seen; and, glancing my eye upwards, I perceived the blind close drawn in the window above. "It is so (I said to myself), disease is in its progress. Perhaps it occasions no gloomy fear of consequences, no extreme concern; and yet who knows how it may end? It is thus that begin those changes, that draw out the central bolt which holds together families; which steal away our fire-side faces, and lay waste our affections."

I passed by day after day. The scene was the same; but the mother was not to be seen; the blind was still drawn above. At length I missed the girl; and, in her place, appeared another woman, bearing considerable resemblance to the mother, but of a quieter habit. It was easy to interpret this change. Disease had assumed an alarming aspect; the daughter was occupied in intense watching, and caring for the suffering mother; and the good woman's sister had been summoned to her bedside, perhaps from a distant spot. Thus appearances continued some days. There was a silence around the house, and an air of neglect within it, till, one morning, I beheld the blind drawn in the room below, and the window thrown open above. The scene was over; the mother was removed from her family; and one of those great changes had been effected in human life, which commence with so little observation, but leave behind them such lasting effects.

SKETCHES

OF SWISS SCENERY AND
MANNERS,

by Charles Joseph Latrobe. 1829. SWITZERLAND has been so frequently described, both in its physical and its moral aspect, that little novelty can be expected in these sketches. Mr. Latrobe, however, is an amusing, if not an able writer, and an attentive, if not a philosophical observer.

He mentions a remarkable circumstance, which, though calculated to excite surprise, is apparently true.-"The lake of Morat was the scene of a singular phænomenon during the earlier months of this year, 1825. I remember the report reaching Neufchatel-through the medium of the market-people passing from one lake to the other (some time during the winter)-that the waters of the lake had suddenly become of the color

of blood, though I could meet with no one whose testimony was sufficiently clear and unequivocal to establish the fact. This, joined to my not having the leisure then to go and see for myself, caused the matter to slip from my memory entirely, till I found myself in the neighbourhood. Here the circumstance was fully confirmed to me in a manner not to be questioned; and having since met with a paper, written by M. Decandolle, on the subject, I shall take what is there stated as my best guide in mentioning the facts as they occurred. It appears that this phænomenon began to excite the attention of the inhabitants of Morat, as early as November last year, and that it continued more or less observable during the whole of the winter. Mr. Trechsel, a gentleman resident at Morat, to whom M. Decandolle applied for information and specimens of the coloring matter, stated that, during the early hours of the day, no extraordinary appearance was observable in the lake; but that, a little later, long parallel lines of reddish matter were seen to extend along the surface of the water, at a short distance from the banks. This, being blown by the wind toward the more sheltered parts of the shore, collected itself about the reeds and rushes, covering the surface of the lake with a light foam; forming, as it were, different strata of various colors, from greenish black, grey, yellow, and brown, to the finest red. He adds, that this matter exhaled a pestiferous odour during the day, but disappeared at the approach of night. It was farther observed, that during tempestuous weather it vanished altogether. Many small fishes were seen to become intoxicated while swimming amidst it, and, after a few convulsive leaps, to lie motionless on the surface. The naturalists of Geneva decided, from the specimens sent, that it was an animal substance, which, if not the oscillatoria subfusca, was nearly allied to it. Soon after the beginning of May it disappeared entirely. It is not known that this phænomenon appeared before on the lake of Morat within the memory of man. Tradition states the same to have happened in the year preceding the great battle."

An adventure at Lauterbrunnen, though not very important, is amusingly related. -"While I was commencing my ascent of the first stage of the opposite moun

tain, which is sprinkled with cottages, I remarked that the approach of a stranger had put their inmates in motion, each pouring from the door-way the younger members of the family. These beset the devious foot-way leading up the hillside, in a long scattered line to a considerable height, just like a train of gunpowder, which only awaited my approach to explode. And so it was; for, as I advanced, one after the other set up her, or his, pipes in succession, offering me little bouquets of roses, or the orchis nigra, and begging a batz in return. Had it been a fine warm day, I might have looked upon this preparation for my entertainment with a good-natured desire to be entertained; but it was terribly raw and cold, I had had a ducking, which still made my teeth chatter in my head, and I own I looked upon this preconcerted plan of attack upon my ears and my pocket with a very jaundiced eye. Besides, a dear-bought night's lodging and refreshment had tended to induce a passing œconomical, if not parsimonious, humor. So there was but a poor look-out for these songsters. Accordingly, the first two applicants I passed without noticing. The third screamed most vociferously, holding her petticoat ready for the batz. She sang so loud, that I could not avoid looking her full in the face, and, by way of stopping her song, gave her a chuck under the chin, which she received with a low courtesy. Somehow or other this softened my heart considerably. The next, a bright-faced little girl, was the gainer by it, as she held the flowers so near my fingers, that I was absolutely obliged to take them, and of course to give her the batz. Seeing the success of the last, and that importunity had gained the day, the following insisted upon my taking her rose. I stopped and asked, Which of us was the poorer?' She answered, without hesitation, 'that she was:' and there was something in the ready simplicity of her answer, and the glance she threw down to her naked feet, which made me ashamed of the sophistry, or whatever it was, which had dictated the question, and of course I satisfied the demand. The last and highest cottage turned out a party of five, a great boy, three little girls, and a sharp black-eyed urchin. These all made music. After giving once, it be

