WINTERTHOUR.-BATHS OF LÖHRLIBAD. 27 quently erected in its place, is a structure which combines strength and solidity with a light and elegant appearance, and promises a more lengthened service. than its predecessor. We now quit the immediate borders of the Rhine, and prosecute our journey southward, by way of Andelfingen and Winterthour. The situation of the latter is peculiarly fine; and what nature has distinguished by her kindly partiality, man has seconded and improved by his industry. Selected as a favourite station by the Romans, and retaining its local dignity through a long succession of ages, Winterthour has passed through many hands, and derived embellishments, if not benefits, from all-for all in their turn have courted the good-will of its citizens, and coveted the rich possession of its territory. Villas of elegant architecture, grounds tastefully laid out and scrupulously preserved; verdant meadows, fruitful fields, and luxuriant vineyards, are the leading features in the landscape, and meet the traveller in ever-varying combinations. Enriched by various grants and privileges from Rudolph of Hapsburg, Winterthour was at length raised to the dignity of an imperial town; and, from the time that Frederick of Austria was placed under the ban of the empire, till 1437, enjoyed almost unlimited independence, but then, by a spontaneous impulse, reverted under the protection of Austria. In 1460 it withstood a siege of eight weeks against the whole force of Zurich, and displayed every example of patriotic devotion and personal valour on the part of its inhabitants. Seven years later it was included among the towns subject to Zurich, and became a faithful supporter of the very government it had so nobly opposed. From that time down. to the present, the struggle for supremacy has been succeded by a friendly competition in the arts of peace-by mutual endeavours for the common good; and by this principle of cooperative sympathy the best interests of a state are secured. The public edifices, schools, libraries, churches, charities, and hospitals, are all of a superior description, and do honour to the place and people. Antiquities have been found liberally diffused over the neighbourhood; and Roman coins, medals, statues, and other subjects of virtu, are to be seen in the public library and private collections. The Baths of Löhrlibad take their source a short way from this, and support the reputation already gained by fresh testimony to their salutary virtues. "Art weary? sleepless? weak? depressed? or sad? To enumerate the many singular and striking points of view which this route commands—some with the stamp of history, others with the strong impression of natural beauty, and all with features upon which it is delightful to pausewould far exceed our scanty limits. But, as silence and admiration are not unfrequently associated, the scenes upon which we cannot now dilate will long be cherished among the sweetest in our remembrance, and often fill up the silent picture in the mind's eye. The canton of Zurich, through which we advance towards the capital, is a country of great extent, beauty, and fertility-densely peopled, highly cultivated, and holding the first rank in the Confederacy. Its boundaries will be better understood by reference to the accompanying map, than by description. On a surface of alternate hill and plain, twelve leagues where longest by ten in breadth, it supports an industrious and thriving population of 185,000 souls. The character and disposition of the people are uniformly described as sincere and ingenuous; studious of improvement, and unsparing of their exertions for the public welfare. They are strongly attached to ancestral customs, patriotic in their feelings and sentiments, and justly proud of their heroic annals and hereditary institutions. The climate is sufficiently mild for the cultivation of extensive vineyards; and in the perfection of agriculture, Zurich has greatly the advantage over most of the other cantons. Horticulture is a department in which great progress has been made, as well as in the cultivation of kitchen vegetables, and the management of fruit and flower gardens. The forests, with which the more elevated districts are covered, abound in stately timber, convertible to all the purposes of domestic economy, and forming a source of public revenue. Abundance of peat is dug from the bogs, and a coal-pit regularly worked at Käpfnach. Grain of every description is raised in abundance, and of excellent quality; but the principal source of revenue consists in the manufactures-similar to those already described, and which, previously to the revolution, gave employment to upwards of fifty thousand individuals. The silk-loom, as mentioned in a former page, was first introduced here by the proscribed Protestants of Locarno, to whom Zurich extended her protecting arm, and received in return an important lesson for the extension of her revenue. The canton is distributed into eleven prefectures, forming fifty-six tribes. The sovereign authority resides in a grand council, composed of two hundred and twelve members, of whom twenty-six are elected by the capital, five by Winterthour, fifty-one by the various districts-and, of the remaining one hundred and thirty, elected by the grand council itself, every fifth is to be chosen from the rural departments. At this assembly, a burgomaster acts as president. The lesser council, formed of twenty-five members, is charged with the executive authority; and the thirteen judges of the court of