Switzerland - free ebook by Lina Hug

RICHARD STEAD

NEW YORK G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS London: T. FISHER UNWIN 1890 Copyright, 1890 by G. P. Putnam's Sons Entered at Stationer's Hall, London By T. Fisher Unwin Press of G. P. Putnam's Sons New York...

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THE STORY OF GREECE. By Prof. Jas. A. Harrison THE STORY OF ROME. By Arthur Gilman THE STORY OF THE JEWS. By Prof. Jas. K. Hosmer THE STORY OF CHALDEA. By Z. A. Ragozin THE STORY OF GERMANY. By S. Baring-Gould THE STORY OF NORWAY. By Prof. H. H. Boyesen THE STORY OF SPAIN. By E. E. and Susan Hale THE STORY OF HUNGARY. By Prof. A. Vámbéry THE STORY OF CARTHAGE. By Prof. Alfred J. Church THE STORY OF THE SARACENS. By Arthur Gilman THE STORY OF THE MOORS IN SPAIN. By Stanley Lane-Poole THE STORY OF

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PREFACE.

For many reasons, some of which are obvious to the least thoughtful, the history of Switzerland is peculiarly interesting, and not least so to English-speaking peoples. In the first place, the "playground of Europe" is every year visited by large numbers of British and Americans, some of whom indeed are familiar with almost every corner of it. Then to the Anglo-Saxon race the grand spectacle of a handful of freemen nobly struggling for and maintaining their freedom, often amidst enormous difficu

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I.

The Lake Dwellers 1 -12 Discovery of Lake Settlements—Dr. Ferdinand Keller's explorations—Three distinct epochs—Daily life of the Lakemen—Lake Settlements in East Yorkshire....

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II.

The Helvetians 13 -28 Extent of their territory—Their government and mode of life—Orgetorix—Divico beats the Roman forces—Cæsar routs Helvetians—Vercingetorix—Valisians—Rhætians....

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III.

Helvetia under the Romans 29 -43 Cæsar's mode of dealing with Helvetia—Augustus—Helvetia incorporated into Gaul—Vespasian—Alamanni and Burgundians—Christianity introduced....

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IV.

The Ancestors of the Swiss Nation 44 -57 The Huns and their ravages—Alamanni—Burgundians—"The Nibelungenlied"—The Franks subdue both Alamanni and Burgundians—Irish monks preach in Switzerland....

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V.

The Carolingians—Charlemagne 58 -70 Pepin le Bref—Charlemagne—His connection with Zurich....

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VI.

The Kingdom of Burgundy; the Duchy of Swabia; and the German Empire 71 -82 Division of Charlemagne's territory into three—Rudolf the Guelf—Swabian Dukes—Genealogical tables....

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VII.

Burgundy and Swabia under the German Emperors 85 -94 Bertha, the "Spinning Queen"—Her son Conrad—Helvetia in close connection with Germany—Henry III.—Struggle with the Papal power....

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VIII.

The Reign of the House of Zaeringen 95 -100 Their origin—Freiburg and other towns founded—Bern founded—Defeated by Savoy—The Crusades....

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IX.

The Houses of Kyburg, Savoy, and Habsburg 101 -117 Fall of the Zaerings—Kyburg dynasty—Growth of Feudalism—The Hohenstaufen—Savoy—Rise of the Habsburgs—Rudolf....

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X.

The Confederation, Or Eidgenossenschaft 118 -130 The Forest Cantons—The Oath on the Rütli—Rudolf oppresses the Waldstätten—Tell and the apple—Investigation as to the facts relating to the foundation of the League....

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XI.

The Battle of Morgarten 131 -137 Attempt on Zurich by the Habsburgs—Albrecht—Gathering of the Wald peoples—Austrian defeat....

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XII.

The League of the Eight States 139 -146 Lucerne joins the League—Zurich follows—War with Austria—Glarus attached to the League as an inferior or protected State—Zug joins the Union—Bern....

