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two chapters, one from the Gospel of St. John, the other from the Acts of the Apostles. The men and women sat separately; the women in neatly plaited fly caps, with all their hair strained back, and entirely disguised, as human beings, by goitres, not one, but many, hanging in bunches. No rags, no filth, as at Naples; but all were neat, clean, and quiet, modest and attentive. They sang several hymns in the old canon style, always going on with all their might, and great seeming devotion. Two children were christened; the godfathers advanced to the table, with a large square of rich brocade silk pinned to their shoulders, and hanging down in front, beneath which was hidden their little charge; on the table was a small stand for the Bible of the reader. After an exhortation to the sponsors from the pulpit, the minister came down. The godmother then took from her pocket a little phial of water, and poured it into the hands of the minister, and he let it drop upon the forehead of the child; no sign of the Cross was made. He said, I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost.' The chapters read were from the Lausanne version, with very suitable reflections. There was then a confession, very similar, or the same with that I heard at Lausanne; then followed a hymn in very old French, and then the sermon; then another hymn and exhortation to the communicants: the little reading-stand was then removed, and two high ancient silver cups were put on the table, with a large quantity of bread in a napkin. The minister then approached the table, (which was where our reading-desk is generally placed, under the pulpit,) and said,The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ ?-the bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?' The men then approached in pairs, put a small piece of money into a plate on the table, and made a bend to the minister. He then presented them with the bread and wine, applying to each some verse of Scripture, not doctrinal, but what is usually termed practical, (a distinction which I think shews but little real insight into the nature of the Gospel.) They then bent again, two more succeeded, and thus, till all approached, partook and passed on, to the number of five hundred, the men first, and then the women. Mr. B. said there were but few comparatively to-day, on account of the number of women who at this season attend their silk-worms night and day, and thus earn a livelihood. As they passed in slow and solemn files up to the altar, and the chantor led the voices of those who were not engaged in communion, the tones, the pace, the air, brought at once to my mind the various passes in which the brave ancestors of these men, with Henri

Arnaud at their head, had placed themselves, to face death and maintain their faith. I contrasted this peaceable procession-these hymns of praise-with the war-notes that were heard in these valleys, when they were the arena on which Christian firmness exhibited its conquering power; and I delighted to join with such a people, in commemorating that love which, before the mountains were brought forth, contemplated our redemption.

"The Vaudois do not allow that they are a reformed church, but consider that their church is formed on the original model in Apostolic times. They have now a good supply of the word of God. An hospital built by the aid of the English and Dutch is very useful here; it now contains sixteen patients." Vol. ii. pp. 252-255.

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Arriving at a small village called Villaro, the service was just commencing, it being Whit Monday. Our hearts burnt within us as we joined in the hymns of this simple congregation-hymns replete with sound doctrine and fervid devotion. Their confession was expressive of deep humility. As at Torre, two chapters were read with excellent reflections, and then followed the Apostle's Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the Lord's Prayer. The pastor's text was,

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Ye believe in God,-believe also in me.' He commenced by texts shewing the scriptural authority for believing in Christ; shewed that he was the Prophet, Priest, and King of his people, and that he had himself declared, I and my Father are one;' dwelt on the inestimable benefit of such an High Priest and King, and the miserable condition of those who did not believe in, love, and obey Him, even Him who would hereafter be the unerring Judge. The people listened with deep attention, and seemed, by their quiet, solemn air, to answer, Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that we love thee.' They appeared, with unfeigned devotion, to supplicate by their hymns, the assistance of the Spirit, the protection of the Father, and the love of the Son. A layman, in a light blue jacket, read the chapters. I think there was no extemporary prayer; the robes were very similar to those of our own clergy. After service we walked up this sweet valley with the congregation; they appear to feel the privilege they possess in the word of God. One little old woman seemed quite overjoyed to see the English and Protestants; and insisted on our mounting to her cottage. It was no small labour to reach it up a steep mountain-path; and as we went she stopped, first at one cottage, then at another, screaming out, The English Protestants:' they all appeared overflowing with gratitude. At length we reached her humble dwelling, she and her friend and

