Before the latechanges, the former ruled the latter. ]

I have already told you that there exists a strong desire among theintelligent to modify this system. Consolidation, as you know from myletters, is wished by no one, for the great difference between the townand the rural populations causes both to wish to remain independent. Three languages are spoken in Switzerland, without including theRhetian, or any of the numerous _patois_. All the north is German. Geneva, Vaud, and Valais are French, as are parts of Berne; whileTessino, lying altogether south of the Alps, is Italian. I have beentold, that the states which treat with Switzerland for mercenaries, condition that none of them shall be raised in Tessino. But the practiceof treating for mercenaries is likely to be discontinued altogether, though the republic has lately done something in this way for the Pope. The objection is to the Italian character, which is thought to be lessconstant than that of the real Swiss. 

Men, and especially men of narrow habits and secluded lives, partreluctantly with authority. Nothing can to be more evident than thefact, that a common currency, common post-offices, common custom-houses, if there are to be any at all, and various other similar changes, wouldbe a great improvement on the present system of Switzerland. But a fewwho control opinion in the small cantons, and who would lose authorityby the measure, oppose the change. The entire territory of the republicis not as great as that of Pennsylvania, nor is the entire populationmuch greater than that of the same state. It is materially less than thepopulation of New York. On the subject of their numbers, there exists asingular, and to me an inapplicable, sensitiveness. It is not possibleto come at the precise population of Switzerland. That given in thetables of the contingents is thought to be exaggerated, though one doesnot very well understand the motive. I presume the entire population ofthe country is somewhere between 1, 500, 000, and 1, 900, 000. Some pretend, however, there are 2, 000, 000. Admitting the latter number, you willperceive that the single state of New York considerably surpassesit. [45] More than one-third of the entire population of Switzerland isprobably in the single canton of Berne, as one-seventh of that of theUnited States is in New York. The proportion between surface andinhabitants is not very different between New England and Switzerland, if Maine be excluded. Parts of the cantons are crowded with people, asZurich for instance, while a large part is uninhabitable rocks and ice. 

[Footnote 45: The population of New York, to-day, is about 2, 200, 000, ornot greatly inferior to that of Scotland; and superior to that ofHanover, or Wurtemberg, or Denmark, or Saxony, all of which arekingdoms. The increase of population in the United States, at present, the immigration included, is not far from 500, 000 souls annually, whichis equal to the addition of an average state each year! The westernspeculations find their solution in this fact. ]

The Swiss have most of the physical peculiarities of the differentnations that surround them. The German part of the population, however, are, on the whole, both larger and better-looking than the trueGermans. All the mountaineers are fresher and have clearer complexionsthan those in the lower portions of the country, but the difference insize is not very apparent. Nowhere is there such a population as in oursouth-western states; indeed, I question if large men are as common inany other country. Scotland, however, may possibly form an exception. 

The women of Switzerland are better-looking than those of France orGermany, but beauty, or even extreme prettiness, is rare. Light, flexible, graceful forms are quite uncommon. Large hands and feet aremet with everywhere, those of our women being miraculous in comparison. But the same thing is true nearly all over the north of Europe. Even ourmen--meaning the gentlemen--I think, might be remarked for the samepeculiarities in this part of the world. The English have absurd notionson this subject, and I have often enjoyed a malicious pleasure inbringing my own democratic paws and hoofs (no prodigies at home) incontrast with their aristocratic members. Of course, the climate hasgreat influence on all these things. 

I scarcely think the Swiss women of the mountains entitled to theirreputation for beauty. If strength, proportions on a scale that isscarcely feminine, symmetry that is more anatomically than poeticallyperfect, enter into the estimate, one certainly sees in some of thecantons, female peasants who may be called fine women. I remember, in1828, to have met one of these in the Grisons, near the upper end of thevalley of the Rhine. This woman had a form, carriage, and proportionsthat would have made a magnificent duchess in a coronation procession;but the face, though fresh and fair, did not correspond with the figure. The women of our own mountains excel them altogether, being a more truemedium between strength and coarseness. Even Mrs. Trollope admits thatthe American women (perhaps she ought to have said the girls) are themost beautiful in the world, while they are the least interesting. Mrs. Trollope has written a vast deal of nonsense, putting cockneyisms intothe mouths of Americans, and calling them Americanisms, but she has alsowritten a good many truths. I will not go as far as to say she was rightin the latter part of this charge; but if our girls would cultivateneater and more elegant forms of expression; equally avoiding vulgaroh's and ah's! and set phrases; be more careful not to drawl; and not toopen the mouth, so as to call "hot, " "haut;" giggle less; speak lower;have more calmness and more dignity of manner, and _think_ instead of_pulsating_, --I would put them, for all in all, against any women in theworld. They lose half of these defects when they marry, as it is; butthe wisdom of Solomon would come to our ears with a diminished effect, were it communicated through the medium of any other than a neatenunciation. The great desideratum in female education, at home, is toimpart a graceful, quiet, lady-like manner of speaking. 

