SPECTATOR'S LIBRARY.

newest Domestic Residence in Switzerland. By Elizabeth Strott, Author of 'Six Weeks on the Loire," " Chances and Changes." lac. In two volumes Newby..

FICTTON,

Widows and Widowers; a Romance of Real Life. By Mrs. Thomson. Authoress of " Constance," " Anne Boleyne," &a. In three volumes Beldiey.

THE ANNUALS,

The Keepsake. for 1843. Edited by the Countess of Blessington—Longman and Co. The American in Paris; or Heath's Picturesque Annual for 1843. By M. Jules Janin. Illustrated by eighteen engravings, from designs by M. Eugene Lami. Longman and a, Heath's Book of Beauty, 1843. With beautifully-finished engravings from drawings by the first artists. Edited by the Countess of Blessing,ton Longman and Co. Forget Me Not; a Christmas. New-Years, and Birthday Present, for 1843. Edited by Frederick Shoherl Ackermann and Co. Friendship's Offering, and Winter's Wreath; a Christmas and New-Year's Present,

for 1843 Smith. Elder, mid Co. Fisher's Drawingroom Scrap-Book. 1843. By the Author of " The Women of Eng- land." Pfsher, Son. and Co. The Juvenile Scrap-Book. By Mrs. Ellis, Author of " The Women of England,"

&c. 1843 PIsher. Sen. and Co. Montgomery's Sacred Gift, A Series of Meditations upon Scripture subjects. with twenty highly-finished engravings after celebrated paintings by the Great Masters, By the Author of "The Omnipresence of the Deity." &c Msher, Son, and Co. The Gift; a Christmas and New-Year's Present, 1843-Carey and Hart, Philadephia.

DOMESTIC RESIDENCE IN SWITZERLAND.

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MRS. &mum whose husband is an artist, resided for three years in Switzerland, making Lausanne the head-quarters of the family, and passing a portion of the finer months in excursions through the country. A description of her sojourn, an account of her travelling-adventures, and such information as an inquiring and in- telligent person residing on the spot could pick up, with little feudal family histories, often possessing more interest from the house yet surviving, are contained in the volumes before us. Bating a little disposition to what in a man would be called reverie, but in a lady may pass as sentiment, Domestic Residence in Switzerland is a very agreeable and even informing publica- tion. Gracefully feminine in style and manner, and not devoid of a tendency to elevate trifles into importance or to beat the- gold into too thin a leaf, there is yet in the volumes a various kind of information respecting the character, customs, and social usages of the people, which could only have been gleaned by a rIt sident. The nature of Mr. STRUTT'S pursuits has also given h wife an advantage over the common tourist, not only leading hi into secluded spots, but inducing him to sojourn there,—as when he painted the portrait of Mr. HENCHOZ, the venerable pastor of Rossiniere, they had to reside in a more primitive inn than the Talbot was in the days of CHAUCER ; and at Saillon there was no inn at all, but such strangers as came there were thrown upon the hospitality of the "President," like a traveller quartering himself upon an Arab chief. Opportunities, however, are of little use to those who cannot take advantage of them. In addition to her literary qualities, Mrs. STRUT? has an inquiring mind, with a per- ception of the beautiful in nature and the characteristic in persons. She has also the spirit, adaptability, and endurance of a traveller; without which, indeed, she would scarcely have undertaken many of her trips, for Switzerland is not a place to travel in pleasantly off the high-roads, or to live in except during the height of summer. Here is an example of an Alpine wind in winter and spring.

THE AAIUN.

The Jaman is sometimes in the winter and spring a dangerous passage, as well on account of the depth of the snow, as in being subject to avalanches, and to the peculiar tourmente, as the mountaineers expressively term the snowy winds or windy snows, called the area ; a word which signihes in the patois of the country a sandy snow, the particles thereof being dry and brittle. These arena are formed by one layer of MOW falling upon another, already frozen and hard, and a strong wind forcing its way between the two, slicing off, if I may be allowed so homely an expression, the latest fallen and uppermost, and driving it down the inclined and icy plain on which it has sought its short re- pose, with a fury that sweeps before it trees, chalets, herds, human beings, all in one bewildering, blinding hurricane, condemning the unfortunate passenger to certain death. In 1767, one of these areins swept away between the Jaman and the village of Allieres in Fribourg, on which we were now looking down, in all the serenity of a summer's day, a number of large firs, and several houses; which it carried to the verge of the precipices washed by the Hongyin in the Grnyeres, sawing the cabaret of Allieres literally in two, and carrying away the upper story, to the amazement of the inmates, who were thus ejected from the attics to the ground-floor, without a moment's notice to quit. When any accident fatal to life occurs on the Jaman, it is forbidden to re- move the body until the arrival of a magistrate; excepting the mother be pre- sent, in which case her sanction is deemed sufficient. The presence of the father is not considered equal authority. There is something very touching in this deference to maternal feeling.

