From the Thames to the Tiber

CHAPTER XIV

The glacier gardens: The Lion of Lucerne: The glacier mill holes: The museum: The Bridge over the Reuss: The Cathedral: Pilatus Mountain: Leaving Lucerne: Zurich: Lake of Zurich: Zwingli, the reformer.

As we entered the Glacier Gardens our eyes were at once drawn to this massive and very interesting and pathetic piece of sculpture, “The Lion of Lucerne.”  The smooth face of this quarry is about fifty feet high, and it looks to be about as wide, it is overshadowed by some very nice trees and climbing plants.  It is protected by a wooden rail, so you could not, if you so wished, carve your name on the rocky surface.  In the very centre of this vast square is a wounded and dying lion.  The size in stone (for it is really a part of the rock itself) is about twenty-eight feet in length.  It was hewn by the order and from a model by the renowned Danish sculptor, Morwalsden, and was finished in the year 1821.  This famous masterpiece is dedicated to the memory of the Swiss Guards of Louis XVI., who fell a prey to the fury of the populace, as they retreated unarmed into the French Tuileries.  The sculptured figure is in a lying position, and a broken arrow or spear is in its side.  I don’t remember ever being so impressed with an object in stone as I was by this.  It has an expression of the deepest grief, and such as must have moved many to tears.  Above the figure you may read (as it is carved into the rock) the following words: “To the fidelity and bravery of the Swiss.”  Beneath it the names of the twenty-six officers who fell on that terrible day.  Passing into the gardens we were soon beside one of the glacier pots or holes.  These glacier pots or mill holes were discovered in the year 1872, and it is asserted by geologists that they were formed in far past ages.  One of them, Albert Heim, says: “I hereby testify both as a geologist and an eye witness of the first unexpected discovery, as also of the subsequent careful excavations of this wonderful phenomenon, that the hand of man had nothing to do with the formation of these glacier mills and polished surface of the glacier, nor with the erratic boulders that lie about, or in those mill holes, but that we have here to deal with a marvellous operation of free organic nature, a relic of a time when these countries were not inhabited by man.”  In those days almost the whole of Switzerland and, indeed, the greatest part of the Northern Hemisphere was buried under immense masses of ice, as can now be proved with the greatest certainty, with here and there an oasis inhabited by animals long ago extinct.  Our attention was drawn to a large hole in the solid rock almost round, and the sides quite smooth and about eight or ten feet deep, and at the bottom a large boulder or stone, also smooth.  This hole is made by the whirling of the stone round and round by the force of melting ice, causing the waters to flow in strong descending streams.  It is thus these glacier mills are formed.  In these gardens are quite a number of these interesting specimens of the work of Nature in the far past ages.  The largest of all the mill stones we saw, was one which weighs over five tons.  This having in some remote age, been whirled round and round like a toy.  There are also some large boulders carried by the glaciers from the high Alps and left here.  We also found some very fine specimens of fossils and ferns that had been petrified into stone.  We left this most interesting part of the gardens and mounted up a large number of steps to the imitation of a lovely little Swiss Chalet, surrounded by tall trees which seem to be growing out of the side of the rocky eminence on which the Chalet is perched.  It is called “An Alpine Cottage.”  The president of the Alpine Club describes it thus: “This cottage, cleverly and accurately imitated, gives us a true picture of these highland places of refuge.  Not many men, and still fewer women, are enabled to see such a building in its airy district.  Here it is, within reach of every one in perfect imitation of the real thing, inside and out.  Even the inscription, here dedicated to the section Pilatus is not wanting.  Let us walk in!  The hut contains that homely furniture, those poor and scanty utensils, the view of which, however, is so welcome to him who, in the evening twilight, tired and weary, enters the hospitable and friendly space, and makes use of them to take his frugal meal.  Let us go to the window!  O wonder! what a sight!  We are, as if by magic, transported to God’s beautiful world of the Alps.  We stand far above the glacier which descends majestically from the land of eternal snow.  It requires a long time and a close observation to realize that this is an illusion.  