SWITZERLAND.

GOLDSMITH, in 'the Traveller,' approached Switzerland from Italy; I entered it from France. After depicting Italy he exclaims :—

My soul, turn from them; turn we to survey
Where rougher climes a nobler race display,
Where the bleak Swiss their stormy mansion tread,
And force a churlish soil for scanty bread.

No product here the barren hills afford,

But man and steel, the soldier and his sword.
No vernal blooms these torpid rocks array,
But winter, lingering, chills the lap of May.
No zephyr fondly sues the mountain's breast,
But meteors glare and stormy glooms invest.
Yet still, e'en here, content can spread a charm,
Redress the clime, and all its rage disarm.
Thus every good his native wilds impart
Imprints the patriot passion on his heart;

And e'en those hills that round his mansion rise
Enhance the bliss his scanty bounds supplies.

Geneva.-The traveller who debouches on Switzerland from the south usually arrives at Geneva, a city full of old associations, and still the centre of a religious section. My object is not to enter either upon the historic associations nor the religious aspects. I look upon man as an animal requiring food. I see that food comes from the soil, and I wish to trace the manner in which it is procured. It is, perhaps, rather humiliating, to a sentient being, to be told

that food is just as much consumed in the brain, in the production of thought, as grease is consumed in a candle in the production of light, but it is the fact. Thinking men require to have their stomachs filled just as well as the thoughtless. To resume my observations: the land between Lyons and Amberieu is flat, and mostly in pasture, which is very luxuriant. Herds of cattle were grazing as I sped along. At Amberieu we got among the mountains, and the aspect of the country changed. The journey between Lyons and Geneva appears particularly tedious: the train, when in motion, moves very slowly; the stops are frequent and prolonged. English gold has been transforming Geneva. The old town is dark and gloomy, and partakes of the character of the inhabitants, who are rather ascetic and reserved. Men's houses reflect their minds, and the contrast between the old and the new town is marked. A new town has sprung up near the Lake; it consists of grand buildings, hotels on a large scale, and other imposing edifices. It is calculated that 30,000 visitors passed through Geneva last year. As the season may be reckoned at four months (120 days), this would give an average of 250 per diem; if they usually stay two days each, there would be 500 visitors pretty constantly in Geneva; if the average were three days, there would be 750, and so in proportion. The population of the canton of Geneva has increased more rapidly than any other Swiss canton. In 1850 it was 64,146, in 1860 it had increased to 80,876. In 1850 the population was pretty equally divided as to religious profession; the Protestants numbered 34,212, and the Roman Catholics 29,764. The population of the town of Geneva in 1860 was about

40,000. The rural population would therefore be about 43,000. The superficial area is 28,569 hectares, about 80,000 English acres. In 1850 there were 15,265 families and 7,088 proprietors. If the inhabitants of the town of Geneva be excluded, there would be about one proprietor for each family.

I cannot undertake to do more than give a general idea of the state of holdings in Switzerland. There are 22 sovereign States in a country of about half the size of Scotland. Each State has its own laws as to the descent of land. Those adjacent upon France have adopted the French laws, and speak the French language. Those to the north and east speak German, and their laws are more in accordance with those of Germany. Geneva adopts that of the Code Napoleon, and is similar in this respect to the institutions of France which I described. If we exclude the land under vines from consideration, there is in the rural part of Geneva nearly one' inhabitant for each acre, or 640 to the square mile for the cultivable land. If we take the entire area, and include Geneva, it gives about the same result.* This is a very dense population, yet in addition to it the visitors also require to be fed. It is very true they pay for the food, but money will not make food. It has to be produced from the land, and Switzerland, having no seaboard, cannot import it from distant foreign countries.

The soil of the canton of Geneva was thus divided:

LAKE LEMAN-LAUSANNE.

71.

The road from Geneva to Berne lies at the commencement along the shores of the Lake of Geneva, having for a background Mont Blanc. Byron apostrophised it thus:

Clear, placid Leman! thy contrasted lake,
With the wild world I dwell in, is a thing
Which warns me with its stillness to forsake
Earth's troubled waters for a purer spring.

At Lausanne the road leaves the lake and ascends. The glimpses of the valleys are most lovely. In passing through such scenes one could almost wish to be like the living creatures in the Apocalypse, all eyes within and without; and long that all the senses were absorbed in seeing, that we might do nothing but see and feel. The sense of beauty which overpowers all feeling in scenes of such surpassing loveliness makes sight an enjoyment; we gaze and gaze, and long to pour out our souls in looking, and exclaim, 'Oh! God, how wondrous fair is this world which thou hast made!' Byron sung on this spot :

He who has loved not, here would learn that lore,
And make his heart a spirit; he who knows

That tender mystery will love the more.

Lausanne is the chief town of the canton, Vaud,* which stands next to Berne in extent; its area is about

* The land of the canton of Vaud is thus divided:—

881,000 English acres, and its population 213,157. Its chief town, Lausanne, has a population of over 17,000 inhabitants. The number of families in Vaud in 1851 was 44,304, and the number of proprietors 37,936.

The live stock of this canton in 1863 comprised 16,352 horses, 74,490 cattle, 50,254 sheep, 16,477 goats, 35,482 swine, which according to the scale adopted by Mr. Donnelly, for Ireland, would be worth 741,2507., being about at the rate of 30s. for each acre of arable land. This is nearly the same proportion as exists in Ireland.

The canton into which I next passed, that of Fribourg, affords almost similar results. I state them because so much prejudice exists in England against small farms, and it is necessary for us to look at things as they exist, and not allow ourselves to be carried away by unnecessary prejudice. Fribourg has a population of 105,523 persons, comprising 20,206 families; and there are 18,477 proprietors. The area is 455,040 acres. The live stock in 1862 was 8,637 horses, 52,642 cattle, 21,162 sheep, 9,651 goats, and 26,122 swine; value, 474,8311. Fribourg is relatively poorer in live stock than Vaud, but the pasturage in Fribourg is only 15.5 per cent., while in Vaud it is 22.7 per cent.

* The land in the canton of Fribourg was thus divided :—