The King Of
Prussia However Does Not At All Interfere With Its Internal Government, And
His Supremacy Is In No Other Respects Useful To Him Than In Giving Him A
Slight Revenue.
French is the language spoken in the canton.
There is a
marked distinction of rank all over Switzerland, except in Geneva, Vaud and
the small democratic cantons such as Zug and Schwytz, where it is merely
nominal. In short, tranquillity is the order of the day. Each rank respects
the privileges of the other and the peasant, however rich, is not at all
disposed to vary from his usual mode of life or to ape the noble; and
hence, tho' sumptuary laws are no longer in force, they continue so
virtually and the peasantry in all the German cantons adhere strictly to
the national costume.
BERN, 14 July.
I put myself in the diligence that plies between Neufchatel and Bern at
nine p.m., on the 12 July, and the following morning put up at the Crown
Inn in the city of Bern, in the Pays Allemand, whereas the French
cantons are termed the Pays Romand. Bern is a remarkably elegant city as
much so as any in Italy, and much cleaner withal. The streets are broad,
and in most of them are trottoirs under arcades. There are a great number
of book-sellers here, and the best editions of the German authors are to be
procured very cheap. Bern is situated on an eminence forming almost an
island as it were in the middle of the river Aar; steep ravines are on all
sides of it; and there is a bridge over the Aar to keep up the
communication; and as the borders of the island, on which the city stands,
are very steep, a zig-zag road, winding along the ravines, brings you to
the city gates. These gates are very superb. On each side of the gates are
two enormous white stone bears, the emblems of the tutelary genius of this
city. The houses are very lofty and solidly built. The promenades in the
environs of Bern are the finest I have seen anywhere, and the grounds
allotted to this purpose are very tastefully laid out. These promenades are
paved with gravel and cut thro' the forests, that lie on the coteaux and
ravines on the other side of the Aar. There are several neat villas in the
neighbourhood of these promenades, and there are cafes and restaurants
for those who chuse to refresh themselves. Such is the beauty of these
walks, that one feels inclined to pass the whole day among them. They are
laid out in such variety, and are so multiplied, that you often lose your
way; you are sure however to be brought up by a point de vue at one or
other of the angles of the zig-zag; and this serves as a guide pour vous
orienter, as the French say. Another favorite promenade is a garden, in
the town itself, that environs the whole city from which and from the
superb terrace of the Cathedral you have a magnificent view of the glaciers
that tower above the Grindelwald and Lauterbrunn. The immense forests that
are in the neighbourhood of Bern form a striking contrast with the
cornfields in the vallies and on the coteaw. There are but few vineyards
in the neighbourhood of Bern.
BERN, 16 July.
The Diet is held this year in Bern and it is now sitting. I have met with
the two Deputies of the Canton de Vaud, MM. P - - - and M - - -. I am glad to
hear from them that the animosity existing between the two cantons of Bern
and Vaud is beginning to subside. M. P - - - has made a most able and
conciliating speech at the Diet. Still there is a good deal of jealousy
rankling in the breast of the Bern noblesse and the avulsumimperium is
a very sore subject with them. I recollect once at Lausanne meeting with a
young man of one of the principal families of Bern, who had been hi the
English service. The conversation happened to turn on the emancipation of
the Canton de Vaud from the domination of Bern, when the young man became
perfectly furious and insisted that the Vaudois had no right whatever to
their liberty, for that the Canton of Bern had purchased the province of
Vaud from the Dukes of Savoy. "En un mot" (said he), "ils sont nos
esclaves, nos ilotes et ils sont aussi clairement notre propriete que les
negres de la Jamaique le sont de leurs maitres"
A very harsh measure has lately been passed in the Diet, evidently
suggested by the aristocracy of Bern, which tended to fine and punish those
Swiss officers who remained in Prance to serve under Napoleon after his
return from Elba, and who did not obey the order of the Diet which recalled
them. A very able objection has been made to this measure in a brochure,
wherein it is stated that many of these officers had no means of living
out of France and that, on a former occasion, when a number of Swiss
officers were serving the English Government and were employed in America
in the war against the United States in 1812 and 1818, the Diet, then under
Napoleon's influence, issued a decree recalling them and commanding them to
quit the English service forthwith. This they refused to do and continued
to serve. No notice whatever was taken of this act of disobedience, when
they returned to their native country on being disbanded in 1814, and they
were very favourably received. Why then, says the author of this pamphlet,
is a similar act of disobedience to pass unnoticed in one instance and to
be so severely punished in another? Or do you wish to prove that your
vengeance is directed only against those who remained in France, to fight
for its liberties, when invaded by a foreign foe, while those who remained
in America to fight against the liberties and existence of the American
Republic you have received with applause and congratulation?
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