The foreground is a plastic formation as in a panorama.  All the characteristics of the world of glaciers are wonderfully rendered with scientific accuracy.”  I have here given in his own words the description of this most wonderful imitation of a Swiss Cottage and its surroundings.  The museum is one that would give entertainment and information to an enquirer after knowledge for some time, particularly in geology and the condition of our race in these regions in the far back past.  Instruments of defence made of stone or flint or of bone.  These have all been discovered in the immediate neighbourhood and preserved.  A pick axe made of flint, chisels of flint stone, sling-stones, lance-like instruments, earthenware vessels, carbonized wheat, half of an apple petrified, hand hatchet of bone, knife of bone, dagger of bone, dagger of horn, shovel of stag’s horn, tumbler of horn, shuttle made of bear’s teeth, sewing needle, very crude, made of bird’s bone.  In another part of the museum there are groups of the animals of the Alps.  The otter, the eagle, the horned owl, the bearded vulture, a group of Alpine hares, a wild boar, a group of bears, a pole cat, the common ibex, foxes, Alpine jackdaw, wild cats, sea swallow, the chamois, the St. Bernard dog, and many other interesting relics of past ages, preserved for the pleasure and benefit of the present generation.  A fine collection of the mountain ferns are to be seen in their richness and beauty, with notices of the places in the Alps where they may be found.  There is the ice grotto, which we did not descend to see, but we were greatly pleased with our visit to this very interesting place.  Before leaving the gardens I took a snap-shot of my dear little wife on the bridge, crossing from the glacier gardens to the Alpine Chalet.  We visited several other places of interest in the town, one, particularly, attracted our attention.  It is a very old bridge over the river Reuss.  It has stood against “the iron tooth of time which devours men and their works together,” for about four hundred years.  Anything more quaint I think I never saw.  It is covered in and is in length about one hundred yards.  In the triangular spaces formed by the beams that go to support the roof, pictures have been painted, I should think for the amusement of passers over, as they are not, as a whole, very edifying.  I should say, perhaps, two hundred paintings are to be found on the bridge.  There are some that may claim some merit; these are representations of the various battles and victories by the Swiss armies.  About the centre of the bridge is a curiosity shop or bazaar, containing toys, bronzes, etc.  Hastening across, for time began to be valuable, as we had seen so little of this wonderful city, and our time for leaving grew near, we needed to use the time left us wisely and well.  The old cathedral must be visited.  We had, however, seen so many, it hardly seemed likely this one would be at all interesting, but we determined to pay it a visit; and, although there is much about it that is similar to others we had seen, still there is a difference.  On the outside and near the entrance is a large metal plaque in bronze, with a large cross on which is an image of the suffering Saviour, and a good number of names of persons deceased, who had left the instructions for the erection of the tablet.  Inside, the usual array of bowls of holy water, confessional boxes, candles burning on the altar.  There is also some very fine sculpture in marble, also some very fine pictures by the old masters.  Of course it is Roman Catholic, consequently the priest is in evidence everywhere.  We left the church with feelings that a great deal of the religion of the Roman Catholics, as we have seen it on the continent, is a soulless religion.  It has a framework but no soul.  We really hoped, before leaving Lucerne, to have gone up the Pilatus mountain, as from there we understand, can be had a splendid view of the Bernese hills, the highest of which is the Tomlishorn, about seven thousand feet.  It used to be most difficult to climb the Pilatus, but now it is easy and safe.  It used to be associated with legends of hobgoblins, fairies, dragons, etc.  It is said to get its name from Pontius Pilate, who crucified the Christ, after which he was so smitten with remorse that he fled the Judean country and found his way to Switzerland, finding here in this awe inspiring mountain, a fit place to close his wretched career, and in a tiny lake near on the summit, he ended his miserable life.  There is still a superstition abroad that his spirit, in its restlessness, visits this mountain periodically, and may be seen washing its hands as we read “And when Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person; see ye to it.”  