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again still higher ground, entered the Chapel of Notre Dame-de-Loretto, which, like all the rest of the religious edifices in this city, is crammed full of ex-voto presentations. One of the inscriptions suspended near the Altar of the most glorious Marie-des-Graces, I was at the pains to copy for a specimen. It was as follows:"Le 14 Mai, 1668, François Antoine, fils de Jean de la Tera and Margarette Gasser, agé de 14 ans, tomba depuis le haut jusqu'au bas du Rocher derrière cette qui s'appelle de Lorette, sans faire aucun mal. Ainsi qu' etant venu à ses jours, il a eu les enfans, ci-bas marqués, avec leur pere et mère, dont le fils ainé, tant en acte de grace que pour renouveller la memoire d' un si grand miracle, a fait faire le présent tableau, 1775."* Under the inscription are the portraits of the assembled family (among whom is a Monk) all on their knees to the Virgin Mary.

The form and pressure of Popery display themselves in Fribourg with Italian universality and with more than Italian grossness. Stucco pictures of Legendary SaintsCrucifixes of all sizes-Madonnas of every denomination, costume, and complexion, from the Mater-dolorosa in dingy painted statuary to the Regina Angelorum in newly burnished tinsel and brocade, present themselves, with their pious adorers, in every street and open place.

There are neither churches nor chapels for the Protes

* On the 14th of May, 1668, Francis Antoine, son of John de la Tera and Margaret Gasser, in the 14th year of his age, fell from the top to the bottom of the rock behind that on which this Chapel of Loretto is situated, without sustaining any injury. So that he had the children, represented below, with their father and mother, whose eldest son, both as an act of grace and to renew the remembrance of so great a miracle, has caused this picture to be executed, in the year 1775.

tants, to whose religion no further toleration appears to be conceded in this canton than what the Catholics find expedient for the sake of commerce.*

Continuing our walk to the air-mounted Porte-deBourguillon, which stands across a narrow pass, between two terrific gulfs, we stationed ourselves awhile on the verge of one of them at a few paces beyond the gate. Thence we looked down on the winding Sarine (or Sane); and marked where this river, in some places washes the base of perpendicular and almost bare rocks; in others flows through wooded glens and open meadows-pouring its rapid current under the arches of an old bridge, beyond which its clear waters, in their serpentine sweep, give increased brilliantness to the bold romantic scenery which this remarkable city comprehends within its walls. Fribourg is indeed a rendez-vous of picturesque singularities-streets built on high ridges of rock; rocks excavated into dwellings; causeways carried over the roofs of houses; cliffs ascended by stair-cases; gardens formed on the sides of precipices; houses, convents, colleges, and churches rise in towering groups above; fruitful fields and foliaged dells spread themselves in the valley below : here one may breathe the cheering air of society, there one may rest, amid deepest gloom, with the votary

"Who sits and sighs in cloistered Solitude."

These contrasts and varieties are all comprised within an enclosure of antique but well-repaired fortifications,

• The manufactures of the Fribourgeois principally consist of cotton prints and straw hats, for which they have a great sale. The red dye for stuffs is esteemed the best of any in Switzerland.—The population of the canton is estimated at 72,000 souls.

whose turrets and curtains encompass an area of four miles round, and in the course of whose strong embattled line, still conforming to the extreme inequalities of the ground, we see one gate at the bottom of a deep ravine, and another on the very vertex of a lofty eminence.