Were it not for precisely this place, Vévey, I should add, that thewomen of America speak their language worse than the women of any othercountry I ever was in. We all know, that a calm, even, unemphatic modeof speaking, is almost a test of high-breeding; that a clear enunciationis, in short, an indispensable requisite, for either a gentleman or alady. One may be a fool, and utter nonsense gracefully; but aphorismslose their force when conveyed in a vulgar intonation. As a nation, Irepeat, there is more of this fault in America, perhaps, than among anequal portion of educated people anywhere else. Contrary to the generalrule too, the men of America speak better than the women; though themen, as a class, speak badly. The peculiar dialect of New England, whichprevails so much all over the country, is derived from a provincial modeof speaking in England which is just the meanest in the whole island;and though it is far more intelligible, and infinitely better grammar isused with us, than in the place whence the _patois_ came, I think wehave gained little on the score of elegance. I once met in England adistinguished man, who was one of the wealthiest commoners of hiscounty, and he had hardly opened his mouth before I was struck with thispeculiarity. On inquiry, I learned that he came from the West ofEngland. It is by no means uncommon to meet with bad grammar, and animproper use of words as relates to their significations, among thehighest classes in England, though I think not as often as in America, but it is rare, indeed, that a gentleman or a lady does not expresshimself or herself, so far as utterance, delivery, and intonation go, asa gentleman and lady should. The fault in America arises from the habitsof drawling, and of opening the mouth too wide. Any one knows that, ifhe open the stop of an organ, and keep blowing the bellows, he will makeanything but music. We have some extraordinary words, too: who, but aPhiladelphian, for instance, would think of calling his mother a _mare_?

But I am digressing; the peculiar manner of speaking which prevails atVévey having led me from the main subject. These people absolutely singin their ordinary conversation, more especially the women. In the simpleexpression of "_Bon jour, madame_" each alternate syllable is uttered onan octave higher than the preceding. This is not a _patois_ at all, butmerely a vicious and ungraceful mode of utterance. It prevails moreamong the women than among the men; and, as a matter of course, moreamong the women of the inferior, than among those of the superiorclasses. Still it is more or less general. To ears that are accustomedto the even, unemphatic, graceful enunciation of Paris, it is impossibleto describe to you, in words, the ludicrous effect it produces. We havefrequently been compelled to turn away, in the shops, to avoid downrightlaughter. 

There exists the same sensitiveness, on the subject of the modes ofspeech, between the French Swiss and their French neighbours, as is tobe found between us and the English. Many intelligent men here havelaboured to convince me that the Genevese, in particular, speak purerFrench than even the Parisians. I dare say a part of this pretension maybe true, for a great people take great liberties with everything; but ifAmerica, with her fifteen millions, finds it difficult to maintainherself in such matters, even when in the right, against the influenceof England, what can little Geneva look for, in such a dispute withFrance, but to be put down by sheer volubility. She will be out-talkedas a matter of course, clever as her citizens are. 

On the subject of the prevalent opinion of Swiss cupidity, I have verylittle to say: the practice of taking service as mercenaries in othercountries, has probably given rise to the charge. As is usually the casein countries where the means of obtaining a livelihood are not easy, theSwiss strike me as being more influenced by money than most of theirneighbours, though scarcely more so than the common classes of France. To a man who gains but twenty in a day, a sou is of more account than tohim who gains forty. I presume this is the whole amount of the matter. Ishall not deny, however, that the _honorarium_ was usually more in view, in a transaction with a Swiss, than in a transaction with a Frenchman, though I think the first the most to be depended on. Notwithstanding oneor two instances of roguery that I have encountered, I would as soondepend on a Swiss, a clear bargain having been made, as on any other manI know. 

LETTER XXVII. 