Matthew, chapter 27, verse 24.  It may, however, be only imaginary, but superstition dies hard in such lonely localities.  As we could not visit its summit this time, we must content ourselves with viewing it in the distance.  And now our time in this lovely city closes.  Our stay has been of the pleasantest; the manager of our hotel (The Hotel de L’Europe) has been to us the very essence of kindness; even the mosquitoes were fairly generous, only on one or two occasions have they troubled us.  So we packed up, paid our bills and left, very reluctantly.  It was on a very lovely morning we bade adieu to the most pleasant and enjoyable scenery of the lakes and mountains around the pretty town of Lucerne.  Having boarded the train our first impulse was to get snugly into a corner and live over again the past few days, but the scenery around us was of such a character, we could not rest in forgetfulness of things passing.  We could see in the distance the great Jura mountains.  Then near to us homely, lovely scenery; there a little stone farm and farmyard, a little stream flowing by, the farmer’s maid on an iron bridge spanning the stream, giving the whole surroundings a picture of rusticity.  A little further and we see an old mill, with its massive wheel in motion and the miller’s man in dusty garments, standing with his arms akimbo, giving orders for the unloading of a heavily laden mule wagon; around us is forest and field in pleasing variety.  We are not very long before we near the lake of Zurich, which is very extensive, and like all the Swiss lakes, it is very beautiful.  Then to Zurich.  I was greatly surprised at the importance and the accommodation at and about the railway station.  I think it was one of the best we had seen, and for attractiveness I should say the finest.  The town itself is of importance, having a population of over one hundred and twenty thousand people.  From the railway the city shows itself well, as a part of it is built on the side of a rocky eminence, with the River Limmet running at the foot.  Indeed, this river divides the town, the upper and lower Zurich.  There are six bridges (and they know how to make useful and beautiful bridges on the continent).  Three are used for carriages, wagons, etc., and the other three only for foot passengers.  The streets in Zurich are very narrow, crooked and dirty.  On the hill stands conspicuously, a grand Cathedral, the Grosse Minster; of course, it is a Roman Cathedral, but it is, I learn, very rich in sculpture and pictures, although, I fear, very poor in that which should make any church rich—the Divine in-dwelling.  There is a very fine Post Office, and all the modern appliances and conveniences for the acceleration of information.  It is a very ancient town, indeed, it was, as history tells us, at one time a Roman city.  Zwingli, the great Swiss reformer, played an important part in the history of Zurich.  It was then the centre of the reformation in Switzerland, and Zwingli was leader.  He was a contemporary with Martin Luther.  He had studied at Basle and Bern, and was made parish priest in 1506.  He was a great student of Holy Scripture; it is said he copied the epistles of St. Paul in Greek and committed them to memory wholly.  He accompanied the Pope’s army against France as a Chaplain, and was granted a pension by the Pope for his sympathetic attention to the wounded and the dying.  His knowledge of the Bible led him to examine closely into the teaching of the Romish Church and he, led doubtless by the good Spirit of God, discovered many things his conscience could not approve amongst them—the sale of indulgences.  He wrote a work of great importance condemning the feasts of the Church, also against the worship of images, the mass, the confessional, and other abuses he conceived existed.  In 1524 he married a lady of standing and importance, by this act he broke away from the Romish Church and incurred the Pope’s displeasure.  Soon after this he joined the German Reformers; at that time Martin Luther was leader.  Zwingli’s Bible was to him everything, he found in it complete and unbroken rest to his soul.  To him it was the one only ground of appeal, also the test of faith and practice.  On minor points such as baptism and sacraments, Luther and he did not see eye to eye; but on the main points of Christian theology and general church discipline they were in agreement.  He fought and fell in a war between Zurich Canton and the Roman Catholic Cantons of Switzerland, in the year 1531.  His great battle cry was “my countrymen, trust in God.”  Our stay at Zurich was only short, we soon found ourselves en route for Basle.