comes very difficult to refuse. This I felt as I approached the rear-guard. The boy I put to flight by saying I thought he was old and strong enough to earn his bread in a different manner, and, turning to the rest, added, that begging was not originally a Swiss trade, and that they were abusing the beautiful flowers of their mountains, and the old and simple customs of their forefathers, when they made them the excuse for an idle life and desire after the batzen of the stranger. Perhaps they did not understand me; but the mother did, and came forward from the cottage door, with her youngest still at the breast. She pleaded poverty, and a large family, and the bad weather, which obliged the elder children to remain idle at home. She said she was a Swiss born, and did not like to see her children beg; but the bad custom had crept in, no one knew how."

Our author had the pleasure (if, indeed, it could fairly be so called) of witnessing the fall of an avalanche, while he remained in perfect safety." The vacher had been absent from the chalet about two hours, his cows being in a shed upon another part of the Alp, and had just returned, it being then about seven o'clock, P. M. In the course of the evening, he had directed my attention to a small flock of sheep, on a green patch of pasture, situated on the ledge overhanging the precipices, about halfway up the lower part of the mountain. To an observation of wonder at their exposure, in a situation apparently so dangerous, he had replied, that they were the property of a private person at Lauterbrunnen, who ran the risk, for the sake of the extraordinary luxuriance and richness of the grass on that slope; and added, that, moreover, being situated under a high rock, with a deep ravine on either side, the danger was not so great, when once fairly lodged there. Half an hour after his return, just as the shades of approaching evening began to render the dull light from the chalet door barely sufficient for me to guide my pen upon my paper, I was roused from my seat by a distant rumble, and hastened to the door-way. The sound continued to increase, but for a short time nothing was to be seen in motion. At length we saw the avalanche emerge, like a rolling cloud of dense smoke, from the fogs resting upon the mountain,

It

rushed forward like a whirlwind down the last stage of the glaciers, and approached the edge of the precipices. My breathless attention was naturally directed toward the advancing mass, when it was diverted, by hearing the vacher cry out, from the little elevation to which he had run-O God! the sheep, the poor sheep!' My eye instantly glanced at the little green slope, and had hardly time to take cognisance of its situation, before, dashing high over the precipice above, the snow, ice, and rock, poured down upon it, swept like lightening over its surface, and then instantly hurried down out of sight into the gloomy depths of the Trümletenthal, leaving the spot of green a patch of dingy brown. There could be no doubt that the sheep, whether few or many, were instantaneously overwhelmed. No living animal could be seen any-where on the precipices, down which, by the regular channels, the snow and ice, disturbed and set in motion by the great avalanche, continued to thunder for several minutes after."

Even Wales is not so famous for goats as Switzerland. Mr. Latrobe gives the following account of the management of these useful creatures."Standing on a bridge over the Aar, I heard the tinkling of the goat-bells behind me; and, wishing to see this animal under the multitude of varieties which a large herd presents, I stopped short till they should overtake me. They soon appeared, having left their mountain pasture at sunset to return to be milked in the village, where they always pass the night. Most of the larger Swiss villages have an individual, employed by the inhabitants conjointly, to take care of their goats during the day. This goatherd, who is often an idiot, makes his appearance in the main street at daybreak; he sounds his horn, and the goats are immediately turned out of the stalls. They then herd instinctively together, and are led on to the mountains, where they feed during the day. They came forward, trotting across the bridge, pushing and skirmishing with one another, with every sign of saucy impatience. The goatherd, who walked after them with his coat hanging over a stick upon his shoulder, and a great pair of dun heels peeping out of his clogs at every step he took in the mire, was a true

modern specimen of this class, perfectly unpoetical and unphilosophical in appearance, in spite of the poetry of his profession. Instead of a tuneful quill, his lips were busy with a short black tobacco-pipe. In the herd of above one hundred goats, which seemed to be conducting him to his home, there was a great variety of color, from milk-white, through all the shades of yellow and brown, to black. There was equal difference in the quantity and quality of their coats, some being covered with a long and shaggy hair, and others with a short and smooth fur. Most of them had beards, though all female; and some of them, in addition, had two little tufts at each side of the throat, which looked like cap or bonnet strings. When we approached the village, they became much more clamorous and quarrelsome, and I could see and hear that there was strong skirmishing in the van. Immediately on entering it, we were met by a crowd of children, who, mingling with the herd, began to seek and pick out their several pets. When found, they grasped their horns, or put their little arms round their necks, and directed' them home. Many of the goats stopped short at the door of their owner's cottage, and, bleating, demanded admittance, while others, of their own accord, set off at a canter up the by-lanes, leading to their homes, and were out of sight in an instant. The first welcome of a master or mistress for their goat, as well as the cow, is a handful of salt; and it is amusing to see with what eagerness they follow and lick the hand that allures them with it."

