Volume 1

Switzerland / by William Beattie ; illustrated, in a series of views taken expressly for this work, by W.H. Bartlett.

Beattie, William, 1793-1875.

Date:: 1836

Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Switzerland / by William Beattie ; illustrated, in a series of views taken expressly for this work, by W.H. Bartlett. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

5 results

121/318 (page 55)

various forms and altitudes, are thrown from one wild chasm to another, thereby connecting localities, between which no previous communication had ever existed. Numerous galleries, cut through the solid granite—various aqueducts—the grand canal—walls that support and flank the whole of the route—refuges for travelling, and a thousand other objects of surprising labour or ingenuity, complete the vast enterprise, and fill the mind with images of the most novel and overpowering interest. The glory of having planned, and carried into effect, this more than Herculean task, belongs to the Chevalier Ceard.* It was commenced by order of Buona- parte, after the battle of Marengo, and completed in 1805. During three years of incessant labour, upwards of thirty thousand men were employed upon it. The road is of a width sufficient to admit three carriages abreast; it shortens the distance between Paris and Milan, by nearly fifty leagues ; and, although still exposed at certain periods of the year to avalanches and land-slips, the greatest precautions are observed, so as to diminish the risk of any catastrophe from those causes. But, under such circumstances, and in such a situation, human precau- tion may be supposed to be far from infallible ; and it is not long since an English family, consisting of five persons, were swept away by an avalanche, and buried in one of the abysses which skirted the road. In the month of May, 1811, eight persons were precipitated, by a like accident, into the Gulf of the Tavernettes. Similar disasters are related to have happened at various other points; but for the last few years, we were told, such lamentable occurrences have been happily unknown. We shall now present our readers with an extract from Dr. Johnson’s very graphic and accurate account of this remarkable route :—“ Crossing from Glitz to Brieg, the Simplon comes full in view, through a gorge or narrow opening, between two steep and piny mountains—the Glitz-horn and Klennen mountains. It is clothed with wood two-thirds up, then presents crags with straggling trees, and last of all, the snow-capt summit. The road first leads up the left-hand mountain, through a dense wood of pines, winding rather laboriously for nearly two hours, but still tending towards the gorge or narrow valley that separates it from the opposite mountain, and through which valley the Saltine, a rapid torrent, is distinctly heard in its foaming and precipitous course towards the Rhone. At every turn of this long zig-zag ascent, the Valley of the Rhone * The reader, who might be desirous to know more on this subject, may consult M. Cdard's very interesting work, entitled,—Me moire el Observations liistoriques et critiques sur la Route du Simplon, adresstis ti M.Dupin, Membre de I’Institut. Paris. Goeury. According to this authority, the labours of the Simplon lasted six years, the road being merely passable in 1805.—P. 34. The first operations, in the Vallais, commenced Feb. 9th, 1801.