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

18/318 (page 4)
advancing in isolated promontories and outposts; there, grouped into a congeries of hills, or shooting up in serrated and precipitous ridges ; but towards the base, variegated by intricate and romantic valleys, and labyrinths of rich meadow land, which give striking ornament and relief to the sombre forests in which the whole chain is enveloped. This passage of the Jura abounds in every variety of scenerythe simple and picturesque, the savage and the sublime, follow one another in such rapid succession, and are assembled in such remarkable juxta- position, as to defy all description or classification. The ascent is full of interest, and the impression not a little strengthened by the sense of personal risk which the traveller must at times encounter before he can accomplish his task. Winter is the season when it is to be seen in all its wildest magnificence, for then the snow-sledges supersede almost every other vehicle of locomotion, and, preceded and followed by horses and mules in long procession, with a constant tinkling of bells, present at first sight a most novel and picturesque effect. After pursuing for some leagues a steep, rugged, and circuitous route, winding, at one time, along a deep ravine, or the deserted bed of some ancient torrent; at another, under the threatening verge of precipitous rocks, we reach the immediate frontiers of Helvetia. From La Vattay, a town shut up in the deep obscurity of pine forests, and enjoying most perfect seclusion, a shelving, terraced road conducted us up the Dole,* whose isolated summit presents one of the boldest features in the Jura. Here, at an immense elevation above the valley, a new world opened upon us, and we unexpectedly found ourselves on the almost perpendicular side of the mountain. The pine-covered precipices upon which we stood gave us a full command of the wild undulating forest scenery around, which plunged, as it were, into an extensive plain, where gleaming spires, villages, and chateaux, swam beneath us like a floating cloud. Stretching away in far perspective to the shores of the Leman—from which a pale, transparent vapour crept slowly upward, dilating as it ascended—the vast forms of confused and blending mountains towered range above range in shadowy grandeur : while, loftier still, and lifted into the serene purple of an evening sky, the eternal Alps burst suddenly upon our view, and, by an irresistible fascination, held us for a time in fixed and silent admiration. The sublimity of this scene has been acknowledged by general acclamation, and the glowing colours with which it has been invested by the author of Eloise * Or Dolaz :—4,000 feet above the Lake of Geneva, and commanding the Alpine Chain to the extent of 100 leagues.