neighbours following. A large pan of milk was produced; another of extremely sweet chesnuts, like sugar, with some miserably black bread. In a little loft, full of dried branches and leaves, the daughter-in-law had laid her babe, literally in a pig-trough, but a perfectly clean one. My grandfather was always talking to us,' said the old woman, of the persecutions of our forefathers. He frequently remarked, "Mind, my dears, never give up your ancient faith, if they cut you into pieces smaller than my nail; the suffering will not last long: soon you will appear in white robes, at the supper of the Lamb.'" She added, I have two sons: they are gone as shepherds into France. The Lord bless you, and keep you, madam,' said she- It is delightful to me to think of that world which is to come after death-may you get safely to it!' In that moment I felt we were children of one family, and as if I had returned to my home; and as she said, You know we poor Vaudois were obliged to hide in the caves and passes of these mountains rather than deny Jesus,' I felt I had but too often acted the coward. In the midst of the poverty that surrounded them, there was really much good breeding. As we begged her to cut us a slice of bread, she said, 'Il n'est pas bien que je vous le coupe,' expressing she wished us to take any quantity we liked. When we rose to pursue our way, she passed her hymn-book into the hands of her sweet smiling daughter, who had just returned from her little garden with a large bouquet of flowers for us, and said to her, Il faut que je les accompagne and then, kissing our hands affectionately, trudged on before us, through and down a little vineyard to the cabriolet, whilst a whole troop followed with flowers and blessings. I have never seen so much pleasure expressed, and apparently felt, by strangers we seemed to be truly sisters in Christ.

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"We now proceeded towards Bobbio, the last of the Protestant villages that can be reached with wheels. Situated in the bosom of hills, overhung by vast mountain peaks, and surrounded by rushing torrents, the campanile stands insulated on a rock. The church is a neat little building; the churchyard the simplest I ever saw. I longed to peep upon the resting-place of these children of the martyrs. Unhewn stones from the brook are placed at the head of the graves, and, if they can afford it,' said a nice neat little woman, the name is cut.' Thus, in this humble manner, repose the ashes of those whose names are written in the Book of Life. We were delighted with the people. I have often heard of Christian simplicity and love, but such kind looks and words I have not met with beTo the pastor of Bobbio the rishioners volunteered every species of

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praise. In winter he has a parish school of seventy children, and educates young men for the ministry. A Vaudois begged of me to go in, and see Mrs. M—, the pastor's wife. She will,' added this simple creature, be so glad to see you.' The whole manner in which they spoke gave me the impression that she was such an one as the dear early friend of those days, when, 'like the lark, we gaily hailed the morn.' We were not bold enough to make this visit; I will, therefore, transcribe the description of the dear secluded pair from the account of Mr. G——, that account which first excited the ardent desire to see these noble valleys, and the accomplishment of which afforded us one of the most pleasing incidents of our journey. As soon as we left the church,' says Mr. G-, ' Mr. M——— accosted us frankly, and we were introduced to his wife and young family. There was no fire when we first went in, but he saw we were shivering with cold, and a blazing hearth was soon ready to comfort us, and small pans or vessels of charcoal were brought for us to put our feet on. The apartment in which Mr. M——— welcomed us was spacious; it had the unusual luxury of a sofa, and stuffed chairs; and the wall, or rather wainscoting, of walnutwood, was hung with drawings from Mr. M's own pencil. He insisted upon our taking dinner, and his kind-hearted wife, an engaging young woman, of about twenty-six years of age, busied herself to prepare a repast, whilst he himself answered all our questions, interrogated us in return, and appeared as contented and happy as if he had undisturbed possession of the whole valley. The present pastor of Bobbio has a few acres he can call his own. He has his pastures for his cows and goats, a moderate extent of arable land, and a stream of water irrigates them. The bread was home-baked, the butter and cheese home-made, and the wine homepressed; nor did he forget to tell us that his wife had prepared the sausages, the fritters, and the baked pears. Napkins were placed by the side of our plates, the knives and forks were of the coarsest workmanship, the spoons of iron, and the plates and dishes of very ordinary brown Vol. ii. pp. 257–261.

ware.