Departure from Vévey. --Passage down the Lake. --Arrival atGeneva. --Purchase of Jewellery. --Leave Geneva. --Ascent of theJura. --Alpine Views. --Rudeness at the Custom-house. --Smuggling. --ASmuggler detected. --The second Custom-house. --Final View of MontBlanc. --Re-enter France. --Our luck at the Post-house in Dôle. --A ScotchTraveller. --Nationality of the Scotch. --Road towards Troyes. --Source ofthe Seine. 

Dear ----, Notwithstanding all the poetry of our situation, we found some of theills of life in it. A few light cases of fever had occurred among us, which gave reason to distrust the lake-shore at this late season, andpreparations were accordingly made to depart. Watching an opportunity, the skiff of honest Jean was loaded with us and our effects to thewater's edge, and we embarked in the Leman, as she lay-to, in one of herdaily trips, bidding a final adieu to Vévey, after a residence of aboutfive weeks. 

The passage down the lake was pleasant, and our eyes rested on thedifferent objects with melancholy interest, for we knew not that theywould ever be again looked upon by any among us. It is an exquisitelake, and it grows on us in beauty each time that we look at it, thesurest sign of perfection. We reached Geneva early, and took lodgings at_l'Ecu_, in season for the ladies to make some purchases. The jewelleryof this town is usually too tempting to be resisted by femaleself-denial, and when we met at dinner, we had a course of ear-rings, chains and bracelets served up, by a succession of shopmen, whounderstand, as it were by instinct, the caprices of the daughters ofEve. One of the party had taken a fancy to a pair of unfinishedbracelets, and had expressed her regrets that she could not carry themwith her. "Madame goes to Paris?" "Yes. " "If she will leave her address, they shall be sent to her in a month. " As we were strangers in France, and the regulation which prevented travellers from buying articles ofthis sort for their personal use, however necessary, has always appearedto me inhospitable, I told the man that if delivered in Paris, theyshould be received, and paid for. The bargain was made, and the jewelshave already reached us. Of course I have asked no questions, and amignorant whether they came by a balloon, in the luggage of anambassador, or by the means of a dog. 

The next day it rained tremendously; but having ordered horses, we leftGeneva in the afternoon, taking the road to Ferney. Not an individual ofthe whole party had any desire to visit the _chateau_, however, and wedrove through the place on a gallop. We took French post-horses at thefoot of the Jura, where we found the first post-house, and began toclimb the mountains. Our party made a droll appearance just at thatmoment. The rain was falling in torrents, and the carriage was draggingslowly through the mud up the long winding ascent. Of course the windowswere shut, and we were a sort of full-dress party within, lookingridiculously fine, and, from time to time, laughing at our sillyappearance. Everybody was in travelling dresses, jewellery excepted. Thelate purchases, however, were all on our persons, for we had been toldthey would certainly be seized at the custom-houses, if left in theirboxes in the trunks. The _douaniers_ could tell a recent purchase byinstinct. Accordingly, all our fingers were brilliant with rings, browsglittered with _ferronières_, ear-rings of the newest mode were shiningbeneath travelling caps and hats, and chains abounded. I could notpersuade myself that this masquerade would succeed, but predicted afailure. It really appeared to me that so shallow a distinction couldavail nothing against harpies who denied the right of strangers to passthrough their country with a few purchases of this nature, that hadbeen clearly made for their own use. But, while the sumptuary laws ofthe custom-houses are very rigid, and set limits to the wants oftravellers without remorse, like quarantine regulations, they have somerules that seem framed expressly to defeat their own ordinances. 

The road led up the mountain, where a view that is much praised exists. It is the counterpart of that which is seen everywhere, when one toucheson the eastern verge of the Jura, and first gets sight of Switzerlandproper. These views are divided into that which embraces the valley ofthe Aar and the Oberland range, and this which comprises the basin ofthe Leman, and the mountains that surround it. Mont Blanc, of course, isincluded in the other. On the whole, I prefer the first, although thelast is singularly beautiful. We got clear weather near the summit, andstopped a few minutes to dissect the elements of this scene. The view isvery lovely, beyond a question; but I think it much inferior to thatwhich has been so often spoken of between us above Vévey, notwithstanding Mont Blanc enters into this as one of its mostconspicuous objects. I have, as yet, nowhere seen this mountain to somuch advantage. In size, as compared with the peaks around it, it is ahay-stack among hay-cocks, with the advantage of being a pile of shiningice, or frozen snow, while everything else near it is granite. Byinsulating this mountain, and studying it by itself, one feels its mildsublimity; but still, as a whole, I give the preference greatly to theother view. From this point the lake is too distant, the shores of Savoydwindle in the presence of their mightier neighbour, and themysterious-looking Valais, which in its peculiar beauty has scarcely arival on earth, is entirely hid from sight. Then the lights and shadesare nearly lost from the summit of the Jura; and, after all, it is theselights and shades, the natural _chiaroscuro_, that finishes the picture. 