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XIII.

Zurich an example of a Swiss Town in The Middle Ages 147 -157 Abbey Church of our Lady—Influence of the Lady Abbess—Citizens in three classes—They gradually gain freedom—Trade of the city—Zurich a literary centre—Uprising of the working classes—A new constitution....

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XIV.

Bern Crushes the Nobility: Great Victory Of Laupen 158 -166 Bern of a military bent—Forms a West Swiss Union—Siege of Solothurn—Bern opposes the Habsburgs—Acquires Laupen—Victory at Laupen—League of the Eight States completed....

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XV.

The Battles of Sempach and Naefels 167 -178 Opposition to Austria—Leopold III., Character of—His plans—Defeat and death at Sempach—Winkelried—Battle of Naefels....

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XVI.

How Switzerland came to have Subject Lands 179 -189 Acquisition of surrounding territories desirable—Appenzell—Valais—Graubünden—Aargau—Quarrels with Milan....

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XVII.

War between Zurich and Schwyz 190 -199 Dispute concerning Toggenburg lands—Stüssi of Zurich and Von Reding of Schwyz—Zurich worsted—Makes alliance with Austria—France joins the alliance—Battle of St. Jacques....

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XVIII.

Burgundian Wars 200 -216 Charles the Bold—Louis XI. of France—Causes which led to the war—Policy of Bern—Commencement of hostilities—Battle of Grandson—Morat—Siege of Nancy and death of Charles....

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XIX.

Meeting at Stanz, &amp;c. 217 -229 Prestige gained by the League—Disputes respecting the admission of Freiburg and Solothurn—Diet at Stanz—Nicolas von der Flüe—Covenant of Stanz—Waldmann—His execution....

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XX.

The League of the Thirteen Cantons Completed 230 -242 Maximilian—Swabian War—Separation of Switzerland from the Empire—Basel joins the League—Schaffhausen—Appenzell—Italian wars—Siege of Novara—Battle of Marignano—St. Gall....

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XXI.

The Great Councils, Landsgemeinde, and Diet, &amp;c. 243 -253 Two kinds of Canton—Constitution of Bern and of Zurich—Landsgemeinde—Tagsatzung—Intellectual and literary life....

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XXII.

The Reformation in German Switzerland 254 -268 Zwingli—His early life—His desire for a reformation—Appointed to Zurich—A national Reformed Church established—Spread of the new faith—The Kappeler Milchsuppe—Disputes between Luther and Zwingli—Second quarrel with the Forest—Zwingli killed....

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XXIII.

The Reformation in West Switzerland 269 -278 Political condition of Vaud and Geneva—Charles III. and Geneva—The "Ladle Squires"—Bonivard thrown into Chillon—Reformed faith preached in French Switzerland by Farel—Treaty of St. Julien—Operations in Savoy....

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XXIV.

Geneva and Calvin 279 -290 Calvin—His "Institutes"—His Confession of Faith—Banishment from Geneva—His return—The Consistoire —The "Children of Geneva"—Servetus burnt—The Academy founded—Calvin's death....

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XXV.

The Catholic Reaction 291 -302 Droit d'asile —Pfyffer—Carlo Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan—Borromean League—Protestants driven from Locarno—Switzerland an asylum for religious refugees—Effect of Swiss Reformation on England—Revival of learning—Escalade of Geneva....

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XXVI.

The Aristocratic Period 303 -314 Thirty Years' War—Graubünden and its difficulties—Massacre in Valtellina—Rohan—Jenatsch—Peasants' Revolt—Treaty with France....

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XXVII.

Political Matters in the Eighteenth Century 315 -323 Aristocracy and plebeians—French League—Massacre at Greifensee—Davel's plot—Bern—Its three castes—Constitutional struggles in Geneva—Affray in Neuchâtel....

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XXVIII.