CHAPTER XV

From Zurich to Basle: Arrival in Basle: Our Hotel: Our visit to the Rhine Bridge: “The Watch on the Rhine”: The Market: The Cathedral and its sculpture, etc.: Erasmus: The Museum: The Zoological gardens: Leaving Basle: Arrival at Belfort: Belfort besieged.

As we journeyed from Zurich, we felt we were leaving behind us sights we might never see again.  A certain poet’s words came to my memory:

Between Zurich and Basle we contrived to get a little relief from the excitement of new scenes.  We had really been surfeited almost with the richness and beauty of our surroundings for so long a time that it was a relief to allow the train to speed on, and to get into a corner and contemplate and rest.  We arrived at Basle in the afternoon, and found it a great railway centre, and indeed, a very important town, both for commercial men and for pleasure seekers.  It is a great centre for cyclists, as there are at least forty castles to be seen within a radius of fifty miles.  You can be in Germany in about twenty minutes.  From the north, east and west, a number of the most important lines of central Europe are focussed here, and swelling to a mighty mass, branch off again in every direction to the interior of Switzerland.  Thus inner Switzerland is laid open to the world’s traffic and pleasure.  The surroundings of the city are very pretty, and we saw it when it was most charming, i.e., when the autumn tints are seen.  Here we see field and forest around this grand old city in all the glory of the season’s attractions.  We were advised by the manager of our hotel in Lucerne, to go to the Hotel Victoria in Basle, so we secured the usual fakeno to carry our luggage across, for it is only about two hundred yards from the station.  We were, however, disappointed in the hotel and its management.  They were neither obliging nor scrupulously true or honest, the very worst treatment we met with in all our travels.

However, our stay was short, so we determined to make the best of it, the bedroom was good; and, although close by the station, we slept well.  We decided to see the city the day following; and going out, we soon found it to be a great centre of commerce.  It has a population of about one hundred and thirty thousand inhabitants.  Great silk factories rear their heads in the centre of this great city.  There are also manufacturies of chemicals, tobacco, machinery, etc.; also some very large breweries.  It is said to be the wealthiest town in Europe, measured by its population.  It has plenty of open-air spaces, as parks, gardens and monuments; cool avenues and well trimmed gardens are plentiful in the suburbs.  We went to see the wonderful Rhine which flows through Basle, and we stood on that wonderfully constructed bridge of which the poet writes:

For some time we stood and watched the rolling river flow by until tired of watching, we left after I had taken a snap-shot, and retracing our steps to the market, a place of peculiar interest, as everything seems different from our English ways.  The stalls are set out differently, and their fruits, vegetables, pots, flowers and shoes, indeed almost everything you can need, we saw in the great space of the market here in Basle.  The curious customs, dresses, language and money were all strange; and we thought the dress of the country folk was very quaint and queer.  We spent sometime in looking over this great place, so many things offer attractions; without however, making any purchases save a few post-cards and a little fruit for our immediate use.  We strolled on to the principal streets to note some of the very fine buildings that adorn the city.  The Post Office is an imposing building, I should say it was partly ancient and partly modern.  It is a Gothic building and seems to be well suited for, and capable of dealing with the work it has to do.  The House of Parliament, or shall I say Government House, in the great market square, to look at it, it seems to rise terrace-like, up to the Martin’s Grasse; in the centre of each terrace is a court, round which the halls and the various offices are grouped.  There is a fine statue close by the stairs representing a Roman pro-Consul, who had to do with the founding of the city.  Of course, we must see the Cathedral.  In all the continental cities there is a Duomo or Cathedral, and many of them are well worth a visit.  The Cathedral of Basle stands on an elevation and consequently shows itself well.  It has two steeples, not very lofty but very pretty.  It dates from the year 1010, but has been restored and very nearly re-built, as there was a great fire which destroyed a large part of it in the year 1185.  Again, in the year 1356, there was an earthquake, so serious that the vault of the central nave fell in, and the upper portion of the choir was thrown into the Rhine.  Over the entrance is a fine stone gallery, and above this a very large window, with Madonna and Child in fine colours.  There are several fine pieces of statuary inside.  The Emperor Henry II. and his Consort Kunigundi, in colossal figures.  To the left of one of the steeples is St. George in the act of killing the dragon.  To the right, or St. Martin’s steeple, is a figure of St. Martin sharing his cloak with a poor beggar.  On the side of the nave are some very fine works of art in sculpture, such as four life-size figures of the “Four Evangelists”; there is St. Peter and St. Paul; “The Seven Wise and Seven Foolish Virgins”; “Christ, as Judge of the World”; “John the Baptist and John the Evangelist.”  Above these are seen angels blowing their trumpets; the dead arising from their graves and preparing for judgment; over the doorway inside, “The Wheel of Fortune.”  There is an absence of the confessional, the Holy Water and other symbols of the weakness of the faith of the Roman Catholics.  We were greatly interested with our visit to this, one more of the Continental Cathedrals, and especially so as one of the men who played some part in the great reformation lies buried here, I refer to Erasmus.  He was a learned divine of the fourteenth century.  He published some very fine pastorals and works of theology, that even now are considered worthy of reading.  It does not seem that he ever joined Martin Luther in his crusade against the Pope and Popery in general, but he became a staunch protestant.  It is said that King Henry VIII. offered him a church in Oxford.  He travelled much, visiting Rome, Venice, England and Paris.  He ended his days here in Basle, and in the sacred precincts of the Cathedral his dust reposes.  The “blue house” is an attractive building; it was the residence of the Emperor and Empress of Austria during the war of liberation, at the beginning of the nineteenth century.  It has a fine front and commands a full view of the river Rhine.  The museum is one of the quaintest and strangest I have ever seen.  It is said to be the most interesting museum in Switzerland.  I cannot pretend to tabulate all there is to be seen here, only indicate some of the most curious: “The dance of death,” “Tankards,” “Bowls,” “Carved Altars of curious designs,” but very costly; the gold and silver plate belonging to the Cathedral, many trophies taken in war and weapons also.  There are ancient household implements; also several important heirlooms of Erasmus; some fine figures of Samson and Delilah are to be seen at the entrance.