"Point d'argent point de Suisse," says the proverb ; and Mrs. STRUTT agrees with it in the main, but there is an exception and a reason. The exception is their charity to orphan children, whom the community sometimes, sometimes individuals, will adopt; and the assistance they render to the sufferers by natural accidents, as from an avalanche or an inundation. The reason—perhaps these exceptions are founded in the reason, which by making every Swiss obnoxious to such perils, brings them home more forcibly to his feelings—but the reason, in Mrs. Sraurr's opinion, for their love of gold, is not only its scarcity, but the difficulty with which a living is to be gained in Switzerland, and the tremendous hard- ships which the bulk of the people have to undergo in the pursuit of bread, and of very coarse bread too. We take a few passages illustrative of Swiss pastoral life.

SWISS RAY-GATHERERS.

So completely pastoral is this district (Canton de Vaud) that there is not a plough to be found in it, and all the corn it produces would not supply the inhabitants with a single week's consumption. Their gardens and orchards are left to run wild; yet will they gather with their own hands every blade of grass that grows in the hedges or other places that cannot be got at by the gentle. It is scarcely possible to give an idea of the exceeding importance at- tached to the bay-harvests in these pastoral communes : even those spots which are inaccessible to the goats are gained by the poorer people, who risk their lives by clinging to the sides of the precipices, with iron crampons attached to their feet, to give them more firmness in their hold. They generally have half of what they thus gather for their pains; they bring it all down the steep and dangerous descents on their backs in bundles of one hundred and fifty or two hundred pounds weight, except in some cases where they tie them up and roll them down the side of the mountain into the valley. Sometimes the crampons of these poor people break ; in that case their falls are usually fatal: and under the most favourable circumstances there can scarcely be anything more labori- ous and wretched than their exertions. As long as the time for them lasts, they generally sleep in the open air or in the cavities of the rocks, and their food consists almost entirely of cheese. One of these poor men remaining to finish his self-allotted task, having sent his children home early on account of a dan- gerous pass, and not returning himself at the time he was expected, was found the next day dead of fatigue and exhaustion; his hands folded meekly on his breast, as if his last thoughts had been resignation and prayer.

It is certainly in this district that we see the genuine Swiss pastoral charac- ter; and the scenes that surround them are not only of exquisite wild beauty, but have also the great advantage of being free from the crowd of strangers that in all places of known resort continually interrupt the feelings which the grandeur and solitude of nature call forth.

SUMMER-TIME OF THE SWISS HERDSMEN.

The real life of the died let is at ail times one oflabour and hardship : nor must we take our general idea of it from those chtilet-auberges, as they may be called, that are within the common reach of travellers. In the higher stations, which are not accessible to females, the men, as may be imagined, are altoge- ther wild in their appearance and habits. They live in the most disgusting dirt, amidst smoke within and the manure of the cattle without. The chalets in their best state are miserably cold; admitting the wind from whatever point of the compass it may blow, between the interstices of the trunks of pines of which they are built. The " moveables " consist of nothing but the cauldron and utensils for the milk and cheese, and a large plank for a table : neither chairs nor beds enter into the furniture department ; dried grass, about a foot in thickness, seldom changed, and a few coarse woollen blankets on which they lie down, night after night, without taking off their clothes, serve for one com- mon conch. In some of the districts the shepherds watch all the first week that their cattle come on the heights, for fear they should fall over the preci- pices, or wander among the glaciers; afterwards they take it in turn to sleep and watch. In those places where cheese cannot be made on account of scarcity of wood, and the pasturage is in consequence appropriated only to feed- ing cattle and horses, or, as in the higher Alps, goats and sheep, the herdsmen have no other shelter than the hollows of the rocks, and bivouac in the open air along with the objects of their care.