Switzerland and the Renaissance: Influence of Voltaire and Rousseau 324 -342 Voltaire—Residence at Ferney—No special influence on Geneva—Rousseau—Madame de Staël—Swiss savants—Zurich a Poets' Corner—Breitinger, Bodmer, Haller, Klopstock, &amp;c.—Pestalozzi—Lavater—The Helvetic Society....

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XXIX.

The French Revolution and Switzerland 343 -359 Swiss Guards massacred in Paris—Insurrection of Stäfa—Treaty of Campo Formio—The Paris Helvetic Club—The "Lemanic Republic"—Surrender of Bern—Helvetic Republic proclaimed—Opposition by Schwyz, Stanz, &amp;c....

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XXX.

The "One and Undivided Helvetic Republic" 357 -368 A levy ordered by France—Franco-Helvetic alliance—Austrian occupation—Russian occupation—Battle of Zurich—Suwarow's extraordinary marches—Heavy French requisitions—Rengger and Stapfer,—Centralists and Federalists—Napoleon as mediator....

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XXXI.

The Mediation Act and Napoleon 369 -381 Conference in Paris on Swiss matters—Mediation Act signed—The Bockenkrieg—Six new cantons formed—Material and intellectual progress—Extinction of Diet—The "Long Diet"—Congress of Vienna—Completion of twenty-two cantons....

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XXXII.

Switzerland under the Constitution of 1815-48 382 -394 Dissatisfaction with results of Vienna Congress—The French revolution of 1830—The "Day of Uster"—The Siebner Concordat—Catholic League—Progress of education—Political refugees in Switzerland—Louis Philippe—Louis Napoleon—Disturbances in Zurich by the Anti-Nationalists—The Sonderbund War....

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XXXIII.

Under the Constitution of 1848 395 -407 New Federal Constitution—Federal Assembly—Federal Council—Federal Tribunal—Powers of the individual cantons—Military service—Neuchâtel troubles—Federal Pact amended—The Initiative—The Referendum....

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XXXIV.

Industry, Commerce, Railways, Education. The "Right of Asylum" 408 -421 Extent of trade—Exports and imports—Railways—Education—Keller the poet—The Geneva Convention—International Postal Union—International Labour Congress—Switzerland as a political asylum—Franco-German War—Summary of population statistics. Genealogical Tables 83 , 84 Index 423...

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SHOWING NAMES (GERMAN AND FRENCH), AREAS, AND POPULATIONS OF CANTONS.

[1] This grand total of the population, on Dec. 1, 1888, is taken from the provisional Census Tables issued by the Swiss Government in 1889....

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THE LAKE DWELLERS.

Who first lived in this country of ours? What and what manner of men were they who first settled on its virgin soil and made it "home"? These questions naturally present themselves every now and then to most thoughtful people. And the man with any pretensions to culture feels an interest in the history of other countries besides his own. But however interesting these questions as to primary colonizations may be, they are usually exactly the most difficult of answer that the history of a country

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THE HELVETIANS.

The history of a country often includes the history of many peoples, for history is a stage on which nations and peoples figure like individual characters, playing their parts and making their exits, others stepping into their places. And so the Swiss soil has been trodden by many possessors—Celts, Rhætians, Alamanni, Burgundians, Franks. These have all made their mark upon and contributed to the history of the Swiss nation, and must all figure in the earlier portions of our story. Dim are the g

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HELVETIA UNDER THE ROMANS.

On the surrender of the noble Vercingetorix, a valiant knight, but no statesman—he delivered himself up to Cæsar, trusting in his generosity on the plea of former friendship, and died a prisoner of Rome—the war with Gaul was virtually at an end. The sporadic risings that followed lacked the spirit of union, and led to no results of any consequence. During the seven years of his governorship in Gaul (58-51 b.c. ), Cæsar had completed the subjection of the entire country, with the exception of the

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THE ANCESTORS OF THE SWISS NATION. THE ALAMANNI; BURGUNDIANS; FRANKS; MEROVINGIANS.

