quished, as to the propriety of entering the church merely for support, were readily silenced. "But having put the cassock on," says Thackeray, "it poisoned him; he was strangled in its bands. He goes through life tearing like a man possessed with a devil;" and to the consciousness of the false part he was enacting and of the sordid motive which guided his literary labors, may doubtless be ascribed much of the suffering of the man who was accustomed to observe the anniversary of his birth as a day of mourning, and whom Archbishop King once called "the most unhappy on earth." He is preeminently the British satirist of his age, reflecting in all his writings what Masson calls "the mad, the obscene, the ghastly, the all but infernal and yet infinitely sorrowful humor" of Rabelais, with a genius peculiarly his own. Of real elevation or sympathy with what is beautiful or sublime he seems to have been utterly destitute, and his poetry, written principally in the octosyllabic verse cultivated by Prior and Gay, though remarkable for ease and felicity of expression and rhyme, as also for its peculiar and inimitable humor, is frequently coarse and indecent beyond that of any other writer of the time, the author apparently dwelling with a morbid pleasure upon images of pure physical disgust and loathsomeness. It is but just however to add that his grossness is always repulsive, not seductive; and that the most offensive pieces were written at a period of his life when disease and despair had begun to obscure his mental faculties.-Some posthumous works of Swift were published long after his death, including "A History of the four last Years of Queen Anne;" "Polite Conversation," a satire on the frivolities of fashionable life; and "Directions for Servants." A complete edition of his writings was published in 19 vols. by Sir Walter Scott, whose biography of him is still the standard one. That by Dr. Johnson, in his "Lives of the Poets," reflects too closely the dislike which the biographer always entertained for Swift. There is also a copious life by Thomas Sheridan, and an account of his latter years by Dr. Wilde of Dublin, written on the occasion of the remains of Swift and Stella being exhumed, during some repairs in St. Patrick's cathedral, in 1835. The character of Swift is also the subject of an elaborate and in some respects unnecessarily severe essay by Thackeray, included in his "British Humorists." SWIFT, JOSEPH GARDNER, an American general and civil and military engineer, born in Nantucket, Mass., Dec. 31, 1783. In 1800 he entered the army as a cadet at Newport, R. I., and in 1802 became the first graduate of the military academy at West Point. He was then made 2d lieutenant in the U. S. corps of military engineers, and in 1807, having attained the rank of captain of engineers, he was appointed to the command of West Point. In 1812 he had reached the rank of lieutenantcolonel, and was made aide-de-camp to Major Gen. Pinckney in the Carolinas, and the same year succeeded Col. Jonathan Williams in the command of the U. S. corps of engineers, with the rank of colonel. For meritorious services in the campaigns of 1813 and 1814 on the St. Lawrence river, and in defence of the city and harbor of New York, he was brevetted as brigadier-general, and honored by special marks of distinction from the city authorities. After the war he was for several years successively director, superintendent, and inspector of the military academy, still holding his commission as chief engineer of the army until 1818, when, with a number of other officers of the corps, he left the service on the appointment by the president of a distinguished French officer, Gen. Bernard, to the charge of investigating and modifying the coast defences. Gen. Swift was afterward surveyor of the port of New York for 9 years, then civil engineer of the Baltimore and Susquehanna railroad, and from 1829 to 1845, under appointment from President Jackson, superintendent of the harbor improvements on the lakes, removing to Geneva, N. Y., where he has since resided. In the winter of 1830-31 he constructed the railroad from New Orleans to Lake Pontchartrain, through what was considered an unfathomable swamp, susceptible of neither draining nor piling. This, it is believed, was the first railroad in the United States provided with an iron Trail. It was constructed of massive frames of cypress logs obtained in clearing the way through the swamp, and laid upon a filling of the tertiary fossil shells from the mounds composed of these