“The Strassburg Monument” in the Elizabeth Gardens, close to the Central Railway Station, is a fine sculpture in white marble (I took a snap-shot) by Bartholdi, and was presented to the city by Baron Herve de Gringer, in commemoration of the assistance given by the Swiss in 1870, to the citizens of Strassburg when sorely pressed by the enemy.  The Zoological Gardens of Basle are very extensive, and so far as I know, are the only gardens of this description in Switzerland.  The way to it is full of beauty and interest.  There is also another place some people might think important, we did not—that is the Crematorium.  Many other places of interest in and around this fine old city, we had not time to visit, our time being limited.  We could not help being struck with the fact that the ancient landmarks of this old world city are fast disappearing, and old buildings being pulled down and new palatial ones being erected on all hands.  The crumbling walls of the middle ages are fallen; the moats are all filled in; narrow streets and alleys are being swept away in the onward march of time; and the broad squares and commodious dwelling houses are being put up.  The beauty after all, is the rolling river Rhine.  We closed our account at the hotel, wrote up our journals and prepared to leave this interesting old city.  We left our hotel early in the morning, and were soon seated in a train for Belfort, in France.  We had to cross the Rhine over a fine railway bridge, and as we crossed it we had a good view of the river as it rolled past.  It comes through Alsace and Lorraine, the territory ceded by France to Germany after the great victory achieved by the latter, in the year 1870.  The scenery, since leaving Switzerland, is less rugged and mountainous, but the foliage, in its autumn colours, is very pretty.  A couple of hours brought us to the town of Belfort.  It has now a population of about thirty thousand.  We could see first of all, it was well fortified.  The castle has a fine appearance in the distance, as it stands on a rocky eminence; something like our castle here in Nottingham.  There is a fine old parish church (the religious element is well represented wherever we find ourselves).  It is a manufacturing centre, especially for mats, but also wax tapers.  There are several large breweries.  This town was surrounded by the Germans in the great Franco-German war of 1870.  But month after month it bravely, resolutely withstood all their attempts at capture; and although both food and ammunition became scanty, they still held on, until by sheer force of lack of provisions, they capitulated in February, 1871, to the great satisfaction of the Germans, and to the chagrin of the proud French.  The Germans, in their generosity, and as a recognition of the bravery of the French soldiers, allowed them to march out of the town with full military honours.  It is one of the towns that closely border Alsace and Lorraine of the Haut Rhin that was left to the French at the annexation in February, 1871.