We reached the first custom-house a little before sunset; but, as therewas a reasonably good inn opposite, I determined to pass the nightthere, in order to be able to defend my rights against the myrmidons ofthe law at leisure, should it be necessary. The carriage was driven tothe door of the custom-house, and we were taken into separate rooms tobe examined. As for myself, I have no reason to complain; but the ladieswere indignant at being subjected to a personal examination by a femaleharpy, who was equally without politeness and propriety. SurelyFrance--polished, refined, intellectual France--cannot actually needthis violation of decorum, not to say of decency! This is the secondtime that similar rudeness has been encountered by us, on entering thecountry; and, to make the matter worse, females have been the sufferers. I made a pretty vigorous remonstrance, in very animated French, and ithad the effect of preventing a repetition of the rudeness. The menpleaded their orders, and I pleaded the rights of hospitality andpropriety, as well as a determination not to submit to the insults. Iwould have made a _détour_ of a hundred leagues to enter at anotherpoint in preference. 

In the course of the conversation that succeeded, the officers explainedto me the difficulties they had to contend with, which certainly are nottrifling. As to station, they said that made no great difference, yourduchess being usually an inveterate smuggler. Travellers are not contentto supply their own wants, but they purchase for all their friends. ThisI knew to be true, though not by experience, you will permit me to say, the ambassador's bags, half the time, containing more prohibitedarticles than despatches. But, notwithstanding this explanation, I didnot deem the case of one who bought only for himself the less hard. Itis so easy to conceal light articles, that, except in instances where isreason for distrust, it were better to confide in character. If anythingcould induce me to enter seriously into the contraband, it would be suchtreatment. 

The officers explained to me the manner in which smuggling is conducted. The usual mode is to cross the fields in the night; for when twocustom-houses are passed, the jewellery may be put in a common trunk, and sent forward by the diligence, unless there is some particulargrounds of suspicion. They know perfectly well, that bargains areconstantly made in Geneva, to deliver purchases in Paris; but, with alltheir care and vigilance, the smugglers commonly succeed. 

On a recent occasion, however, the officers had been more successful. Acart loaded with split wood (larch) had boldly passed the door of the_douane_. The man who drove it was a peasant, and altogether he appearedto be one driving a very common burthen to his own home. The cart, however, was stopped and the wood unloaded; while reloading, for nothingbut wood was found, one stick attracted attention. It was muddy, as ifit had fallen into the road. The mud, however, had a suspicious _maliceprepense_ air about it; it seemed as if it were _smeared_ on, and byexamining it closely, two _seams_ were discovered, which it had beenhoped the mud would conceal. The billet had been split in two, hollowed, and reunited by means of pegs. The mud was to hide these pegs and theseams, as I have told you, and in the cavity were found seventy goldwatches! I saw the billet of wood, and really felt less resentment atthe old virago who had offended us. The officers caught relenting in myeyes and inquired what I thought of it, and I told them that _we_ werenot muddy logs of larch. 

The next morning we were off betimes, intending to push through themountains and the custom-houses that day. The country was wild and farfrom fruitful, though there were bits of naked mountain, through whichthe road wound in a way to recall, on a greatly diminished scalehowever, that peculiar charm of the Apennines. The villages were cleanbut dreary, and nowhere, for leagues, did we see a country that wasgenial, or likely to reward agriculture. This passage of the Jura isimmeasurably inferior to that by Salins and Neufchâtel. At first I wasafraid it was my worn-out feelings that produced the impression; but, by close comparisons, and by questioning my companions, some of whomscarcely recollected the other road, I feel certain that such is thefact. Indeed it would be like comparing a finished painting to an_esquisse_. 

We had not much trouble at the second custom-house, though the officerseyed our ornaments with a confiscating rapacity. For my part I took myrevenge, by showing off the only ornament I had to the utmost. A---- hadmade me a present of a sapphire-ring, and this I flourished in all sortsof ways, as it might be in open defiance. One fellow had an extremelonging for a pretty _ferronière_, and there was a private consultationabout it, among them, I believe; but after some detention, and a prettyclose examination of the passports, we were permitted to proceed. IfFrançois smuggled nothing, it must have been for want of funds, forspeculation is his hobby, as well as his misfortune, entering into everybone of his body. 