The fifth century was remarkable for what may be called the dislocation of the peoples of Europe—the migrations of the Germans into the Roman Empire, and, mightiest movement of all, the irruption of the Huns under their terrible king Attila, the "Scourge of God." The mere sight of the hideous Asiatics filled men with horror. Never afoot, but ever on their ill-shaped but rapid steeds, to whose backs they seemed as if they were glued, and on which they lived well-nigh day and night, it seemed as i

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THE CAROLINGIANS—CHARLEMAGNE.

Under the last Merovingian kings, whose character is sufficiently attested by the name of Fainéants —sluggards—Alamannia and Burgundy struggled to shake off the Frankish yoke. Now the wealth and power of those weak kings were passing from them to their "Mayors of the Palace." Charles Martel, one of these "Mayors," defeated the Alamanni in a great battle ( a.d. 730), and Carlomann, Charlemagne's brother, had a number of Alamannic grandees put to the sword, and their lands confiscated ( a.d. 746).

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THE KINGDOM OF BURGUNDY; THE DUCHY OF SWABIA; AND THE GERMAN EMPIRE. (843-1100.)

The death of the great emperor brought this realm into utter confusion, the whole fabric of his wise and firm administration falling to pieces. All the heterogeneous and often refractory elements which his stern rule had kept in check burst their bounds and gained full play during the reigns of his descendants, who grew weaker and weaker, though with here and there an exception. The pretensions of the Church, which Charlemagne's own protection and fostering care had, so to speak, ushered in and

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BURGUNDY AND SWABIA UNDER THE GERMAN EMPERORS.

To return to the kingdom of Burgundy. Rudolf had greatly extended his dominions; in 919 he added to them the land between the Aare and the Reuss, and in 933 Lower Burgundy, which he had obtained in exchange for the Italian crown. The kingdom now comprised West Switzerland, Provence, Dauphiné, and Franche Comté. During the king's absence on military expeditions, and during the minority of Conrad, Bertha, the "Spinning Queen," held the reins of government. She is represented on the seal of the doc

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THE REIGN OF THE HOUSE OF ZAERINGEN. (1050-1218.)

The rule of the Dukes of Zaeringen ushered in a long period of comparative peace (1100-1218), which improved the social and material condition of the people. Yet this time of peace was every now and again interrupted in the west by feuds with the Burgundian nobles. This Swabian family took their name from the ancestral manor of Zaeringen, near Freiburg, in the Breisgau (Black Forest). The vast estates they had derived from the House of Rheinfelden on its extinction reached from Lake Geneva to th

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THE HOUSES OF KYBURG, SAVOY, AND HABSBURG. (1218-1273.)

We are nearing the period of their history most dear to the Swiss, the period when the Eidgenossenschaft is forming, but before reaching it we have still to make our way as best we can through a short era of chaotic feudalism and political confusion generally, preceding the great struggle for Swiss independence. On the extinction of the House of Zaeringen Switzerland fell a prey to the designs of vassal princes who had started into eminence on her soil, and now contended for supremacy over her.

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THE CONFEDERATION, OR EIDGENOSSENSCHAFT. (1231-1291.)

In the present chapter we have to attempt the task of separating truth from fiction, at all times, perhaps, a difficult, and often an impossible, undertaking, in matters of history. This chapter indeed splits itself naturally into Wahrheit and Dichtung . Fortunately the stories of Tell and the three Eidgenossen are everywhere well known, and will need but little description at our hands. A lake of exquisite beauty extends between the Forest Cantons, and, so to speak, links them together, the who

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THE BATTLE OF MORGARTEN. (1315.)