We now turn to Mr. C. I. Latrobe, whose title of "The Alpenstock," the iron-spiked pole used in the Alps by chamois-hunters and pedestrian travellers, is no unfitting symbol of his pursuits. This indefatigable tourist, avoiding as much as possible hackneyed scenes and beaten roads, and the luxury of guides and inns, traversed Switzerland, solitarily and on foot, in various directions,

often with great fatigue and imminent hazard, but in the end surmounting every difficulty, and opening to his reader not a few remarkable scenes where few tourists are likely to follow him. The chief interest of his volume arises from his descriptions of Alpine scenery, and his toils and hair-breadth escapes in search of it. His descriptions are very lively, and his sketches very graphic, intermixed oftentimes with a few touches of playfulness or of sentiment, which add to their embellishment. The much-respected name of Latrobe would well have comported with a larger infusion of religious remark than we find in the volume; and it ought to have been a sufficient guarantee against here and there a trifling allusion to a scriptural phrase, which we are sure the author, however prone to a jest, would not, upon reflection, attempt to justify. Could he feel surprised, if any person of serious feeling, who happened to open the volume upon such a remark as that " poor Coquet (the dog) had been gathered to her fathers," or that Sion is proverbially the paradise and city of refuge of vermin," had thrown it away in disgust; judging, by even one such casual expression, that the author could not have a due reverence for the word of God? Our duty obliges us to notice this occasional blot, with here and there an expression somewhat too flippant; and the more so as the name of Latrobe, and the general character of the work, render such blemishes the more conspicuous and unaccountable.

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Our task will now be to select such passages for extract as will best give an idea of the manner of writing of the author, and of the scenes through which he travelled. He introduces himself setting out as follows on his Alpine excursions, after a winter and spring passed at Neufchatel in quiet and study.

"Many a sly glance did I throw into the corner where my trusty staff had been consigned to ignoble repose for so many months. In short, I began grievously to suspect that I was much the same indi

vidual as heretofore; and that the temptation held out to me by the continual sight of the distant Alps and their glaciers, would probably, under the insinuating influence of longer days and brighter suns, prove seriously detrimental to my sober and sedentary employments.

"However, I must be allowed to say a good word for myself, by stating, that, in spite of much temptation from within and without, I struggled hard, and with partial success, against these symptoms, before I fairly gave in. It was the middle of April before I relaxed aught material of my discipline, and the middle of June before I fairly assumed the staff and wallet."

"I knew, from experience, that my back was, thanks to God, strong enough to bear my own burden; my health sufficiently robust to support ordinary fatigue; and my spirits sufficiently unbroken and flexible to keep me up where the body, unaided, might be inclined to sink from extraordinary exertion or difficulty.

"Though neither misanthropic nor of a particularly gloomy turn, I had no objection to solitude; and trusted to find, in the scenes around me, and in my own thoughts and resources, sufficient amusement to prevent my suffering from ennui.

"If it were not, in the present age, set

down to a man's discredit to acknowledge

that he was not rich enough to squander, I might, perhaps, add this reason also, why I did not feel at liberty to indulge in luxuries which I could possibly do without: but as the minds of men happen to be so constructed at present, I will even keep my own counsel, and set out as Milor Anglais, or what you please." pp. 5—7.

We shall not trouble our readers with an outline of the author's various journeys, his crossings and re-crossings of this land of wonders; but merely note the localities as they happen to occur in our extracts.