Curious as are the objects that every where offer themselves to the eye of the stranger who explores the remarkable locality of Fribourg, and interesting as it must ever prove to the admirer of the picturesque, yet by its inhabitants and those of the neighbourhood an extreme inconvenience is experienced from the difficult and circuitous path of communication that subsists between the different quarters of the place. Proceeding for example from the hotel of Les Merciers, situated in the centre of the upper town, with a carriage, to the gate of Berne, you have to go down deep-dale and up steep-hill, full a mile and a half; when a straight course to the same point would reduce the distance to less than half a mile. It is however in contemplation to make a most improving change in this respect. The project is no other than that of throwing a suspension bridge (pont de fil de fer) across the vale that separates the upper town from the road of Berne. It is the proposition of some capitalists of Geneva; and Colonel Dufour of that city has furnished a plan for the work, which will be 840 feet in length, 25 in width, and raised to an elevation of 160 feet above the lowest part of the intervening ground. The expences are to be defrayed by a toll on all persons and carriages passing over the bridge: whenever accomplished it will be no mean effort of rivalship with the splendid enterprises in our own country; and will doubtless prove not less advantageous to the cause of

public utility, than valuable to the interests of individual property.*

It was from above the Bürglen gate, looking towards the south and south-west, that we had a view of the Valaisan and Savoyard Alps, including Mont Blanc :

"High in Heav'n their Monarch stands,
Bright and beauteous from afar,

"Shining unto distant lands,

"Like a new-created star."

Never shall I forget the indescribable lustre, which the last sun-beams of a delicious day cast upon the singularly striking objects of this ancient city, and over the yet sublimer features of the distant landscape.

* Just as this page is on the point of being committed to the press, a friend of the writer's has transmitted to him the following piece of information, which shews that the spirit of enterprise in this part of Switzerland is judiciously directed to the improvement of its public communications, as well by water as by land :-"If (says this correspondent) you had visited us this year (1826), you would have found our little town of Yverdun yet more agreeable from the embellishments which they are continually bestowing upon it. Our port, of which the scenery is so picturesque, is now graced with a handsome steam-boat, that daily makes the tour of the Lake (of Neuchatel). Every evening the inhabitants crowd to witness its arrival. It has been built under the direction of your countrymen ; and the machinery comes from the manufactory of Messrs. Bolton and Watt, near Birmingham. This fine vessel is called the Union, because the Cantons bordering upon the lake, viz. Berne, Neuchatel, Fribourg, and Vaud, have joined in defraying the expence, which amounts to one hundred thousand francs of our money. This speculation promises to be highly advantageous to our commerce. An English engineer is attached to the company, and resides at Yverdun with his family. The Union was launched on the 10th of last June: there were fêtes on the occasion; and the spectacle highly delighted our good Swiss, who for the most part have never quitted their own homes. A young poet, named Mauris, has described in an agreeable manner the course which the boat takes in its voyage, and made allusion to the famous battle of Granson; he has also

The Sabbath-day offered a good opportunity for noticing peculiarities in female costume. White linen or black stuff gowns, scarlet petticoats, with black trimmings, dark-coloured jackets thrown open, gilt crosses appended to the breast; the hair in braids parted in front by a black velvet band, and trussed up in a bunching knot behind; some with and others without shallowcrowned straw hats of most capacious brims, bound and ornamented with black ribbands; white cotton stockings, or blue ones with white clocks; rather high-heeled shoes with large plated buckles: these form the "Sunday-going suit" of Paysannes, inhabiting the French part of Fribourg.* The general appearance of their every-day dress differs from the above description, in a long frock, or apron with a bib to it of blue or pink stripes, being worn over their gowns. Walking on the road they carry a satchel or bag, appended to a short staff and thrown over the shoulder.-Numbers of them are to be seen every market-day at Yverdun, where they flock, in family parties, to sell game, poultry, and other commodities, taking back with them in exchange snails, frogs, and fruit.

mentioned the Isle of St. Pierre, in the Lake of Bienne, where one sees the tomb of Rousseau.-You people of England, who possess steam boats enough to form a fleet, will laugh at the enthusiasm which the sight of a single one excites in this district. Well, however, has it been said that the enjoyments of this life are comparative."

"The French language is spoken in the southern part of the canton, and German in the other; and it is remarkable that the line which separates these districts passes through the town of Fribourg, presenting the phenomenon of people of a different speech, inhabiting the two opposite side of the same town; the two languages mingle towards the centre."-Waring.

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