The ticians, and natives of Basle. University has been greatly injured by the recent and unjust seizure of parts of its funds by the country division of the canton. Besides the Library mentioned above, there is a small and not very important Museum of Natural History, placed in a building near the Minster. The Rathhaus, in the Market-place, is a building of pleasing Burgundian Gothic architecture, founded 1508, and recently repaired without chang one or two fragments of the frescoes themselves; sketches in ink for glass windows, for the sheaths of daggers, for the organ in the Minster; the Costumes of Basle, &c. &c. Here are also preserved some fresco fragments of the original Dance of Death, which once adorned the walls of the Dominican Church in Basle, and a set of coloured drawings of the whole series of figures. The Dance of Death has been attributed without cause to Holbein, since it existed at the time of the Council of Basle, ating its character. The frescoes, howleast 50 years before his birth. Holbein was born at Basle in 1489: his circumstances were by no means prosperous; he was even reduced to work as a day-labourer and house-painter, and painted the outer walls of the houses of the town. It is related of him that, being employed to decorate the shop of an apothecary, who was intent on keeping the young artist close at his work, and being disposed to repair to a neighbouring wineshop, he painted a pair of legs so exactly like his own on the underside of the scaffolding, that the apothecary, seated below, believed him to be constantly present and diligently employed. Erasmus, writing from Bâle a letter of introduction for the painter, to one of his friends, complains that "hic frigent artes," and the want of encouragement, drove Holbein to seek his fortune in England, where he met with high patronage, as is well known. In the lower story of the Library are also deposited a number of antiquities, bronzes, fragments of pottery, coins, &c., from Augst, the site of the Roman Augusta Rauracorum, 7 miles from Basle (see p. 8.). The University of Basle, founded 1460, was the first great seminary for the advancement of learning established in Switzerland: it once enjoyed a high reputation, and numbered among the lists of its professors the names of Erasmus, Euler, and Bernouilli- the two last, mathema ever, said to be designed by Holbein, previously partly obliterated, are now removed. The frieze contains the emblazoned shields of the original Swiss cantons; the armorial bearing of canton Basle is said to be meant to represent the case of a cross-bow.. At the foot of the stairs is placed a statue of Munatius Plancus, the founder, according to tradition, of Bâle and of the Roman colony of Augst. The greater and lesser councils of the canton hold their sittings in the apartments above. The Arsenal contains a limited collection of ancient armour, of which the only curiosities are a suit of chain mail, once gilt, with plate mail beneath it, worn by Charles the Bold at the battle of Nancy; two Burgundian cannon, of iron bars bound round with hoops; and several suits of Burgundian and Armagnac ar mour. The terraced Garden of M. Vischer, an eminent banker, overlooking the Rhine, is a very pretty spot. The gateways, battlemented works, watch-towers, and ditch, which formed the ancient defences of the town, remain in a good state of preservation. The Paulusthor retains its advanced work or Barbican, similar to those which formerly existed at York and, with its double portcullis and two flanking towers, is particularly picturesque. The machicolations are supported by strange but clever figures approaching to the grotesque. Basle is a tolerably clean town: its streets are plentifully supplied with fountains; it would indeed be a reproach to the inhabitants, if, with the rapid and abundant current of the Rhine to cleanse them from all filth, they were allowed to remain dirty. Down to the end of the last century (1795), the clocks of Basle went an hour in advance of those in other places of Europe-a singular custom, he origin of which is not precisely "known. According to tradition, it arose from the circumstance of a conspiracy to deliver the town to an enemy at midnight having been defeated by the clock striking 1 instead of 12. Attached to the clock-tower on the bridge is a grotesque head, called Lallenkönig, which, by the movement of the pendulum, is constantly