along with great fury, and is precipitated over several waterfalls. These contrasts recal the sonnet of Wordsworth : "From the fierce aspect of this river, throwing His giant body o'er the steep rock's brink, Back in astonishment and fear we shrink: But, gradually a calmer look bestowing, Flowers we espy behind the torrent growing; Flowers that peep forth from many a cleft and chink, And, from the whirlwind of his anger, drink Hues ever fresh, in rocky forest blowing : They suck-from breath that, threatening Is more benignant than the dewy eve-- Their heads in signs of worship, nature's God, These humbler adorations will receive." The eastern extremity of the valley is divided in two, and in each branch there is a stream, which flows into the Aar. One of these sub-divisions of the larger valley affords the only practicable route from the Oberland to Italy by the Grimsel. Rich and smiling landscapes, exciting great admiration, are to be enjoyed in the vale of Hasli. It is highly cultivated, and full of villages and scattered dwellings, half hid by trees. Sheltered from the north winds, shrubs and fruit-trees, which do not grow in some other parts of Switzerland, are here flourishing and productive. In the meadows and Alpine pastures, about 14,000 head of cattle are supported. The exports consist of cattle, skins of the chamois and other animals, and cheese, which are exchanged for corn, wine, salt, manufactured goods, and colonial produce. Oberhasli forms a bailliage, under the jurisdiction of an officer chosen from among the inhabitants, and appointed by the authorities of Berne. The population amounts to about 6,000, and the valley is subdivided into three parishes. According to an old tradition, the inhabitants are descendants. of a colony of Swedes, who established themselves in the valley about the fifth century. The familiar use of several terms, evidently of Swedish origin, is a strong confirmation of this belief. The castle of Hasli, which stands on an eminence near Meyringen, is said to have formerly been the residence of one of the first Swedish inhabitants. Before the French revolution, many privileges were enjoyed by the population, for which they were indebted to their voluntary union with the Bernese. The inhabitants of Oberhasli are regarded as good specimens of a fine peasantry. Though they have been sometimes depicted in too flattering colours, they are remarkable for their superior language and manners, and not less so for their strength, agility, and manly proportions. The natural attractions of the women are increased by a simple and elegant costume. Instances of great longevity are frequent, and are ascribable to the sobriety generally prevalent, as well as to the purity of the air. It was after listening to the strains of the musical family that live near the falls of the Giesbach, that we arrived in this part of the Bernese Oberland. Our little boat wafted us to Kienholz; and from thence, with snail-like pace, we proceeded to Meyringen, a distance of eight or nine miles, in a narrow valley-along a white road-beneath a burning sun-and without the shade of a single tree. The contortions of the strata, just after leaving Kienholz, are a study for the young geologist. Meyringen is the chief place in the valley of Hasli. "The vale of Meyringen," according to Brockeden, whose opinion may well be adopted, "concentrates as much of what is Alpine in its beauties as any valley in Switzerland." It has indeed almost numberless cascades, which streak its precipitous and wooded sides. The village, which is not very considerable, has a large church. We found good accommodation at "L'Homme Sauvage." We must pay the compliment to two or three of the servants, that their personal charms were more numerous than those of any of the Swiss girls we had previously observed. We saw them, too, as we presume they would wish to be seen by strangers, not "like beauty's self, When unadorned, adorned the most," but attired in their Sunday Bernese costume, and decked out with an abundance of silver chains. Of late we had enjoyed the weather which travellers desire, but now a change occurred. During the night there was a terrible thunder-storm. One peal was sufficiently loud to shake the bed on which we were attempting in vain to find repose, and to occasion usheroic as we deem ourselves-no inconsiderable alarm. From the window of our chamber we looked across gardens and fields, to the great cascade of the Reichenbach. Its white and foaming mass of waters, the evening before, contrasted strongly with the dark mass of rocks all around; but now its huge and muddy volume was so assimilated to them, that the difference was hardly distinguishable. Above this we could discern the glacier of Rosenlaui, famed for its deep purple colour; and to its right a mass of rock jutting into the valley :-the top having all the appearance of a great giant recumbent. But it is time that we glanced at the Alpine pastures. At the outset, then, be it remarked, that a châlet