Ns rural the; obj efts.. T o form a n sid e a ^B t this^Su^eiab fpfeftaelerfigure; in your
iws. ■ aaiofl-'i foaffoldtegi ofctranfparent ice/-, filling la fpace .of tw o 'miles,, riling
to th e c-lbuds, and darting ia fh e l’-.of light like the fuii. N o r were the
feveral_.■‘parts jefs mag-nilieerit-and farprifing. O n e might■ fee|aJ^lt wer.e
- th e ftreets a n d 1buildings, .of a city, ere fted in the foim ,'6fian' amphitheatre,
and embellished with pieces o f water, cafcades, and torrents.
T h e eftefts were as prodigious as the immeiafi-ty and the h e ig h t; the
moft .beautiful azure, the molt fplendent white, th e .regular appearance
o f a thoufand pyramids -of ice, are more eafy to be imagined than de-
fcribed. Such is the afpeft o f the glacier o f the Rhone., reared by na-
, tu re on a plan which fhe alone : can execute : we _ ad mire’ ithe maj eftic
courfe o f a rivet, without fufpefting th a t what gives it birth and.mainta
in s its waters may be ftill more .majeftic and magnificent.” H e
afterwards defcribes th e river as iffiiing from a vault lof ,i%Q, as tr a n s parent
as c ry fta l; and illuminated by ftE.eams. M ;ftm fb in e -d a r tin g
th ro u g h apertures in the f-odfi -
Tn the Vallais, above Siders,- th e banks’ -o f -th is river a re Angularly
ftudded with conical hill?, fometimes -crowned w ith wood, Sometimes
■with ancient «allies. O n the n orth o f Sw i& rlan d the RMne, near th e
village o f Neuhaufen, defcends in" a c ataraft of,4o.'feetf amidft b t e k
and horrid rocks. Among th e ' milder charms *©fi Swifferland may
~be -named th e Takes, # n d th e fmall lake- o f.(. tKaadelg Si^%Hbears at
one extremity th e charms 01 fum m sr, while the-’ other->f*refent§ ■ th e
.glaciers and pomp o f winter. Numerous rills, which d.efcfind from the
mountains, often fall in cafcades o fg r e a t beauty,''among- which that o f
fitaubbaeh -is computed a t 900 feet, over a rock as perpendicular as a.
wall.'3 T h e verdant vales, fometimes bordered with perpetual ice, alfo
delight th e traveller; who may be inclined, in thefe corrupt times, to
•confider as a natural curiolity the fran k and fimpie manners o f the
inhabitants.
•«. JBonmt, jii, 16j . "'"-A* ;• . -'-v- --
GERMAN STATES.
c h a p r , j i ; r 1.
G e n e r a l D E s cE 'iP T to ^ o F 'G e r m a n y ..
EKtepii-^Mupdairtes.’— Original Population*— PFogr$flfcu& Geogr'apBy.-^^i/lorieaF
’ .—Religion,—populations— Arniy.—- ffiatvy.— Lapgnage^-^
\^nftur^.— Roads.— Face rfl fh.&, tykfp^dopptaips'.-r^
- S r ^ ° fanp —- ’e y - ■
"ftofiti'e's.
JN d e f c r i b ip g ( an extenfive country,^fubdiyjdefl, d n fom h n y ftates,,
th ^ ^ #w in d i§ ) e n f a h le to give a general idea: o f fphje wh o le ,^e f^rg
$ e‘ refpeftive territories are .delineated. The,' geography o f Germany
i$ th e moft perplexedtof an y region on thet g lobe , ft h e great divifiohsjmF
circles, b e in g n ow interwoven, and almoft;anfiquhted,iw hile .no modern;
and more rational diftributioii has yet' appeared. 1 This*- obfervation?
fveh extends -to the inferior fates-,' many o f which-' are em lm ees} or
m o stifed in each other.
j: >G^tpany, a fe n& e red in its modem Kmits,>exteads--abcfut 6cm Britifh Ektenu
miles in length, from the ifle of- Rdgen i n themorth, to the fau th e tti
limits o f the circle b f Auftria. T h e mddermhreadth, from the Rhine
to th e . eaftern boundary b f Silefiaj is aboUt^fre^Brftifh‘ m ile s : ’ancifetttly
th e breadth extended beyond the Viftula, about a©b. miles .'more -tocher
eaft,.a fpace fince filled by th e Poles, a Slavonic nation.
This