ABBREVIATIONS, &c., EMPLOYED IN THE HAND-BOOK. The points of the compass are marked by the letters N. S. E. W. (rt.) right, (.) left,-applied to the banks of a river. The right bank is that which lies on the right hand of a person whose back is turned towards the source, or to the quarter from which the current descends. Miles.-Distances are, as far as possible, reduced to English miles; when miles are mentioned, they may be understood to be English. The names of Inns precede the description of every place (often in a parenthesis), because the first information needed by a traveller is where to lodge. Instead of designating a town by the vague words "large" or "small," the amount of the population, according to the latest census, is almost invariably stated, as presenting a more exact scale of the importance and size of the place. In order to avoid repetition, the Routes are preceded by a chapter of preliminary information; and to facilitate reference to it, each division or paragraph is separately numbered. Each Route is numbered with Arabic figures, corresponding with the figures attached to the Route on the Map, which thus serves as an Index to the Book; at the same time that it presents a tolerably exact view of the great and minor roads of Switzerland, and of the course of public conveyances. The Map of Switzerland is to be placed after p. 257. Savoy and Piedmont at the end of the Book. The View of the Bernese Alps, to face page 64. SECTION I. SWITZERLAND. ROUTE I. BASLE TO BERNE, BY THE VAL MOUTIERS (MÜNSTER THAL) AND BIENNE ASCENT OF THE WEISSENSTEIN. BASLE or Bâle. (Germ. Basel, Ital. Basilea.)-Inns: Drei Könige (Three Kings), well situated on the Rhinethe best, and very good-a large house with a respectable landlord, and admirably managed: Cigogne (Storch), near the post-office, repaired and improved; Sauvage (Wilder Mann), within the town, good, quiet, and moderate; Kopf (Tête d'Or); Krone (Crown); overlooking the river, near the bridge-foot. Basle, capital of the now subdivided canton called Basle-town, is situated on the Rhine, and the larger portion lies on the 1. bank, which is connected with the rt. by a bridge of wood, partly supported on stone piers. The territory of the town extends for about 4 miles on the rt. side of the river. It has 24,500 inhab., and it enjoys considerable prosperity from the residence of many rich merchants, bankers, and families of ancient descent, and from its position in an angle on the frontiers of France, Germany, and Switzerland, a few miles below the spot where the Rhine first becomes navigable. It has some manufactures, of which the most important are those of ribands and paper. English travellers have hitherto been too much in the habit of considering Basle merely as a halting-place for the night, which they quit as soon as the train starts or they are furnished with horses; yet its situation [Switz,] on high, sloping banks, overlooking the Rhine, which rushes past in a full broad flood of a clear, light green, bounded by the hills of the Black Forest on the one side, of the Jura on the other-but, above all, its Minster, and its Gallery of the Works of Holbein, deserve some attention. It must be remembered that Basle, though politically a portion of the Swiss Confederation, is yet, historically, a part of Suabia. It did not join the Swiss Confederation until 1501; and it retains many of the characteristics of an Imperial free town more distinctly than many of those which have continued German, and have become incorporated in modern sovereignties. The Cathedral, or Münster, on the high bank on the 1. of the Rhine, above the bridge, distinguished by its 2 spires, and the deep-red colour of the sandstone of which it is built, is an interesting edifice, though not of beautiful architecture. It was begun by the Empr. Henry II. in 1010, and consecrated 1019. The oldest part of the existing edifice, however, is probably not more ancient than the 12th cen tury. Some figures of monsters, now in the crypt, alone may have belonged to the original. The 4 columns at the E. end, formed of groups of detached pillars, with singular and grotesque capitals; the tomb of the Empress Anne, wife of Rudolph of Habsburg, and mother of the line of Austrian princes, whose body was removed to St. Blaize in 1770; and a stone font (date 1465) are worth notice in this part of the building. Very remark B able is the Portal of St. Gallus, leading to the N. transept, and decorated with statues of Christ and St. Peter, and of the wise and foolish virgins. It dates probably from the latter part of the 12th century. The wheel of fortune, above it, is of the 13th centr. In the W. front, under the towers, two equestrian statues, St. George and the Dragon, and St. Martin, stand forth with great boldness. The church is used now for the Protestant service, and the altar stands between the choir and nave, nearly underneath a rich Gothic rood-loft (Lettner, date 1381). On the 1. of the altar, against a pillar, is the red marble tombstone of Erasmus, who died here in 1536. A staircase, leading out of the choir, conducts into a small apartment-the Chapter House, or Concilium's Saal-in which some of the meetings of the Council of Basle, or rather of its committees, were held between 1436 and 1444. It is a low room, with 4 Gothic windows-distinguished not only in an historical point of view, but also as being quite unaltered since the day of the Council. On the S. side of the Church are very extensive and picturesque Cloisters-a succession of quadrangles and open halls-which, with the space they inclose, still serve, as they have done for centuries, as a burial-place, and are filled with tombs; among which are the monuments of the 3 Reformers, Ecolampadius (Hausschein), Grynæus, and Meyer. The cloisters were constructed in the 14th century, and extend to the verge of the hill overlooking the river. It is not unlikely they may have been the favourite resort of Erasmus. Bernouilli, a native of Basle, is buried in St. Peter's Church, which contains many monuments of its wealthy citizens. including a reading-room, where 80 papers are taken in. The Minster is situated in a square of considerable size-in one corner of which, in a recess, stands a building called " zur Mücke," in which, during the Council of Basle, the Conclave met which elected Felix V. pope. It now contains the Public Library of 50,000 volumes - among them, the Acts of the Council of Bâle, 3 vols., with chains attached to the binding, many very important MSS., of which there is a good catalogue, and a few