materials discovered in the swamps. These shells, thus brought into use, were afterward applied, by the advice of Gen. Swift, to the construction of the well known "shell road" to Lake Pontchartrain, and to the completion of the streets in New Orleans. In 1838 Gen. Swift was chief engineer of the Harlem railroad in New York. In 1841 he was sent by President Harrison on an embassy of peace to the governors of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. In 1851 and 1852, with his son McRay Swift, C.E., he made the tour of Europe, and recorded his observations in his diary, a work kept from his boyhood, and in which is a complete history of the military academy at West Point, together with the biography of President Madison and other eminent public men, and essays upon scientific and literary subjects. He has contributed many valuable papers to scientific journals on the exact and natural sciences and their practical applications. Of his sons two have died in the service of their country, one as civil engineer, from exposure; and the other, a distinguished officer of the U. S. engineers, died in Mexico during the war. Another son, Jonathan Williams, an officer in the U. S. naval service, was crippled for life on board the frigate Brandywine. SWIFT, ZEPHANIAH, an American judge, born in Wareham, Mass., in Feb. 1759, died in Warren, O., Oct. 27, 1823. He was graduated at Yale college in 1778, and established himself in the practice of law at Windham, Conn.; was a member of congress from 1793 to 1796; was secretary of the mission to France in 1800; and in 1801 he was elected a judge, and from 1806 to 1819 was chief justice of the state. In 1814 he was a member of the Hartford convention. He published a "Digest of the Law of Evidence," and a "Treatise on Bills of Exchange" (1810); and a "Digest of the Laws of Connecticut" (2 vols., 1823). SWIMMING, the art of sustaining the body at the surface of the water, and moving in it, by the aid of the hands or feet, or both acting in unison. Although not a natural faculty of man, there is little difficulty in acquiring the art of swimming, since the human body, except in the case of persons remarkably spare and lean, is specifically lighter than salt water, and hardly perceptibly heavier than fresh water. As to methods, the frog is the best model. The body being inclined at an angle of 45°, the breast downward, the head thrown back, the elbows close to the chest, the arms flexed, the palms downward, and the thumbs brought together near the chin, the knees drawn up but spread apart, and the soles of the feet directed outward and made hollowing by the contraction of the toes, the first movement is the simultaneous one of the hands and feet, the former with the palms still downward describing a horizontal curve of from to of a circle, while the latter are thrown vigorously backward and outward, so that the inner surface of the leg and thigh, as in the case of the frog, shall offer its resistance to the water. Swimming on the back varies very slightly from this in the muscular motions required, though the position of the swimmer is more nearly horizontal, and the hands need not play so important a part; it is possible to swim a long time with the use of the feet only, but not so long with the hands alone, in case of the loss or paralysis of one of the legs. Treading water," or swimming in a nearly perpendicular position, by a moderate motion of the feet and a slow spreading of the hands, is a method frequently resorted to by good swimmers as a relief from the other modes. In order to float on the back, the swimmer turns himself, and suffers the back of the head to be submerged, the mouth and nose only being above water; the hands are extended, and the legs partially flexed, and spread so as to afford the greatest possible floating surface. In a calm sea, a person may thus lie on the surface for hours, without danger of drowning.