proruding its long tongue and rolling its goggle eyes-making faces, it is said, at Little Basle, on the opposite side of the river. The ancient sumptuary laws of Basle were singular and severe. On Sunday all must dress in black to go to church; females could not have their hair dressed by men; carriages were not permitted in the town after 10 at night, and it was forbidden to place a footman behind a carriage. The official censors, called Unzichterherrn, had the control of the number of dishes and wines to be allowed at a dinner party, and their authority was supreme on all that related to the cut and quality of clothes. one time they waged desperate war against slashed doublets and hose. At Since the Reformation, Basle has been regarded as the stronghold of Methodism in Switzerland. The pious turn of its citizens was remarkably exhibited in the mottoes and signs placed over their doors. These have now disappeared; but two very singular ones have been recorded Basle. Auf Gott ich meine hoffnung bau, Und Wohne in der Alten Sau. In God my hopes of grace I big, And dwell within the Ancient Pig: Wacht auf ihr menschen und thut Buss, Ich heiss zum goldenen Rinderfuss. Wake, and repent your sins with grief; I'm call'd the Golden Shin of Beef. Even now, should the traveller arrive at the gates of the town on Sunday during church-time, he will find them closed, and his carriage will be detained outside till the service is over. The spirit of trade, however, went hand in hand with that of religionand Basle has been called a city of usurers; 5 per cent. was styled a "Christian usance" (einen Christlichen Zins), and a proclamation of the magistrates (1682-84) denounced those who lent money at a discount of 4 or 3 per cent, as "selfish, avaricious, and dangerous persons;" those who lent their capital at a lower rate were liable to have it confiscated, because, forsooth, such persons, "by their avarice, did irremediable injury to churches, hospitals, church property, &c., and are the ruin of poor widows and orphans." The dissensions which broke out soon after the Revolution of 1830 between the inhabitants of the town of Basle, and those of the country, led to a civil war between the parties, and a bloody contest near Liesthal occasioned the Swiss Diet, in 1832, to pass an act for the formal separation of the canton into two parts, called Basle Ville and Basle Campagne. The latter consists of twothirds of the territory of the whole canton, and has for its capital Liesthal. Each sends a deputy to the Diet; but the two divisions enjoy only half a vote each, and when the deputies of the two parts take opposite sides (which hitherto has been invariably the case), their vote does not count. This Revolution has left the town of Bâle saddled with a debt of two millions of franks. About two miles out of the town, just within the French frontier, is the Route 1. Basle to Bienne St. Jacob Dornach. ruined fortress of Hüningen, erected by Louis XV. to overawe his Swiss neighbours, and dismantled in 1815. A good representation of the Dance of Death, in burnt clay, may be purchased of Maehly and Schablitz, who have a manufactory peculiar (it is believed) to the spot of "figures plastique en terre cuite." The traveller, entering Switzerland by Basle, is particularly recommended to take the following route, by the Val Moutier, or Münster Thal, on his way either to Berne or Geneva. Although posting was established throughout canton Basle in 1839, (see § 5. Introduction,) yet, as it does not extend into the adjoining cantons, Berne and Zurich, travellers engage voiturier's horses here to carry them on their journey. Return-coachmen are generally to be found at all the inns, and there are persons in the town who keep horses and carriages for hire. Steamers go daily (except Sunday) from Basle to Strasburg. As they are large enough to hold only 2 carriages, places should be bespoken for them betimes. They start at past 4, or 5 A. M., and reach Kehl opposite Strasburg in 7 hours. There is a Railway from Basle to Strasburg by Colmar and Mülhausen. Trains go 2 or 3 times a day. See HANDBOOK FOR FRANCE. Diligences daily, in 2 days and 3 nights, to Paris; to Berne and Neuchâtel, by Moutiers and Bienne; to Chaux de Fonds and Geneva; to Olten, Soleure, and Lucerne; to Aarau; to Zurich; to Schaffhausen ; to Baden, Strasburg, Frankfurt a M. Bale to Biel, or Bienne. 