appeal, who decide all capital questions, are elected from the body of the grand council. In every prefecture, or provincial jurisdiction, a magistrate, with the title of préfet, is the government representative. The established religion is that of the Protestant church. The clergy, with the exception of the communes of Dietikon and Rheinau, are governed by a synod, consisting of ten chapters. At this assembly, which meets every autumn, the minister of Zurich presides as moderator. During their deliberations, various members of the government are also present; and all affairs relating to church discipline, are entrusted to a committee selected from the body of the clergy. Both in the capital, and at Winterthour, all the establishments relating to public instruction are ably and judiciously conducted. At Zurich, theology, law, and medicine, are ably taught; and every other branch of science and philology cultivated with industry and success. The country schools are now on an excellent footing, and have greatly increased in number and importance. The physicians and surgeons of the canton, many of them men of profound skill and extensive observation, form themselves into a society, which meets twice a year, and by their professional and friendly intercourse, contribute most materially to the advancement of science, and the promotion of the god-like art. The descent upon Zurich, as the road winds gently towards the river, is particularly fine; and the prominent objects brought successively into view, seem to vary their relative positions as we advance. Of these, the commanding feature is the cathedral, whose twin towers, overlooking the city, are the first to greet the traveller on his approach. Here the Limmat, gushing from the lake in a broad and impetuous stream, is bridged over by a wide and commodious platform, where the buyers and sellers meet in friendly intercourse, and the various merchandize attests the number of purchasers and activity of the market. The scarlet boddice, laced and trimmed with black-the full white sleeves, high dress to the neck, short particoloured petticoat, and black coiffure, with an orange or crimson band across the crown, announce the peasant maids of Zurich; while the huge hempen culottes, coarse homespun doublets, and broad-brimmed hats, proclaim their rustic lords. Here the front of the Hôtel de l'Epée bears evidence to the great influx of strangers who every season commence the tour of Switzerland at this point. There stand several English carriages-two just arrived, others on the road-and each fitted up with all the luxury and convenience that can possibly wait upon locomotive lords, and encourage an easy slumber after the fatigue of sight-seeing. There, a party VOL. II. sally forth to make the circuit of curiosity, and another return, greatly delighted with the prospect of dinner. Here, lazily seated upon the bench, in their half minstrel, half marauder uniform, a possé of Swabian students keep up a cloud of smoke from pipes, almost as long as the spears of their forefathers. Artists, seated, or standing by the water's edge, are busily occupied in the service of their portfolios, and seem to look upon the donjon-tower in the centre of the stream, with its fleet of barges, as a favourite point. Couriers, too, arrive and depart in such "hot haste," as if the balance of Europe sat upon their spurs. Here and there, also, straggling pilgrims, waiting for some boat to waft them to the other extremity of the lake, on their pious errand to Einsiedeln, contrast well with the mere pleasure-hunting groups among whom they stand; with their "scalloped hat, and sandal shoon," they look like the beings of another sphere. Among the smokers, the wine of Zurich begins at length to circulate freely, and to loosen those cords of speech, which the solemn pipe had previously held in subjection; and now the volubility is truly extraordinary-some talking- others vociferating a favourite air "Die perl'aus deinem haare," &c. In the mean time, another courier has occasioned a fresh bustle of preparation in the hôtel, and is succeeded by the arrival of a carriage-not with that rapid reckless haste by which so many think they insure consequence, and command respect-but in so measured and slow a pace, indeed, as to excite apprehensions of some recent accident. The door of the barouche was opened, and a lady anxiously handed out, was supported into the house. Hereupon inquiries immediately followed, if a certain physician, then named, was in the house. The demand circulated in a few minutes to the doctor's ear, and in less than five more he was seated at the couch of the stranger. The lady was young, and, as far as perceptible through a thick veil, her features were beautiful; but, after the oriental fashion, her hand alone was visible, and held out with a kind of incoherent expression, that the physician would do his duty. Previously, however, he endeavoured to learn from her female attendant the probable cause and date of the malady; but his questions were either evaded, or answered unsatisfactorily; so that he was left to conjecture, and the adoption of his own resources. The latter were instantly applied-powerful depletion, and other remedial measures, seemed to have done wonders, and the violent excitement under which she laboured had evidently given way to the treatment adopted. About midnight, however, her attendant most imprudently, and, perhaps, through ignorance, put into her hands a letter, the perusal of which seemed to have recalled all the symptoms |