The primary object of the Perpetual League was to secure for the three Waldstätten that safety which the empire, with its fluctuating fortunes and condition, failed to ensure. Rich and mighty cities in Germany and Italy had joined in alliance with similar intent, but whilst these alliances had come to nought, the simple peasants of the Forest, hardened by continual struggles, had developed into a power before which even the Habsburgs were of no avail; for, gifted with striking political understa

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THE LEAGUE OF THE EIGHT STATES. (1332-68.)

One by one the Swiss lands were reached by the breeze of freedom blowing from the Forest Cantons after the great victory of Morgarten. Yet it was only very gradually and in small groups that the other districts entered within the pale of the Eidgenossenschaft. Eight states made up the nucleus for some time; indeed, till after the Burgundian wars, in 1481, they jealously kept out all intruders. In fact, the confederate states looked on outsiders merely as "connections," or subjects, and associate

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ZURICH AN EXAMPLE OF A SWISS TOWN IN THE MIDDLE AGES. (853-1357.)

We may perhaps do well to pause here awhile before proceeding to show how the various Swiss cantons were gathered into the fold of the Eidgenossenschaft—a long process, as a matter of fact—and devote a short chapter to a glance at an aristocratic city whose polity and development contrast with those of the Forest lands. Zurich presents a fair example of a city whose origin dates back to a remote age, and whose transition from the condition of a feudal territory into the position of an independen

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BERN CRUSHES THE NOBILITY: GREAT VICTORY OF LAUPEN, 1339.

The alliance of Bern was a great acquisition to the federal league. She formed the corner-stone of the Burgundian states, and brought them into connection with, and finally into the pale of, the Swiss Confederation. Her early history has been touched upon in previous chapters. True to her original position as a check on the nobility, and forming a natural stronghold, this proud Zaeringen town shows a singularly martial, and indeed dominant spirit, and runs a military and political career of impo

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THE BATTLES OF SEMPACH, 1386, AND NAEFELS, 1388.

Seldom, if ever, has Switzerland seen a more eventful month than that of July, 1386, for in that month she fought and won the ever-memorable battle of Sempach. To set down all the petty details as to the causes which led to this engagement would be tedious indeed. It is sufficient to point out—what is but a truism—that there is seldom much love lost between oppressor and oppressed, and Austria and the Swiss Confederation had for some time held that relation to each other. A ten years' peace had

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HOW SWITZERLAND CAME TO HAVE SUBJECT LANDS. (1400-1450.)

In the fourteenth century the Eidgenossen established a ménage politique of their own, and fixed its independence; in the fifteenth they raised it to power and eminence, and obtained for it an important military position in Europe. Yet though their family hearth was established, all was not done. The allied states could not stop there. They were still surrounded by lands ruled by Austria, by Italy, by Savoy; lands which could and did threaten the independence of the little infant republic. In fa

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WAR BETWEEN ZURICH AND SCHWYZ. (1436-1450.)

A gloomy picture in Swiss history do these civil wars present, marking as they do the chasm separating the Confederates, who were each swayed by a spirit of jealous antagonism. Yet it was clear that the town and the country commonwealths—citizens and peasants—formed such strong contrasts that they would not always pull together. Indeed, the smouldering discontent was suddenly fanned into flame by questions respecting hereditary succession that threatened to consume the whole Confederation. Feuda

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BURGUNDIAN WARS. (1474-1477.)

These wars raised to its height the military glory of the Eidgenossen, and instead of the limited sphere occupied by most of the previous wars, we find ourselves now watching a scene of world-wide interest and importance. Three Great Powers—France, Germany, and Austria—if such a term is applicable in the fifteenth century, are striving for the downfall of a fourth great realm, Burgundy, in some respects the mightiest of them all. The Swiss League, no less interested in the issue, is made the ins

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MEETING AT STANZ, 1481, &C.