16 Swiss stunden-54 Eng. miles. Thence to Berne by Aarberg, 7 stunden 23 Eng. miles. = A diligence runs daily to Berne and Neuchâtel. With a voiturier the journey to Berne occupies 2 days, stopping the first night at the good inn of Tavannes. This route is sometimes called de l'Evêché, because it 5 passes through the ancient bishopric of Basle, now united to canton Berne. The valley of the Birs, commonly called the Val Moutiers (Münster Thal, in Germ.), through which this excellent road passes, is the most interesting and romantic in the whole range of the Jura. It consists of a series of narrow and rocky defiles, alternating with open basins, covered with black forests above, and verdant meadows below, enlivened by villages, mills, and forges. A road was originally carried through the Val Moutiers by the Romans, to keep up the communication between Aventicum, the Helvetian capital, and Augst, their great fortified outpost on the Rhine. At St. Jacob, about a quarter of a mile beyond the gates of Bâle, in the angle between two roads, a small Gothic cross has been erected, to commemorate the battle of St. Jacob, fought in 1444, when 1600 Swiss had the boldness to attack, and the courage to withstand for 10 hours, a French army tenfold more numerous, commanded by the Dauphin, afterwards Louis XI. Only 10 of the Swiss escaped alive, the rest were left dead on the field, along with thrice their own number of foes, whom they had slain. This almost incredible exploit first spread abroad through Europe the fame of Swiss valour; and Louis, the Dauphin, wisely seeing that it was better to gain them as friends than to oppose them as enemies, courted their al liance, and first enrolled them as a permanent body-guard about his person a practice continued by the French monarchs down to Charles X. The Swiss themselves refer to the battle of St. Jacob as the Thermopyle of their history. The vineyards near the field produce a red wine, called Schweitzer Blut (Swiss blood). A few miles farther, near Reinach, on the opposite bank of the Birs, is another battle-field — that of Dornach 6 Route 1. · Basle to Bienne Moutiers Tavannes. where the Swiss gained a victory | over a much larger Austrian force in 1499, during the Suabian war. The bone-house, in which the remains of the slain were collected, still exists near the Capuchin convent, and is filled with skulls gathered from the field. In the church of the village Maupertuis is buried. A monument, set up to his memory by his friend Bernouilli, was destroyed by the curé of the village, who was in the habit of repairing his hearthstone when broken, with slabs taken from the churchyard. It has been replaced by a fresh monument set up at the expense of canton Soleure. Beyond Oesch the road enters that part of the canton Bern which anciently belonged to the Archbishop of Basle; the valley contracts, increasing in picturesque beauty as you advance. The castles of Angerstein and Zwingen are passed before reaching a 4 Lauffen, -a walled village. 21 Soyhière (Germ. Saugren) village prettily situated, with a small country inn, tolerably good. A contracted pass, the rocks of which on the rt. are surmounted by a convent, leads into the open basin of Délémont (Delsberg); but it is unnecessary to pass through that little town (situated on the way to Portentruy), as our road turns to the 1., and, continuing by the side of the Birs, enters a defile higher, grander, and more wild than any that have preceded it. This is, properly speaking, the commencement of the Val Moutiers. Rocky precipices overhang the road, and black forests of fir cover the mountains above. In the midst of it are the iron furnaces and forges of 14 Courrendelin, supplied with ore in the shape of small granulated red masses, varying from the size of a pea to that of a cherry, from the neighbouring mines. The remarkable rent by which the Jura has been cleft from top to bottom, so as to allow a passage for the Birs, exhi bits marks of some great convulsion of the earth, by which the strata of limestone (Jura-kalk) have been thrown into a nearly vertical position, and appear like a succession of gigantic walls on each side of the road. The gorge terminates in an other open basin, in the midst of which lies 1 Moutiers Grandval, or Münster-(Inn: Krone, good)-a village of 1250 inhabitants, named from a very ancient Minster of St. Germanus on the height, founded in the 7th century, and now fast falling to