is often a kind of American log-house, of the rudest construction; the roof, composed of clumsy shingles, giving vent to. the smoke in the absence of a chimney; this roof projecting eight or ten feet, and forming a sort of piazza. One of these dwellings is thus well described by M. Simond: "Here a fire was already blazing, and a sort of pit or trench dug around by way of a seat, and a huge kettle hung over for the purpose of cheese-making. We had plenty of cream furnished to us, in which the spoon literally stood on end, a kettle to make coffee, and wooden ladles instead of cups. All the utensils were made of maple, of linden, and of a sort of odorous pine, by the shepherds themselves, who bestow much time on this manufacture. We noticed the portable seat, with a single leg, oddly strapped to the back of those who milk the cows; the milk-pails, the milk-hod fastened to their shoulders, the measures, the ladles made in the shape of shells, the milk-strainer (a tripod funnel full of pine leaves), the vase in which rennet (used to coagulate milk,) is preserved, the press, the form, and many other implements of their trade, all elegantly shaped, and very clean." The bed-room of these châlets is a wooden gallery, hung up over the piazza, close to the projecting roof; the shepherds go up to it by a ladder, and all herd together on a little straw. The ground round the rude dwelling is often broken and made filthy by the treading of cattle, so that without stepping-stones, it would be difficult to reach the door, about which are probably a herd of swine, waiting for the allotted portion of buttermilk and whey. Byron says, in his "Swiss Journal" :-" Arrived at a lake in the very bosom of the mountains; left our quadrupeds, and ascended further; came to some snow in patches, upon which my forehead's perspiration fell like rain, making the same dents as on a sieve; the chill of the wind and the snow turned me giddy, but I scrambled on, and upwards. Hobhouse went to the highest pinnacle. The whole of the mountain is superb. A shepherd on a steep and very high cliff playing on his pipe; very different from Arcadia. The music of the cows' bells (for their wealth, like the patriarch's, is cattle), in the pastures, which reach to a height far above any mountains in Britain, and the shepherds shouting to us from crag to crag, and playing on their reeds where the steeps appeared almost inaccessible, with the surrounding scenery, realised all that I have ever heard, or imagined, of a pastoral existence-much more so than Greece or Asia Minor; for there we see a little too much of the sabre and musket order, and if there is a crook in one hand, you are sure to see a gun in the other; but this was pure and unmixed-solitary, savage and patriarchal. As we went they played the Ranz des Vaches, and other airs, by way of farewell. I have lately refreshed my mind with nature." The Ranz des Vaches is commonly supposed to be a single air; it stands, in fact, for a class of melodies. In Schiller's historical drama of "Wilhelm Tell," for example, the first scene exhibits a high rocky shore of the lake of Lucerne opposite Schwitz. The lake makes a bend into the land; a hut stands at a short distance from the shore; and a fisher-boy is rowing about in his boat. Beyond the lake are seen the green meadows, the hamlets and farms of Schwitz, lying in the clear sunshine. On the left are observed the peaks of the Hacken, surrounded with clouds; to the right, and in the remote distance, appear the glaciers. The Ranz des Vaches and the tinkling of cattle bells continue for some time after the rising of the curtain. FISHER BOY (sings in his boat). Melody of the RANZ DES VACHES. The clear smiling lake woo'd to bathe in its deep, A boy on its green shore had laid him to sleep; Then heard he a melody Flowing and soft, And sweet, as when angels Are singing aloft. And as, thrilling with pleasure, he wakes from his rest, The waters are murmuring over his breast; And a voice from the deep cries, HERDSMAN (on the mountains). AIR. Variation of the RANZ DES VACHES. The herdsman must leave you, The summer is o'er. We go to the hills, but you'll see us again, When the cuckoo is calling, and woodnotes are gay, The herdsman must leave you, CHAMOIS HUNTER (appearing on the top of a cliff). Second variation of the RANZ DES VACHES. On the heights peals the thunder, and trembles the bridge, Our delightful poet, Montgomery, the "Sheffield Bard," gives us the following rendering of this song: O, WHEN shall I visit the land of my birth, Our hamlets, our mountains, With the pride of our mountains, the maid I adore? When shall I return to that lowly retreat, My sister, my brother, And dear Isabella the joy of them all? O, when shall I visit the land of my birth? "Tis the loveliest land on the face of the earth. The literal meaning of the phrase "Ranz des Vaches," is cow-rows, and all the airs in use are derived from the manner in which the cows walk home along the Alpine paths Schiller. By Martin.. |