Grandson, Morat, and Nancy stamped the Eidgenossen as the enfants gâtés of Europe, and as a nation of the highest military standing on the Continent, nay, even as an umpire in continental politics, and a guardian of the peace. Everybody lavished flattering praises on the prowess of the Swiss. Nation after nation made overtures to them—France foremost, Italy, the Pontiff, the Emperor, distant Hungary, and even England, this last desirous of breaking the French alliance. The meetings of the Federa

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THE LEAGUE OF THE THIRTEEN CANTONS COMPLETED. (1513.)

No traveller visiting the picturesque town of Innsbruck should miss turning into the Hofkirche to inspect one of the most remarkable masterpieces of German art, the imposing monument erected by Maximilian, of Austria to himself. Amongst the numerous magnificent bronze effigies adorning this monument, we find those of Rudolf of Habsburg, Leopold III., who fell at Sempach, Charles the Bold, and many others whose names are familiar to the reader of the "Story of Switzerland." But the grandest figur

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THE GREAT COUNCILS; THE LANDSGEMEINDE AND TAGSATZUNG, OR DIET; LITERATURE IN THE HEROIC AGE.

Perhaps no better place than this can be found for discussing the constitutional affairs of the enlarged Bund. A description of the rouage administratif of each of the thirteen republics would be far too tedious to the reader, and we shall therefore treat them collectively as far as possible. The cantons naturally split into two divisions, those à Grand Conseil , and the cantons à Landsgemeinde , the latter including the country republics, the three Waldstätten, Glarus, Appenzell, and Zug. We ha

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THE REFORMATION IN GERMAN SWITZERLAND. (1484-1531.)

The age of the Renaissance ushered in a century of intellectual revolution, and wrought remarkable changes in art, in science, in literature, in religion, and in every department of human life and energy. The space at our disposal will permit us to touch only on one of these developments, the religious. But the varying history of religious movement well-nigh fills up the sixteenth century. The revival of learning quickened the spirit of the Reformation, though most of the savants disapproved of

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THE REFORMATION IN WEST SWITZERLAND. (1530-1536.)

The history of French Switzerland has not yet been touched upon, and that for good reasons. It is difficult to realize that down even to the sixteenth century the French Swiss were still languishing under the ancient forms of feudalism, and this at a time when their German brethren had long been enjoying the blessings of national independence, and had filled the world with their military renown. But, in truth, the French were slow to awaken to republican freedom, and looked to East Switzerland r

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GENEVA AND CALVIN. (1536-1564.)

Political and religious changes had brought about in Geneva a confusion which Farel felt himself incapable of lessening. By vehement intreaties, therefore, and even by threats, he induced Calvin to join him in his missionary work, Calvin being already known to the world as the author of "Institutio Christianæ Religionis," a work that fell on men like a revelation. John Calvin, or Cauvin, was born at Noyon, in Picardy, in 1509, and was a northern Frenchman of superior intelligence and learning, b

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THE CATHOLIC REACTION.

The benefits conferred by the Reformation on Switzerland were counterbalanced by a religious schism which divided the land into two antagonistic moieties, and paralyzed political progress. The religious enthusiasm in Europe had spent itself in the first half of the sixteenth century, and the energy it had displayed had roused amongst the Catholics a corresponding activity. They were led by the famous Philip II. of Spain, but fortunately Queen Elizabeth of England was able to withstand the attack

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THE ARISTOCRATIC PERIOD. (1600-1712.)

In the life of nations no less than of individuals there are vicissitudes, alternations of prosperity and adversity. If the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries witnessed the glorious rise of the Swiss people, the seventeenth and eighteenth saw the political decline of the Republic. Even the Reformation itself led the way to this decline by lodging all power—political, fiscal, moral, and educational—in the Protestant cantons in the hands of the governments. Patriotism was on the wane, and the old

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POLITICAL MATTERS IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.