ruin. There is a car road from Moutiers to the summit of the Weissenstein, a distance of about 10 miles, up-hill nearly the whole way, and the latter part very rough and bad; fit only for the cars of the country, one of which, drawn by two horses, may be hired here to go and return for 20 fr. It passes through the villages of Grandval (Grossau) and Ganzbrunnen; the ascent occupies 3 hours, and the jolting is very severe. The Weissenstein is described in Route 3. At the upper end of the basin of Moutiers the road is conducted through another defile, equally grand, at the bottom of which the Birs foams and rushes, overhung by per pendicular cliffs and funereal firs. To this succeeds the little plain of Tavannes, in which are situated the villages of Court, Malleray, and Dachsfelden, or 31 Tavannes (Inns, Couronne, very good, and most moderate in charges, beds 1 fr. 50c.; Croix also good. There are foot-paths over the mountains from Court and Bévilard to Reuchenette, by which some distance is saved on the way to Bienne, but the Pierre Pertuis is thus missed. The valley to the E. of Court, called Chaluat (Tschaywo), is inhabited by the descendants of the Anabaptists, expelled from Berne in 1708-11. They are distinguished by their industry and simple manners: the young men wear beards. A few miles above Tavannes is the Route 1. - Pierre Pertuis Sonceboz Bienne. 7 source of the Birs; before reaching | ber of inhabitants, chiefly Protestit our road quits the valley, mounting up a steep ascent, in the middle of which it passes under the singular and picturesque archway formed in the solid rock, called Sonceboz (inn not very good) a village in the Val St. Imier (Germ. Erguel), up which runs a good road to Chaux de Fonds, and out of which another branches S. to Neuchâtel from Villaret. The road to Bienne descends the valley along the 1. bank of the Süze, which forms several small cascades. The projecting rock of Rond Châtel was occupied in feudal times by a fort, and held by the powerful Bishops of Bâle, to whom it gave the command The view from the last slope of the Jura, over Bienne, and its lake, backed in clear weather by the snowy range of the Alps, is exceedingly beautiful. of this pass. 3 Bienne (Germ. Biel) Inns : H. du Jura, outside the town, good; Couronne, within the town, fair accommodation, and moderate. Bienne is prettily situated at the mouth of the valley of the Suze, at the foot of the Jura; here mantled with vines, and about a mile from the head of the lake of Bienne (Route 45). It is still surrounded by its ancient walls and watch-towers, and is approached by several shady avenues. The num ants, amount to 3000. The town anciently belonged to the Bishop of Bâle, but the citizens, early imbued with the spirit of freedom, formed a perpetual alliance with Berne in 1352, for the defence of their liberties, in revenge for which the town was burnt by their liege lord. The Reformation further weakened the connection between the town and its ecclesiastical ruler, and at the beginning of the 17th century his authority became nominal. Bienne is an industrious town, situated at the junction of the high roads from Berne, Bâle, Soleure, and Neuchâtel, between all which places there are public conveyances daily. The new road, recently completed, along the W. shore of the lake, shortens the distance to Neuchâtel by nearly 8 miles it passes near the Isle St. Pierre, celebrated as the residence of Rousseau, and is described in Route 45. There is a steamer on the lake. Those who have a taste for climbing may gratify it by ascending from hence the Chasseral, one of the highest mountains of the Jura, 3616 ft. above the lake, and 4936 ft. above the sea, with the certainty of being rewarded with a magnificent view if the weather be clear, but the ascent will occupy 5 hours. Quitting Bienne the high-road first crosses the Suze, on its way into the lake, and a quarter of a mile farther on, the Thiele (Zihl), on its way out of the lake. The last is a navigable river which drains the 3 lakes of Bienne, Neuchâtel, and Morat, and joins the river Aar about 4 miles lower down. On the margin of the lake, at the outlet of the Thiele, stand Nydau (Inn: Bear) - and its castle, flanked by round towers and surmounted by a tall square keep. The lords of Nydau, an extinct family, to whom it once belonged, were foes of Berne; their stronghold now bears on its front the Bernese bear, |