of the books of Erasmus; also, a copy of his "Praise of Folly," with marginal illustrations by the pen of Holbein. There are autographs of Luther, Melancthon, Erasmus, and Zuinglius. Those who wish to see the library should apply early, as the librarian is usually absent in the afternoon. A newly-built Gallery contains Paintings and Drawings by the younger Holbein- -a highly interesting collection of the works of that master, including the Passion of Christ, in 8 compartments, full of life, and carefully finished; also 8 sepia drawings of the same subject;-a dead Christ, formerly in the Minster; Holbein's Wife and Children, with countenances full of grief and misery (1526), a very remarkable work, from its perfect truth to nature; portraits of Erasmus, of Froben the printer-excellent; of a Mlle, von Offenburg, inscribed "Lais Corinthiaca," very good; the same lady as Venus with Cupid; two representations of a School, painted by Holbein at the age of 14, and hung up as a sign over a schoolmaster's door in the town of Basle. Among the Drawings are Holbein's own portraita work of the very highest excellence; Eco-heads of the family Meyer, sketched for the celebrated picture now in the Dresden Gallery, a beautiful pen and ink drawing; original sketch for the famous picture of the family of Sir Thomas More-the names of the dif ferent personages are written on their dresses; 5 sketches for the frescoes which formerly decorated the Rathhaus in Basle, with one or two fragments of the frescoes themselves; lampadius first preached the Reforma tion in St. Martin's, the oldest church in Basle. Behind the Minster is a Terrace, called Die Pfalz, 75 ft, above the river, planted with chesnut trees, and commanding a beautiful view over the Rhine, the town, and the Black Forest hills, among them the Blauen. Close to it is the Club called Lesegesellschaft sketches in ink for glass windows, for the sheaths of daggers, for the organ in the Minster; the Costumes of Basle ; 83 marginal caricatures made on a copy of Erasmus' Laus Stultitiæ, which so amused the author when shown to him, that he is said to have laughed himself out of a fit of illness, &c. &c. Here are also preserved 6 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, at least 50 years before his birth. Holbein was born at Augsburg in 1489, and removed about 1517 to Basle: 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 wine-shop, he painted a pair of legs so exactly like his own, and so well foreshortened, on the under side 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. Yet the city showed its esteem for his talents by granting him a salary of 50 gulden per annum, which was paid him even when in England. Here are also some curious paintings of an artist of Berne named Manuel (1484-1530): portraits of Luther and his wife, by L. Cranach; of Zwingli. In the Lower story of the Library are also deposited a number of anti See Kugler's Handbook of Painting,' vol. ii., German School. quities, bronzes, fragments of pottery, coins, &c., from Augst, the site of the Roman Augusta Rauracorum, 7 miles from Basle (see p. 8); also a silken embroidered banner, given by Pope Julius II. (1515) to the Bâlois. The University of Basle, founded 1460, was the first great seminary for the advancement of learning established in Switzerland: it enjoyed a high reputation under Erasmus, and numbered among its professors in recent times the names of Euler and Bernouilli, the mathematicians, who were natives of Basle. The Rathhaus, in the Market-place, is a building of pleasing Gothic architecture, founded 1508. The frescoes, designed by Holbein, were obliterated in 1817! The Stadt-Rath-Saal is ornamented on the walls and roof with humorous reliefs by Mat. Giger (1609). The Great Council-Room (Gross RathSaal) contains fine painted glasscoats of arms of 12 of the Swiss cantons, with supporters! The frieze includes the emblazoned shields of the original 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. Here is preserved some curious old church plate-part of the Dom-Schatz-a silver cup of open work is the oldest piece (13th century) -St. Anne with the Virgin and Child; and a relic-box with reliefs, 13th century, deserve notice. 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 armour. The private collections of pictures, &c., of MM. Peter Vischer, Mäglin, Speyr, sen., and Mieville Krug (antiquities, glass, wood, lace, and MSS., very interesting), are worth notice. English Church service in a neat cha pel in the Three Kings Hotel. It is panelled with wood-work, which formerly lined the chapel of the Abbot of St. Gall. The terraced Garden of M. Vischer, an eminent banker, overlooking the Rhine, is a very pretty spot. The gateways, battlemented walls, watch-towers, and ditch, which formed the ancient defences of the town, remain in a good state of preservation. The Spalenthor, i. e. St. Paulusthor (1400), 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, The Geltenzunft and Spiezhof are specimens of civic architecture, with Holbeinesque ornaments. Basle is a tolerably clean town; its streets are plentifully supplied with Fountains. The Fischmarkt Brunnen is a very elegant Gothic structure, ornamented with statues, well executed, of the Virgin, St. John, Peter, the Cardinal Virtues, &c. Spahlen-Brunnen, in the Spahlen suburb, is surmounted by a Bagpiper (Dudelsackpfeiffer), to whose music a sculptured group of peasants dance around the base. It is copied from a design of Holbein or Dürer. Erasmus resided in the house Zum Luft, and Frobenius printed in it one of the first Bibles. The building called Kirschgarten was erected by the father of the distinguished African traveller, Burckhardt, who was born here. A handsome new Hospital has been built on the site of the palace of the Markgraves of Baden, Down to the end of the last century (1798), the clocks of Basle went an hour in advance of those in other places of Europe-a singular custom, the 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. The ancient sumptuary laws of Basle were singular and severe. On Sunday all were obliged to dress in black to go to church; even now no carriage may enter or quit the town during the hours of morning service. 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. At one time they waged desperate war against slashed doublets and hose. 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 recordedAuf Gott ich meine Hoffnung bau, Und wohne in der alten Sau, On God I build my hopes of grace, 66 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 |