We were all day busy in those barren, sterile, and unattractivemountains--thrice unattractive after the God-like Alps--and werecompelled to dip into the night, in order to get rid of them. Once ortwice on looking back, we saw the cold, chiseled peak of Mont Blanc, peering over our own nearer ridges; and as the weather was not veryclear, it looked dim and spectral, as if sorry to lose us. It was ratherlate when we reached a small town, at the foot of the Jura, and stoppedfor the night. 

This was France again, --France in cookery, beds, tone, and thought. Welost the Swiss simplicity (for there is still relatively a good deal ofit), and Swiss directness, in politeness, _finesse_, and _manner_. Wegot "_monsieur sait--monsieur pense--monsieur fera_"--for "_quevoulez-vous, monsieur?_"

We had no more to do with mountains. Our road next morning was across awide plain, and we plunged at once into the undeviating monotony ofFrench agriculture. A village had been burned, it was thought to excitepolitical commotion, and the postilions began to manoeuvre with us, tocurtail us of horse-flesh, as the road was full of carriages. It nowbecame a matter of some moment to push on, for "first come, firstserved, " is the law of the road. By dint of bribes and threats, wereached the point where the two great routes unite a little east ofDôle, before a train of several carriages, which we could see pushingfor the point of junction with the same object as ourselves, came up. Noone could pass us, on the same road, unless we stopped, and abandoningall idea of eating, we drove up to the post-house in Dôle, and preferredour claim. At the next moment, four other carriages stopped also. Butfive horses were in the stable, and seventeen were needed! Even thesefive had just arrived, and were baiting. Four of them fell to my share, and we drove off with many handsome expressions of regret at beingobliged to leave but one for the four other carriages. Your travellingis an epitome of life, in which the lucky look upon the unlucky with asupercilious compassion. 

A league or two beyond Dôle, we met two carriages coming the other way, and exchanged horses; and really I had some such generous feelings onthe occasion, as those of a rich man who hears that a poor friend hasfound a bank note. The carriage with which we exchanged was English, andit had an earl's coronet. The pair within were man and wife; and somefine children, with an attendant or two, were in the one that followed. They were Scotch at a glance: the master himself wearing, besides thestamp of his nation on his face, a bonnet with the colours of his clan. There is something highly respectable in this Scotch nationality, and Ihave no doubt it has greatly contributed towards making the people whatthey are. If the Irish were as true to themselves, English injusticewould cease in a twelvemonth. But, as a whole, the Irish nobles are aband of mercenaries, of English origin, and they prefer looking to theflesh-pots of Egypt, to falling back sternly on their rights, andsustaining themselves by the proud recollections of their forefathers. Indeed half of them would find their forefathers among the Englishspeculators, when they found them at all. I envied the Scotchman his capand tartan, though I dare say both he and his pretty wife had all thefine feelings that such an emblem is apt to inspire. Your earldoms aregetting to be paltry things; but it is really something to be the chiefof a clan!

You have travelled the road between Dôle and Dijon with me once, already, and I shall say no more than that we slept at the latter town. The next morning, with a view to vary the route, and to get off thetrain of carriages, we took the road towards Troyes. Our two objectswere effected, for we saw no more of our competitors for post-horses, and we found ourselves in an entirely new country; but, parts ofChampagne and the Ardennes excepted, a country that proved to be themost dreary portion of France we had yet been in. While trotting along agood road, through this naked, stony region, we came to a little valleyin which there was a village that was almost as wild in appearance, asone of those on the Great St. Bernard. A rivulet flowed through thevillage, and meandered by our side, among the half sterile meadows. Itwas positively the only agreeable object that we had seen for somehours. Recollecting the stream at Tuttlingen, A---- desired me to askthe postilion, if it had a name. "_Monsieur, cette petite rivières'appelle la Seine. _" We were, then, at the sources of the Seine!Looking back I perceived, by the formation of the land, that it musttake its rise a short distance beyond the village, among some naked anddreary-looking hills. A little beyond these, again, the streams flowtowards the tributaries of the Rhone, and we were consequently in thehigh region where the waters of the Atlantic and the Mediterraneandivide. Still there were no other signs of our being at such anelevation, except in the air of sterility that reigned around. Itreally seemed as if the river, so notoriously affluent in mud, had takendown with it all the soil. 

LETTER XXVIII. 