-Various plans have been suggested to communicate confidence and self-possession to the learner. Corks, swimming bladders, and life preservers of tin, India rubber, &c., have been used extensively. Dr. Franklin's and Gen. Pfuel's methods are perhaps the best, the one to inspire confidence, and the other to acquire, with a feeling of perfect safety, the muscular movements in their regular order and sequence. Franklin's directions were, that the learner should take with him an egg or large white pebble, and, wading out till the water was full breast high, face about, and toss the egg or pebble into the water between himself and the shore, yet where it is so deep that he can only reach it by diving, and then plunge after it; in so doing he will find himself buoyed up by the water, and learn, in struggling to reach it, that it is easier for the human body to swim than to sink. By Gen. Pfuel's method a swimming girdle of hemp, about 5 inches wide, was passed loosely around the chest, just under the arms, and to the back of this a ring was attached in which was tied a rope 5 or 6 fathoms in length which could be fastened at will to a pole 8 feet long. The swimming bath or place was to have about 8 feet depth of water, and a rail 4 feet in height above the water protected the platform. From this rail the learner was required to leap, the teacher holding the rope firmly; when in the water, being sustained by the rope, now attached to the pole, the legs and arms stretched out and held firmly together, the chin touching the water, he was directed to assume the position above described at the call of the teacher, "One" being the signal for placing the legs in position, “Two" for the extension of the legs at the widest possible angle, the toes being still contracted and kept outwards, and "Three" for the return to the original position. The learner was exercised in these positions till he could perform them promptly and rapidly, and was then trained in the motions of the hands and arms, and subsequently in the union of the two; he was next allowed to swim, feeling less and less the support of the rope, till it could be cast loose with safety. In most cases a training of one or two lessons daily for 2 or 3 weeks suffices to enable the learner to swim for a half hour without much fatigue, and practice is then only necessary to perfect him.-In leaping or diving the swimmer must keep the muscles firm and the limbs straight and stiff, as to strike the water first with the abdomen, side, or back may be attended with serious consequences. In attempting to save a person from drowning, the swimmer should not allow the drowning person to seize one of his limbs, or to clasp him in his arms, as he will not only be unable to save him, but will himself inevitably be drowned; he should approach him from behind, and if he sinks pull him up by his hair, or raise him by placing the hands under the arm pits; if he is an exhausted swimmer, he may be supported by placing his hand on the shoulder of the swimmer who would save him.-An illustrated treatise on swimming, with full directions for learners, may be found in Walker's "Manly Exercises" (11th ed., London, 1860). SWINE. See HoG. SWITZERLAND, a S. E. co. of Indiana, bordering on Kentucky, from which it is separated by the Ohio river; area, 220 sq. m.; pop. in 1860, 12,698. The surface is undulating and the soil fertile. The productions in 1850 were 401,884 bushels of Indian eorn, 78,169 of wheat, 44,455 of oats, and 9,769 tons of hay. There were 8 grist mills, 12 saw mills, 4 tanneries, 27 churches, and 3,541 pupils attending public schools. It was settled by Swiss in 1802. Capital, Vevay. SWITZERLAND (Lat. Helvetia ; Ger. Schweiz; Fr. La Suisse), a federal republic of central Europe, situated between lat. 45° 50' and 47° 50' N., and long. 6° and 10° 25′ E. It is bounded N. and E. by Germany, S. by Italy, Zürich. Bern Cantons. and W. by France, and nearly the entire boundary line is formed by rivers (the Rhine and Doubs), lakes (of Constance and Geneva), and mountains (the Alps and Jura). In its greatest length, which is near the parallel of 46° 35′ N., it measures 216 m.; in its greatest breadth, a little W. of the meridian of 9° E., 140 m. In 1862 Switzerland consisted of 22 cantons, or, as 3 cantons, Unterwalden, Appenzell, and Basel, are divided into 2 independent half cantons each, of 25 states, the area and population of which are exhibited in the following table: Lucerne. 2,697 Lucerne. Uri... Schwytz.. Unterwalden Obwalden Unterwalden Nidwalden.. Glarus 27,563 Glarus. Zag.... Zürich. Bern. 89 Altorf. 589 Schwytz. 95 Sarnen. 55 Stanz. 622 Zug. Freyburg or Fribourg. 632 99,891 15,578 Freyburg. Soleure or Solothurn. 59,799 9,626 Soleure. Basel City... Basel Country.. 41,721 Liesthal. Schaffhausen. 88,489 Schaffhausen. Appenzell Outer Rhodes.. Appenzell Inner Rhodes. 123 Appenzell. St. Gall... St. Gall. Grisons or Graubündten Chur or Coire. Aargau or Argovie..... 194,600 88,583 104,885 Aarau. Thurgau or Thurgovie.. 67,861 Frauenfeld. Ticino or Tessin.. Vaud... 199,465 Lausanne. Valais. Neufchâtel Geneva Total... 64,146 88,345 42,855 118 Lugano. 