Politically Switzerland presents much the same aspect in the eighteenth as in the previous century, and it needs here only a few words to indicate more clearly the temper of the times. In Swiss lands, as elsewhere, we have the inevitable division into the two classes of governor and governed. The rank and file of the "reigning families," regiments-fähig , patricians or plutocrats, rigorously kept all power to themselves, and held sway over the ordinary burghers and common folk. Unchecked rule an

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SWITZERLAND AND THE RENAISSANCE. INFLUENCE OF VOLTAIRE AND ROUSSEAU.

Barren and uninviting is the waste of politics in Switzerland at this period of our story, and it seemed as if the republic was quietly crumbling out of active existence. But the literary and scientific renaissance runs through it all like a fertilizing stream, and saves it from utter sterility. Feeble though it was politically, Switzerland yet produced on all sides men of mark in science, in literature, in philosophy. Time would fail to tell of them all, and we must be content to follow briefly

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THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND SWITZERLAND. (1790-1798.)

None of our readers will need to be told the story of the French Revolution, nor shown that it was the natural outcome of previous misgovernment and oppression. Every one has read of the miseries of the lower classes—intolerable beyond description; of the marvellous inability of the nobles and clergy to see that amidst all their selfishness and pleasures they were living on the very edge of a frightful volcano; of the tiers-état and its emancipatory movement, which, outgrowing its primary intent

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THE "ONE AND UNDIVIDED HELVETIC REPUBLIC." (1798-1803.)

The day of the "one and undivided Helvetic Republic" was a period of "storm and stress," short-lived, full of creative ideas and vast schemes, with much struggling for what was most noble in the principles of the Revolution. Yet Helvetia was torn by inner dissensions, and its energies paralysed by civil and foreign war, by its position of dependence, and by financial difficulties. The Helvetic scheme of pounding the various members of the Confederation into one state wiping out the cantons—a sch

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THE MEDIATION ACT AND NAPOLEON. (1803-15.)

From a constitutional point of view this period—the mediation period (1803-13)—is the most satisfactory portion of the epoch between the French revolutions of 1789 and 1830. It suited Napoleon's fancy to assume the position of a directing providence to the Alpine lands. And, finding that the federalists and the centralists of Switzerland—the laudatores temporis acti and the progressivists—were quite unable to agree upon a compromise, it pleased him to give the country a new constitution. He stop

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SWITZERLAND UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF 1815-48.

The history of the thirty-three years following 1815 may, so far as Switzerland is concerned, be summed up in this description—it was a protest, latent at first and afterwards open and declared, of the Swiss people against the decrees of the Vienna Congress, which tended to stop the wheel of progress. The Swiss struggled onwards through the conflicts of political development, and battled against all that was a hindrance to them in the constitution of 1815, the Powers looking on with misgiving if

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UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF 1848.

The year 1848, which crowned the noble aspirations of the Regeneration period in Switzerland, marks a fresh starting-point in the history of the country. Providence had dealt graciously with the little republic. France, Prussia, and Austria were battling with the "February Revolution," and were thus prevented from dealing out to her the fate of unhappy Poland. Meanwhile eminent Swiss statesmen were drafting the new Federal Constitution which was to bind the various nationalities into one people,

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INDUSTRY, COMMERCE, RAILWAYS, EDUCATION THE "RIGHT OF ASYLUM."

Our story must be brought to a close with a short account of several important matters on which nothing has as yet been said, viz., the industrial condition of the country, and its material progress. Hardly any other country has had to contend with so many natural disadvantages as Switzerland, in prosecuting her industries and establishing her trade. The difficulty of the country, the absence of coal and iron, the want of navigable rivers, the scanty produce of the soil in the more elevated dist

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The Story of the Nations.

Messrs. G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS take pleasure in announcing that they have in course of publication, in co-operation with Mr. T. Fisher Unwin, of London, a series of historical studies, intended to present in a graphic manner the stories of the different nations that have attained prominence in history. In the story form the current of each national life is distinctly indicated, and its picturesque and noteworthy periods and episodes are presented for the reader in their philosophical relation to ea

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