Miserable Inn. --A French Bed. --Free-Trade. --French Relics. --CrossRoads. --Arrival at La Grange. --Reception by General Lafayette. --TheNullification Strife. --Conversation with Lafayette. --His Opinion as to aSeparation of the Union in America. --The Slave Question. --Stability ofthe Union. --Style of living at La Grange. --Pap. --French Manners, and theFrench Cuisine. --Departure from La Grange. --Return to Paris. 

Dear ----, I have little to say of the next two days' drive, except that ignorance, and the poetical conceptions of a postilion, led us into the scrape ofpassing a night in just the lowest inn we had entered in Europe. Wepushed on after dark to reach this spot, and it was too late to proceed, as all of the party were excessively fatigued. To be frank with you, itwas an _auberge aux charretiers_. Eating was nearly out of the question;and yet I had faith to the last, in a French bed. The experience of thisnight, however, enables me to say all France does not repose onexcellent wool mattresses, for we were obliged to put up with a gooddeal of straw. And yet the people were assiduous, anxious to please, andcivil. The beds, moreover, were tidy; our straw being clean straw. 

The next night we reached a small town, where we did much better. Stillone can see the great improvements that travellers are introducing intoFrance, by comparing the taverns on the better roads with those on themore retired routes. At this place we slept well, and _à la Française_. If Sancho blessed the man who invented sleep after a nap on Spanishearth, what would he have thought of it after one enjoyed on a Frenchbed!

The drums beat through the streets after breakfast, and the populationcrowded their doors, listening, with manifest interest, to theproclamation of the crier. The price of bread was reduced; anannunciation of great interest at all times, in a country where bread isliterally the staff of life. The advocates of free-trade prices ought tobe told that France would often be convulsed, literally from want, ifthis important interest were left to the sole management of dealers. Atheory will not feed a starving multitude, and hunger plays the deucewith argument. In short, free-trade, as its warmest votaries now carryout their doctrines, approaches suspiciously near a state of nature: acondition which might do well enough, if trade were a principal, insteadof a mere incident of life. With some men, however, it is aprincipal--an all in all--and this is the reason we frequently findthose who are notoriously the advocates of exclusion and privileges ingovernment, maintaining the doctrine, as warmly as those who carry theirliberalism, in other matters, to extremes. 

There was a small picture, in the manner of Watteau, in this inn, whichthe landlady told me had been bought at a sale of the effects of aneighbouring chateau. It is curious to discover these relics, in theshape of furniture, pictures, porcelain, &c. , scattered all over France, though most of it has found its way to Paris. I offered to purchase thepicture, but the good woman held it to be above price. 

We left this place immediately after breakfast, and soon quitted thegreat route to strike across the country. The _chemins vicinaux_, orcross-roads of France, are pretty much in a state of nature; the public, I believe, as little liking to work them, as it does at home. Previouslyto the revolution, all this was done by means of the _corvée_; a rightwhich empowered the _seigneur_ to oblige his tenants to perform acertain amount of labour, without distinction, on the highways of hisestate. Thus, whenever M. Le Marquis felt disposed to visit thechateau, there was a general muster, to enable him and his friends toreach the house in safety, and to amuse themselves during theirresidence; after which the whole again reverted to the control of natureand accident. To be frank, one sometimes meets with by-roads in this oldcountry, which are positively as bad as the very worst of our own, inthe newest settlements. Last year I actually travelled post for twentymiles on one of these trackless ways. 

We were more fortunate, however, on the present occasion; the road wetook being what is called a _route départementale_, and little, if any, inferior to the one we had left. Our drive was through a slightlyundulating country that was prettily wooded, and in very goodagriculture. In all but the wheel-track, the traveller gains by quittingthe great routes in France, for nothing can be more fatiguing to the eyethan their straight undeviating monotony. They are worse than any of ourown air-line turnpikes; for in America the constant recurrence of smallisolated bits of wood greatly relieves the scenery. 

We drove through this country some three or four leagues, until we atlength came to an estate of better arrangements than common. On our leftwas a wood, and on our right a broad reach of meadow. Passing the wood, we saw a wide, park-like lawn, that was beautifully shaded by copses, and in which there were touches of landscape-gardening, in a tastealtogether better than was usual in France. Passing this, another woodmet us, and turning it, we entered a private road--you will remember thecountry has neither fence nor hedge, nor yet scarcely a wall--whichwound round its margin, describing an irregular semicircle. Then it ranin a straight line for a short distance, among a grove of youngevergreens, towards two dark picturesque towers covered with ivy, crossed a permanent bridge that spanned a ditch, and dashing through agateway, in which the grooves of the portcullis are yet visible, wealighted in the court of La Grange!