697 Sion or Sitten. 77,476 Neufchâtel. 40,266 Geneva. 111 15,747 2,892,740 2,534,240 1,040,469 1,488,298 The statement of the area of the several cantons rests on the trigonometrical calculations recently made under the direction of Gen. Dufour; but that of the cantons of Bern, Uri, Lucerne, and Unterwalden is based upon an approximative estimate. The population has increased since 1816 about 50 per cent., more slowly than that of the United States and Great Britain, but in a larger ratio than that of France. Geneva, Basel, and Neufchâtel have increased nearly 100 per cent.; Lucerne and Bern more than 50; Zürich nearly 50; while Uri, Appenzell, Unterwalden, and Schaffhausen have remained nearly stationary. Since 1850 Lucerne, Obwalden, Soleure, and Aargau show a small decrease. In 1850 there were 92 towns, 63 hamlets, and 6,800 villages. The population of the towns was 492,600; the largest are Geneva, Bern, Basel, and Zürich. The difference of language still existing points to the differ ence of origin of the inhabitants of the several cantons. The N., N. E., and central cantons speak a German dialect; the French prevails in the cantons of Vaud, Geneva, and Neufchâtel, and in a part of the cantons of Valais, Freyburg, and Bern; the Italian in the canton of Ticino and in a part of Grisons; and the Romansh, a corrupted dialect of the Latin, which has been supposed to come near the colloquial dialect alleged to have been in use among the Romans, in a part of Grisons. The population speaking these 4 languages is estiVOL. XV.-16 mated by Kolb (Handbuch der vergleichenden Statistik, 1860) as follows: German, 1,750,000; French, 550,000; Italian, 130,000; Romansh, 45,000.-Switzerland is one of the most remarkable countries of the globe for its magnificent and picturesque scenery. It is the most mountainous district of Europe, and, with the Tyrol and Savoy, the most elevated. Even the most level part in the N. presents mountains rising upward of 2,000 feet. It is covered throughout its whole extent by the Alps, of which the 3 following groups, with their various offshoots, belong properly to Switzerland: 1, the Helvetian or Lepontine Alps, which, commencing near Monte Rosa, run through Valais on both sides of the Rhône, by St. Gothard, to the Moschelhorn and the Bernhardino in the Grisons, and separate Switzerland from Lombardy; 2, the Rhætian Alps, which run from the Bernhardino through the whole of the Grisons and the Tyrol, and southward to Monte Pelegrino; 3, the Pennine Alps, which border upon Valais, and separate that canton from Savoy and Piedmont. As to their height the Alps are generally divided into the High Alps, rising from 8,000 to 15,000 feet above the level of the sea, and covered with perpetual snow and ice; the Middle Alps, beginning at about 5,500 feet above the sea, and rising to the line of perpetual congelation; and the Low Alps, commencing with an elevation of about 2,000 feet. The principal Alpine summits are SWITZERLAND Monte Rosa in Valais, 15,150 feet; the Mutterhorn in Valais, 14,784; the Finsteraarhorn in Bern, 14,106; the peak of the Furca, Mt. St. Gothard, 14,037; the Jungfrau in Bern, 13,718; the Mönchhorn in Bern, 13,498; the Schreckhorn in Bern, 13,386; and the Eiger in Bern, 13,075. Beside these, there are 4 summits ranging from 13,000 to 12,000; 8 from 12,000 to 11,000; from 11,000 to 10,000; and 19 from 10,000 to 6,400. To the west of the Alps, along the boundaries of France, runs a ridge of the Jura mountains lower than the Alps, but presenting many picturesque points of scenery and beautiful valleys. The Jura is united with the Alps by the Jorat, which runs through the canton of Vaud. The glaciers of Switzerland are the reservoirs which feed some of the largest rivers of western Europe. The Rhine and Rhône rise in Switzerland. former has its 3 sources, the Upper, Middle, The and Further Rhine, in the Rhætian Alps, and pursues in Switzerland or on its E. and N. borders a course of above 200 m. Among its affluents is the Aar, which rises in the S. E. mountains of Bern, receives the Simmen, Saane, Emmen, Reuss, and Limmat, and carries to the Rhine the waters of 14 cantons. The Rhône, which rises in a glacier of the Furca, receives the Visp, Borgne, and Dranse, and after quitting the canton of Geneva becomes a French river. The Ticino flows through the canton to which it has given its name, and passes through Lago Maggiore into Italy; and the Inn waters a part of the canton of Grisons. Switzerland contains a considerable number of lakes, the most important of which are the lake of Geneva, the ancient Lemanus, and those of Constance, Neufchâtel, Bienne, Lucerne, Zürich, Zug, and Sarnen; and S. of the Alps the lake of Lugano and the Lago Maggiore. Most of these lakes are traversed by steamboats.