Speaking of the Lake of Morat, he mentions the following phenomenon in 1825. Such facts are worth preserving, not only as incidents in natural history, but as illustrating the source to which many of the popular superstitions of ignorant nations and neighbourhoods may be traced-namely, to unusual physical phenomena, which imagination has embellished by discovering for them a fabulous rationale; thus inventing omens and portents, to terrify one generation and to puzzle another. Heathen mythology doubtless owes much to this fertile source, from the image of Jupiter which fell from heaven, to the personifications

of the wild Scandinavian or the timid Hindoo. Philosophy, where it can, chases the terror by explaining the phenomena: Christianity provides against it, by tracing up all things, even the most inexplicable, to the hand of a merciful God, a reconciled Father, who "makes all things to work together for good to them that love him, and are the called according to his purpose" of grace and mercy in Christ Jesus.

"I remember the report reaching Neuchatei, through the medium of the market people passing from one lake to the other (some time during the winter), that the

waters of the lake of Morat had suddenly become the colour of blood; though I could meet with no one whose testimony was sufficiently clear and unequivocal to establish the fact. This, joined to my not having the leisure then to come and see for myself, caused the matter to slip my memory entirely, till I found myself in the neighbourhood. Here the circumstance was fully confirmed to me in a manner not to be questioned: and having since met with a paper, written by Mons. de Candolle, of Geneva, on the subject, I shall take what is there stated as my best guide in mentioning the facts as they

occurred.

"It appears that this singular phenomenon began to excite the attention of the inhabitants of Morat as early as November last year, and that it continued more or less observable during the whole of the winter.

"Mr. Treschel, a gentleman resident at Morat, to whom M. de Candolle applied, on hearing the report, for information, and specimens of the colouring matter, stated, That during the early hours of the day no extraordinary appearance was observable in the lake; but that, a little later, long parallel lines of reddish matter were seen to extend along the surface of the water, at some distance from the banks. This, being blown by the wind towards the more sheltered parts of the shore, collected itself about the reeds and rushes, covering the surface of the lake with a light foam; forming, as it were, different strata of various colours, from greenish black, grey, yellow, and brown, to the most delicious red.

He adds, that this matter exhaled a pestiferous odour during the day, but disappeared at the approach of night. It was further observed, that during tempestuous weather it vanished altogether. Many small fishes were seen to become intoxicated while swimming amongst it, and, after a few convulsive leaps, to lie motionless on the surface.

"The naturalists of Geneva decided,

from the specimens sent, that it was an animal substance, which, if not the oscillatoria subfusca, was nearly allied to it.

"Soon after the beginning of May it disappeared entirely. It is not known that this phenomenon has appeared before on the lake of Morat within the memory have happened the year preceding the of man. Tradition states the same to great battle.” pp. 12, 13.

Whoever visits Switzerland-we might say the same of British scenery, or any scenery, but the remark applies particularly to mountainous tracts ought to possess such a triple provision of time, and patience, and money, as shall be proof against clouds and storms; for if either of these prematurely fail, the traveller may return home little the wiser for he can pick up during his weatherhis visit, except in such wisdom as bound spells at inns and hovels. Mr. Latrobe often sallied from under cover when few travellers followed his example: yet even he could not dissipate mists, or drive away clouds, or forbid drifting snows, and thus he lost some admirable prospects. For instance:

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"I arrived at Interlachen. nificent scenery which renders this village so deservedly celebrated, even among the Alps, was, as I had in a great measure anticipated, divested of its brightest feature. The extremity of the long valley leading to Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald, shewed nothing of the glaciers. They were enveloped in one high-piled, motionless, mass of heavy clouds, and the whole surface of the heavens began before noon to betoken speedy and heavy rain.

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This was no empty show. The evening found me seated, in but indifferent case, before a scanty fire in the travellers' room in the inn at Lauterbrunnen, chilled to the bone; chafing my hands by application to the flickering blaze, and my temper by various unprofitable reflections upon my bad fortune and disappointment. However, as I grew warm I got better tempered, and found I could hope for tomorrow while I despaired for to-day.