During the forty days the season lasts on those highest heights, the men never taste either bread, meat, or wine : they subsist entirely on milk ; which, added to the purity of the air, agrees with them so well, that they always de- scend into the valleys, after their probation, with a considerable increase of em- bonpoint, and uniformly leave their stormy solitary regions with great reluct- ance. Where cheese is made, the men generally receive their wages in the ma- terial they manufacture, at the rate of about eight pounds per annum English money. They are fond of the cattle, without paying much attention to their comfort. They take no care to protect them from the noontide heats or storms, baying no building of any kind to shelter them under; and they suffer them to graze about, straggling as they will, when by a little attention they might make the grass support nearly double the number. They attract the cows at milking- time with salt, of which they give them great quantities; and they ease the labour of milking them by sitting during the operation on little low stools, which they carry for that purpose, ready strapped round the latter end of their persons, producing an effect more cbacteristic than poetical. The cheeses on the higher Alps are finer-flavoured than those on the lower, on account of the aromatic herbs more abundantly produced there, and which supply the place of salt in the preservation of the cheese.

The curious in cheese will find a full account of the Gruyere district, and a rather interesting sketch of the Counts de Gruyere: but as we have said something respecting the preliminary stages of this production, we will turn to one of more general interest— vineyards and wine-bibbing, for which Switzerland has a sort of local celebrity, with no mean desire to excel in tasting.

CULTIVATION OF THE VINE.

As we came again upon the high-road, we could not but comment with wondering admiration on the astonishing industry which the vineyards exhi- bit as they climb up the steep sides of the Jorat, one above another, for the extent of three leagues ; to the amount in some parts, from the extremity near- est the lake to the topmost, of forty terraces. They are supported by strong walls, and ascended by steep and narrow steps, cut out with incredible labour, though not wide enough to admit more than one person at a time. The same economy of ground may be observed in the high-road, which is so narrow as barely to admit of two carriages passing: so valuable is every inch of land in this most favourable situation of any in the Canton de Vaud for the vine ; which never comes to perfection excepting on the side of a hill. The price of vineyard ground of the best quality is about five hundred pounds peracre; an enormous sum when the relative value of money and the great expense of cul- tivation are taken into consideration. The vines require incessant attention ; It is only when they are covered with snow that they may be said to be left to themselves. The poor labourers have no more than fifteen sous per day, al- though they go into the vineyards at four in the morning and remain till dark, with only the intervals of three half.hours for rest and refreshment: yet the number of hands required renders wages, even at this moderate rate of indivi- dual recompense, a serious matter of calculation. To set against these expen- ses, every part of the vine and its produce is brought into requisition; nothing is deemed useless, nothing thrown away. The stalks and leaves are given to the cattle; and the busks, after they have been pressed, are wedged into round moulds, and when dried are used for fuel—throwing out a bright heat when thoroughly ignited, like turf or peat. Indian corn is likewise planted between the rows of the vines, in order to economize the ground to the utmost; the vines striking deep into the earth, and the corn requiring only shallow root. The vineyards in this district were originally planted by the monks of the rich Abbey of Ilauterive; and many curious documents remain of the proceedings of the good fathers with respect to the management and amelioration of them.

SWISS WINE-BIBBERS.

The art of distinguishing the various vintages of the country by the palate. seas to name immediately each separate produce, is considered no small ac- complishment among the Swiss ; and it is one which, to do them justice, they sedulously endeavour to obtain by practice, which, according to the school adage. "makes perfect." "The cellar of some of our houses," says a Swiss water-drinker, a rare aria in the country, "is more inhabited than any other part of the dwelling. The master descends into it at ten o'clock in the morning : there he exercises his hospitality to any casual visiter ; there he treats of the affairs of the corn- mune ; there he goes again, as soon as be has despatched his dinner, to *anthill nothing has happened to the casks during his absence; and, in order to ascer- tain it, he tastes them all in due succession and with profound consideration., generally prolonging his inquiries till the moment when the Guet begins to cry his rounds, at which time be leaves his quarters with as much difficulty as reluctance to find his way to bed." With so much predilection for this cona- partmeut, we may readily believe it is carefully attended to in point of vein- fort; and it is not at all uncommon at dinner-parties for gentlemen to be in- vited, after having got pretty well seasoned in the salle d manger, to adjourn to the celler to finish their debates: there they find lamps lighted, and the table duly set out with glasses differing from those they have been emptying above-stairs only in being double the size, and probably aeon appearing to most of the party double In number also.

Let us next take a view of a curious class of Swiss Pariahs, who, wanting charity the most, are altogether excluded from it—as is usual in other places.