-The more marked geological features of Switzerland have been noticed in the articles ALPS and JURA; and the glacial phenomena of the former mountains, which have been most carefully studied, and which throw so much light upon the dynamics of geology, have been specially treated in the article GLACIER. No country possesses greater interest for geologists than Switzerland, whose formations are exhibited upon the grandest scale, and reveal in the most striking manner the metamorphism to which rocks are subject, converting strata of comparatively recent formation into schistose and crystalline rocks; but its mineral resources are of no great importance. Its iron mines produce from 10,000 to 15,000 tons annually; its lead mines 500 tons; and its copper mines about 250 tons. Anthracite of inferior quality is found in several places, as Outre-Rhône, Salvaut, and Isérable, in Valais, &c. The salt mines near Basel yield about 11,000 tons annually, and those at Bex (Vaud) 2,000 tons. Gypsum is found with the salt. The other mineral products are of little importance, with the exception of the mineral springs, of which there are a large number, and among them many famous as wa tering places. The most celebrated are Leuk (Valais), St. Maurice in the valley of Engadin (Grisons), Pfeffers (St. Gall), Baden (Aargau), and Schinznach (Aargau).-To the tourist Switzerland presents a great abundance of natural curiosities. There are many points of view whence the semi-circular array of Alpine peaks, presented at once to the eye, extends for more than 120 m., and comprises between 200 and 300 distinct summits, capped with snow, or bristling with bare rocks. Of the heights commanding such Alpine panoramas the Righi is probably the finest, as it is certainly one of the Faulhorn, from its proximity to the great chain, most accessible; some give preference to the from it to great advantage. For a near view and the High Alps rising close at hand are seen mountains, the spots which afford a concentraof Alpine scenery, amid the recesses of the tion of the grandest and most sublime objects which descend from the Monte Rosa, especially are the valleys of the Bernese Oberland, those the valleys of Zermatt in Valais and Macugnaga in Piedmont, and those around the base of Mont Blanc, including Chamouni in Savoy. In these districts, the glaciers, the most characteristic feature of the country, are seen to the greatest advantage. Switzerland has numerthe first rank from the volume of water; but ous waterfalls. The fall of the Rhine deserves it is rather a cataract than a cascade, as it wants height. Other celebrated falls are: the fall of the Aar, at Handeck, Bern; the Staubbach or Dust fall, in the Bernese Oberland; the Giesbach, on the lake of Brienz; the fall of the Sallenche, near Martigny, Valais, sometimes called Pissevache; Reichenbach falls Splügen, Grisons; and the Tourtemagne fall, near Meyringen; the fall of Pianazzo on the pal and most interesting of the Swiss Alpine near the Simplon road, in Valais. The principasses are the Simplon, the St. Gothard, the Splügen, and the Bernardin, both as regards their scenery and the magnificent and skilfully constructed carriage roads which have been made over them. Of passes not traversed by carriage roads, the most striking in point of scenery are those of the Monte Moro and Cervin under Monte Rosa, between the Valais and Piedmont; the Tête Noire and Col de Balme, leading to Chamouni; the Grimsel, Furca, and Gries, branching off at the head of the valley of the Rhône; the Gemmi, between Bern and Valais, one of the most singular of the passes; and the Great St. Bernard, chiefly visited on account of its celebrated hospice. Of the Alpine defiles no other approaches the ravine of the Via Mala, on the Upper Rhine in Grisons, anywhere among the Alps. The gorge of the one of the most sublime and terrific scenes Schöllenen on the St. Gothard, that of Gondo in whose depths the baths of Pfeffers are_sunk, on the Simplon, and that extraordinary glen also deserve mention. (Ger. Kuhreihen) are a class of melodies preThe Ranz des Vaches vailing among and peculiar to the Alpine valleys. Almost every valley has an air of its own, but the original air is said to be that of Appenzell. The climate is more severe than might be expected from