A DIARY OF A WINTER'S ROUTE FROM HALIFAX TO THE BORDERS OF THE LAKE HURON,

by Mr. George Head.

FOREST Scenes in the wilds of NorthAmerica are well delineated in this agreeable volume, and the incidents of a severe winter in that climate are described with spirit, not by captain Head, who distinguished himself by his rapid journey over the Pampas, but by his ingenious brother. Beside the purpose of amusing the public, the writer had another object in view, the encouragement of emigration, which he recom-" mends not only to the poor of the lowest

called to the mind the time, when, after a few more short years, all remaining traces of its existence would be obliterated, till, like those which in preceding ages had passed away, it should become confounded with the soil.

The varying duration of animal life, the return of seasons, the orbits of the planets, even the eccentric course of comets, become defined, and familiarised with our ideas of time, by the inquiring spirit and science of man; but the tree still rears its head toward the heavens in defiance of his research, while tradition and conjecture alone mark the span of its existence. Generations after generations of the human race have fallen one after another into the grave, and yet in this enlightened age where is the man who can count the years of the gnarled oak? Can he mark the day when it burst its acorn with much more certainty than he could define the period when each stream and river first bubbled from the caverns of the earth?"

An entertaining account is given of an Indian family, with hints for good nursing."I was going to walk along the shore through the wood, when I saw an Indian passing by in his canoe, and hailed him. He was making his way toward the head of the bay whither I was going, and I asked him to take me on board,-not so much for convenience as from curiosity. He pulled in shore immediately, and was amused at my request, seeming particularly entertained at the clumsy manner in which I got in. His family consisted of the squaw, a little girl about ten years old, another of six, and a third of four; and, as I was just going to sit down in the bottom of the canoe, the squaw gave me a hard pull by the coat, and, removing a dirty blanket, uncovered the features of a little infant bound, after their fashion, very securely upon a board. The squaw was going to remove it to where she sat in the stern; but I gave her to understand that I would nurse it as we went along, and I took hold of the wooden frame and laid it on my knees. It was admirable to see how well the little thing was secured from harm, and how quiet and contented it seemed in its state of imprisonment. Protected from the weather by clothes in numerous folds, a circular piece of wood formed a guard for its head, and altogether it was the same as taking hold of a fiddle, so tight was it bound upon its

wooden frame. With its arms and legs in a state of confinement, the little being could only move its wandering eyes, which, together with its tiny trembling lips, told the tale of its tender age. I could not help considering the mode of treating the infant savage, of which I had an example now before me, more worthy than I should have imagined of being placed in comparison with that adopted among civilised people; and certainly, whatever may be said against it, it possesses some advantages over our mode of nursing. During the first few weeks of infancy, when the very bones have not acquired their proper consistence, and the unclosed scull hangs a dead weight upon the body, the Indians bind, as it were, the tender plant to a stake, to be protected in its growth from that violence of motion, those twists and strains, which with us confessedly lead to some of our most dreadful disorders. Here was a child happy as it could be, and as warm, without a pin in its whole dress to torment it, capable of enjoying exercise, and of being moved from place to place over land and water, without the slightest stress upon its pliant limbs.

"The canoe, paddled by the squaw sitting in the stern, glided quietly near the shore; and the Indian stood up all the time in the head looking out for fish. The sun shone bright upon the water; nevertheless I could not discern one, although he struck at some several times on the way. He killed three bass, turning round the spear each time to the squaw in order that she might extricate the fish. The least unsteadiness on his part might have precipitated the whole party, children and all, into the water; but he kept his balance with such extraordinary certainty, that I very soon lost all apprehension of the possibility of such an accident, and we arrived at the head of the bay, where we all got out.

The Indian and his family were on their route to Lake Huron, and they had now eight miles to travel to the Notawasorga River, all which distance it was necessary to carry the canoe. He immediately commenced preparations to take it on his back, and for this purpose he fixed a broad strip of birch bark to the centre thwart, making the ends fast to each opposite gunwale. The thwart then rested on his shoulders, and, having placed a piece of bark doubled under it, to prevent its galling, 'he contrived to lay