It was just nine, and the family was about assembling in thedrawing-room. The "_le Général sera charmé de vous voir, monsieur_, " ofthe faithful Bastien, told us we should find his master at home; and onthe great stairs, most of the ladies met us. In short, the patriarch wasunder his own roof, surrounded by that family which has so long been theadmiration of thousands--or, precisely as one would most wish to findhim. 

It is not necessary to speak of our reception, where all our country arewelcome. We were soon in the drawing-room, which I found covered withAmerican newspapers, and in a few minutes I was made acquainted with allthat was passing on the other side of the Atlantic. Mr. Rives had sailedfor home; and as M. Perier was dead, General Lafayette had not explainedin the Chamber the error into which that minister had permitted himselfto fall, agreeably to a tardy authority to that effect received from Mr. Rives. The ministry was on the point of dissolution in France; and itwas said the _doctrinaires_ were to come in--and the nullificationstrife ran high at home. On the latter subject, Lafayette spoke with areserve that was unusual on subjects connected with America, though hestrongly deprecated the existence of the controversy. 

There is great weakness in an American's betraying undue susceptibilityon the score of every little unpleasant occurrence that arises at home. No one of the smallest intelligence can believe that we are to be exemptfrom human faults, and we all ought to know that they will frequentlylead to violence and wrongs. Still there is so much jealousy here onthis subject, the votaries of monarchies regard all our acts with somuch malevolence, and have so strong a desire to exaggerate our faults, that it is not an easy matter at all times to suppress these feelings. Ihave often told our opponents that they pay us the highest possiblecompliment, in their constant effort to compare the results of thesystem with what is purely right in the abstract, instead of comparingits results with those of their own. But the predominance of the hostileinterests are so great here, that reason and justice go for nothing inthe conflict of opinions. If a member of congress is flogged, it is noanswer to say that a deputy or a member of parliament has been murdered. They do not affirm, but they always _argue_ as if they thought we oughtto be better than they! If we have an angry discussion and are told ofit, one would think it would be a very good answer, so far ascomparative results are concerned, to tell them that half-a-dozen oftheir provinces are in open revolt; but to this they will not listen. They expect _us_ never to quarrel! We must be without spot in allthings, or we are worse than they. All this Lafayette sees and feels;and although it is impossible not to detect the unfairness and absurdityof such a mode of forming estimates of men, it is almost equallyimpossible, in the present situation of Europe, for one who understandsthe influence of American example, not to suffer these unpleasantoccurrences to derange his philosophy. 

Before breakfast the General took me into his library, and we had a longand a much franker conversation on the state of South Carolina. He saidthat a separation of the Union would break his heart. "I hope they willat least let me die, " he added, "before they commit this _suicide_ on_our_ institutions. " He particularly deprecated the practice of talkingabout such an event, which he thought would accustom men's minds to it. I had not the same apprehensions. To me it appeared that the habit ofmenacing dissolution, was the result of every one's knowing, andintimately feeling, the importance of hanging together, which inducedthe dissatisfied to resort to the threat, as the shortest means ofattaining their object. It would be found in the end, that the veryconsciousness which pointed out this mode as the gravest attack thatcould be made on those whom the discontented wish to influence, wouldawaken enough to consequences to prevent any consummation in acts. Thismenace was a natural argument of the politically weak in America, justas the physically weak lay hold of knives and clubs, where the strongrely on their hands. It must be remembered that the latter, at need, canresort to weapons, too. I do not believe there could be found in allAmerica any great number of respectable men who wish the Uniondissolved; and until that shall be the case, I see no great grounds ofapprehension. Moreover, I told him that so long as the northern stateswere tranquil I had no fears, for I felt persuaded that no greatpolitical change would occur in America that did not come from thatsection of the Union. As this is a novel opinion, he inquired for itsreasons, and, in brief, this was the answer:--

There is but one interest that would be likely to unite all the southagainst the north, and this was the interest connected with slavery. Now, it was notorious that neither the federal government nor theindividual states have anything to do with this as a national question, and it was not easy to see in what manner anything could be done thatwould be likely to push matters as far as disunion on such a point Theremight be, and there probably would be, discussion anddenunciations--nay, there often had been; but a compromise having beenvirtually made, by which all new states at the north are to be freestates, and all at the south slave-holding, I saw nothing else that waslikely to be serious. [46] As respects all other interests, it would bedifficult to unite the whole south. Taking the present discussion as anexample: those that were disaffected, to use the strongest term the caseadmits of, were so environed by those that were not, that a seriousseparation became impossible. The tier of states that lies behind theCarolinas, Virginia, and Georgia, for instance, are in no degreedependent on them for an outlet to the sea, while they are so nearneighbours as to overshadow them in a measure. Then the south mustalways have a northern boundary of free states, if they separate _enmasse_--a circumstance not very desirable, as they would infallibly losemost of their slaves. 