the geographical position of Switzerland. On the highest summits snow and ice are perpetual. In the lower mountains and on the table land snow falls in greater abundance than in other countries of the same latitude in Europe. In Valais the fig and grape ripen at the foot of ice-clad mountains, while near their summits the rhododendron and the lichen grow at the limit of the snow line. The canton of Ticino has the climate of Italy, yet the weather is more changeable. Switzerland is on the whole a very healthy country, with the exception of a few places in swampy or very narrow and deep valleys. In the middle ages the country of the Jura suffered much from earthquakes, which have entirely ceased for several centuries; but floods, avalanches, and snow storms still threaten the inhabitants with frequent dangers. About two thirds of the surface consists of lakes and other waters, glaciers, naked rocks, and other uninhabitable heights. Some districts are very fruitful, yet the grain raised is not sufficient for the supply of the population. The vine is cultivated on the slopes of the Jura and in the valleys of the Rhine, Rhône, Reuss, Limmat, and Thur (an affluent of the Rhine), and in some places ripens at 2,100 feet above the sea. Flax and hemp are extensively grown. Irrigation is judiciously managed, and in general agriculture is making progress. The forests cover about 17 per cent. of the soil, and although their cultivation is yet imperfect, the production of timber exceeds the home consumption. Fishing still yields considerable produce, but hunting is no longer practised to the same extent as formerly; the chamois has become rare, and the ibex is no more found. Switzerland is celebrated for its rich and excellent pastures; the finest breeds of cattle are those of the Simmenthal (Bern), Gessenay, Gruyère (Freyburg), Zug, and Schwytz. There are about 900,000 horned cattle, about one fourth of which are milch cows, 105,000 horses, 469,000 sheep, 347,000 goats, and 318,000 swine. The sheep and swine do not supply the home demand. The best cheese is made in the Emmenthal, Saanenthal, and Simmenthal, in Gruyère and Urseren (Uri), and in the valleys of the Emmen, Saane, and Simmen.-Eastern Switzerland has been for more than 150 years the seat of flourishing manufactories. To a smaller degree manufacturing industry prospers in the W. and N. cantons. The chief seats of the cotton manufacture are Appenzell and St. Gall; silks are woven in Zürich and Basel, and linens at Bern. Of great importance is the manufacture of watches in the W. cantons, and they constitute an important article of export.-The commerce of Switzerland stands in fair proportion to its well developed industry. The value of the foreign trade in 1855 was set down at $90,000,000, and of the domestic trade at $135,000,000. It increased rapidly until 1858, since which it has decreased somewhat, though not probably below the value in 1855. Most of the duties being specific, it is easier to state the quantity of the articles imported or exported than their values. The rapid increase of the quantity of breadstuffs and coal imported into Switzerland gives ample proof of the development of its industry and the prosperity of its population. In 1855 there were imported only 480,605 cwt. of coal, but in 1860 no less than 2,270,975 cwt. Of breadstuffs (grain, flour, rice) the importation increased from 2,342,191 cwt. in 1850 to 3,717,770 cwt. in 1860; of potatoes, from 81,870 cwt. in 1858 to 377,825 cwt. in 1860. The following statement shows the quantities of the principal articles of import and export during the years 1859 and 1860: Breadstuffs. Potatoes.. Articles. Coal and coke... IMPORTS. Pig and sheet iron, wire, &c... Silk, raw and floss.. Tobacco Worsted and woollen goods.. Wine.. Sugar and molasses. EXPORTS. The total revenue from customs in 1859 was $1,480,821, and in 1860 $1,553,185, of which sum the current expenses of the customs department take 11 per cent., and $500,000 is distributed among the different cantons to indemnify them for their former customs revenues, leaving about $800,000 to the federal treasury.-The aggregate length of all chartered railroad lines, Jan. 1, 1860, was 358 leagues. Of these there were in operation 197 leagues, in course of construction 62, not yet commenced 99. The most important lines are: united Swiss railroad, 66 leagues; central railroad, 54; northeast, 37; western, 37; eastern and western, 36; Italian, 33; Lukmanier, 26; Freyburg and Lausanne, 17 leagues. The aggregate length |