"The morrow came, and with it every sign of the continuance of the provokingly bad weather. Far from the Jungfrau being visible, it was with difficulty that the eye could trace the outline of the Wengern-Alp at its foot; and the numerous cascades tumbling down the sides of the latter seemed really to fall from the clouds.

to go out with no other prospect than "It was, to be sure, a bad speculation

that of being rained upon: yet to remain in the inn, adding my quota to the yawns, ennui, and discontent of some thirty or forty English, Russian, and German travellers, all, like myself, sighing for fair weather, did not appear to me to offer a much better alternative. So, after a leisurely breakfast, I set off to see the cascades, the only objects in the valley which were likely to gain any thing from the rain. The principal of these, the Staubbach, descends into the valley close behind the village. The height of the fall is computed at 800 feet." pp. 36, 37.

Mr. Latrobe's solitary alpenstock style of travelling enabled him to make the most of the unfavourable weather; not only by visiting the aforesaid cascades, and sundry boisterous torrents and dangerous glaciers, where, if a tottering avalanche thought proper to descend, he was directly in its path; but by setting off forthwith to pass the night as he might in some hovel on the brow of the Wengern Alp, at the edge of the gloomy ravine which separates it from the Jungfrau, so as to be on the higher mountains at day-break, when, if at any time, during even rainy and thick weather, the summits are free from clouds. This impromptu excursion was the more readily fixed upon, as the violent exercise, he thought, might prevent the ill effects of a submersion which had befallen him among the cascades, in leaping over an icy torrent. On the Wengern Alp he found a cow-herd in a miserable log-hut, with whom he took up his dwelling for the night; amply satisfied and in good humour with a draught of warm milk and a fire to dry himself, and little envying the English, German, and Russian tourists in their listless quarters below; especially as he had an opportunity of witnessing the following sublime phenomena.

"I had not been seated ten minutes, before a loud explosion from the mountain opposite gave warning of an avalanche. I hastened to the door-way, and saw that the lower part of the Jungfrau, which rose directly before me, had become totally free from vapour, though the numerous summits of the mountain, and of course the greater part of the glaciers, were still covered with an impenetrable mass of

clouds. This lower part consists of lines of the most fearful precipices, in steps of some hundred feet each, with patches of green herbage dispersed over their ledges, and grooved here and there by deep and narrow perpendicular furrows."

"The two principal of these, immediately opposite to the Wengern-Alp, serve as channels for the greater part of the avalanches originating on the slopes of the glaciers on this side of the mountain; a great portion of these declivities having apparently a bearing either to the one or

the other.

"I came too late for the lauine, which had roused me; but in the course of the with respect to this awful phenomenon. evening had my utmost curiosity satisfied

"By far the greater number were seen pouring down from one precipice to another, like a huge cataract; accompanied by a loud explosion, or a series of explosions. All the minor ones have this appearance. But it was my fortune to be witness of another kind, much more awful and imposing in appearance, and, we had reason to think, much more disastrous in its effects.

"The vacher had been absent from the châlet about two hours, his cows being in a shed upon another part of the Alp, and had just returned, it being then about

seven o'clock P. M.

"In the course of the evening he had directed my attention to a small flock of sheep, on one of the above-mentioned green patches of pasture, situated on the ledge overhanging the precipices, about tain. half-way up the lower part of the moun

To an observation of wonder at their exposure in a situation apparently so dangerous, he had replied, that they were the property of a private person at Lauterbrunnen, who ran the risk, for the sake of the extraordinary luxuriance and richness of the grass on that slope; and added, that, moreover, being situated under a high rock, with a deep ravine on either

side, the danger was not so great, when once fairly lodged there.

Half an hour after his return, just as the shades of approaching evening began to render the dull light from the châletdoor barely sufficient for me to guide my pen upon my paper, I was roused from my seat by a distant rumble, and hastened to the door-way. The sound continued to increase, but for some short time nothing was to be seen in motion. At length we saw the avalanche emerge, like a rolling cloud of dense smoke, from the fogs resting upon the mountain. It rushed forward like a whirlwind down the last stage of the glaciers, and approached the edge of the precipices. My breathless attention was naturally directed towards the advancing mass; when it was diverted by hearing the vacher cry out, from the little elevation to which he had run, The

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