[Footnote 46: Recent facts have confirmed this opinion. ]

On the other hand, the north is very differently situated. New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and the tier of states west, are closelyconnected geographically, must and would go together, and they have onefrontier that is nearly all water. They contain already a freepopulation of eight millions, which is rapidly increasing, and arestrong enough, and united enough, to act as they please. It is theirinterest to remain united with the south, and it is also a matter offeeling with them, and I apprehend little to the Union so long as thesestates continue of this mind. [47]

[Footnote 47: This was written before the recent events in Texas, whichgive a new aspect to the question. ]

Lafayette wished to know if I did not think the Union was getting toolarge for its safety. I thought not, so long as the means of necessaryintercommunication were preserved, but just the reverse, as the largerthe Union, the less probability there would be of agitating its wholesurface by any one interest; and the parties that were tranquil, as amatter of course, would influence those that were disturbed. Were theUnion to-day, for instance, confined to the coast, as it was forty yearssince, there would be no south-western states to hold the southern incheck, as we all know is the fact at present, and the danger fromnullification would be doubled. These things act both ways; for even thestate governments, while they offer positive organised and _quasi_ legalmeans of resisting the federal government, also afford the sameorganized local means of counteracting them in their own neighbourhood. Thus, Carolina and Georgia do not pull together in this very affair, and, in a sense, one neutralizes the other. The long and short of thematter was, that the Union was a compromise that grew out of practicalwants and _facts_, and this was the strongest possible foundation forany polity. Men would assail it in words, precisely as they believed itimportant and valued by the public, to attain their ends. --We were heresummoned to the breakfast. 

I was well laughed at the table for my ignorance. The family of LaGrange live in the real old French style, with an occasionalintroduction of an American dish, in compliment to a guest. We hadobtained hints concerning one or two capital things there, especiallyone for a very simple and excellent dish, called _soupe au lait_; and Ifancied I had now made discovery the second. A dish was handed to methat I found so excellent, _so very appropriate to breakfast_, that Isent it to A----, with a request that she would get its history fromMadame George Lafayette, who sat next her. The ladies put their headstogether, and I soon saw that they were amused at the suggestion. A----then informed me, that it was an American as well as a French dish, andthat she knew great quantities of it had been consumed in the hall atC----, in particular. Of course I protested that I had no recollectionof it. "All this is very likely, for it is a good while since you haveeaten any. The dish is neither more nor less than pap!"

Two capital mistakes exist in America on the subject of France. Oneregards its manners, and the other its kitchen. We believe that Frenchdeportment is superficial, full of action, and exaggerated. This wouldtruly be a wonder in a people who possess a better tone of manners, perhaps, than any other; for quiet and simplicity are indispensable tohigh breeding. The French of rank are perfect models of theseexcellences. As to the _cuisine_, we believe it is high-seasoned. Nothing can be farther from the truth; spices of all sorts being nearlyproscribed. When I went to London with the Vicomte de V----, the firstdinner was at a tavern. The moment he touched the soup, he sat withtears in his eyes, and with his mouth open, like a chicken with the pip!"_Le diable!_" he exclaimed, "_celle-ci est infernale!_" And infernal Ifound it too; for after seven years' residence on the Continent, it wasno easy matter for even me to eat the food or to drink the wines ofEngland; the one on account of the high seasoning, and the other onaccount of the brandy. 

We left La Grange about noon, and struck into the great post-road assoon as possible. A succession of accidents, owing to the random drivingof the postilions, detained us several hours, and it was dark before wereached the first _barrière_ of Paris. We entered the town on our sideof the river, and drove into our own gate about eight. The table was setfor dinner; the beds were made, the gloves and toys lay scattered about, _à la Princesse d'Orange_, and we resumed our customary mode of life, precisely as if we had returned from an airing in the country, insteadof a journey of three months!

THE END.