THE HOMELESS.

Grave offences against moral order are very rare, and are always visited, when they do occur, with the severest condemnation. Proofs of which may be seen extended from generation to generation in the unfortunate class consisting of three or four hundred families called " Heimachlosen," or "The Homeless ;" the descendants of those who have forfeited their civil rights in their respective cantons by crimes and misdemeanours, among which, change of religion and illegal marriages are reckoned, or of foreigners who have settled in the country without paying for their citizenship. These outcasts have no claim upon public charity, and excite no compassion. They wander about from one place to another as vagrants and mendicants under the guise of pedlars and other small traffickers, and violating the laws at every opportunity, as is generally the case with those who are deprived of their protection. Ot late years, however, the state of these forlorn people have been taken into consideration by the Federal Diet ; and several of the more humane part of the community have made the proposition that they shall be divided among the different Caimans, and restored to society.

REPUBLICAN TITLES.

Though distinctions of birth are not acknowledged, yet those of office inspire quite as much self-importaoce in their possessors, and servility of deference in those who are aspiring to them, as can be seen in other countries where they may be marked by more of outward show. It used to amuse me much, at Ros- siniere, to hear the ceremony with which the Government were addressed. At every word it was Monsieur is Jugs, who the first time we saw him was hand- ling a pitchfork very adroitly, with his shirt-sleeves tucked up to his shoulders, and Monsieur le Capitaine, who looked the image of poverty and famine, or Monsieur le Receveur, Monsieur le Syndic, at every word ; and what was more amusing still, was to hear Madame in Juge and Madame la Receveur invested with the same honours. Perhaps there may be something in this peculiar to mountainous countries; for I recollect, some years ago, at a market-town in Lancashire, a group of country-people who had come to consult the Justice, being disappointed at not finding him at home, inquired if the Boo Justice could be spoken with—meaning his worship's wife. I was, indeed, astonished to find so many distinctions of rank and circumstances in Switzerland—a country where we are apt to imagine all is liberty, equality, and simplicity. At Lausanne, for instance, the inhabitants have, as I was told, the astonishing absurdity of dividing society into thirteen classes. I believe the lowermost step in the ladder ended with the lady who made mid mended gowns declining to sit in the same room with the lady who made and mended chemises, as being in- ferior to herself in works of art. Our own servant mentioned to us the affa- bility, as she termed it, of the servant of the person with whom we lodged, in conversing familiarly with her ; "because," said she, "her master is a member of the Grand Council : but you, to be sure, are foreigners, so that is almost the same thing."

This distinction of Grand Council is not always without its inconveniences; the Marquis di S— having one day to apologize to us for the absence of his cook, as she had gone to hear her uncle make a speech in the aforesaid legis- lative assembly.

A variety of poetry, suggested by the scenery, is scattered through the volumes; not of a very high kind, but natural, unaffected, and deriving its images from the reality before the writer. Instead of verse, however, we will take a prose description of scenery, in which Mrs. STRIITT is not by any means deficient.

A REFLECTION IN A LAKE.

We turned to look towards the Valais ; and never shall I forget the glorious sight of the reflections in the lake. At first glance they appeared like gigantic palaces of ivory, with walls and ramparts of gold, a tale of enchantment, the creation of a wizard ; but surveyed more steadily, in their immoveable solidity* they displayed so exact a fee-simile of the realities from which they drew their temporary existence, that the Dent de Jaman, the Naye, the Tours d'Ai et de

Mayen, the Dent du Midi, the Dent de Mercies, and all the magnificent pano- rama around, every distant mountain, every peak, summit, ravine, and wind- ing course, might be traced in them as in a map ; producing a marvellous feel-

ing of double existence, a solemn figure of the spiritual and material world, so closely joined, though in union invisible, which will one day be made as evident to our perception as was this admirable effect of appearance from reality. The brightness, the solidity, the depth, the accuracy of this scene, stretching all around the bay of the lake as far as eye could discern, is not to be described: for what description could awaken the devotional feelings of reverence for the adorable Creator of things visible and invisible, material and immaterial, which the contemplation of it excited in our hearts Wordsworth could have done it justice, perhaps, in his verse, so pure so holy, so full of thoughts that "often lie too deep for tears."

And then ever and anon whilst we gazed on the still creation, we beard a sound distant and deep, which we liked to imagine might be the fall of ava- lanches among some of those very mountains of Savoy winch were now reflected at our feet, though at a distance of forty miles.