LETTER XXII.

TO A. J. KEMPE, ESQ., F.S. A.

Generally-received Accounts of Freyburg, in Switzerland; how far the Writer agrees with the same. The Suspension Bridge of Freyburg the finest in the World. - Freyburg a Stronghold of the Romish Priesthood. Convents and Churches. Bare-footed Cordeliars. The Cathedral. The celebrated Organ. - Performance of the Organist. The Zähringen. - Town of Freyburg. The Lime Tree near the Rath-haus. -Interesting Tradition of Ancient Heroism. A second Suspension Bridge.

My dear Brother,

As I give you my accounts of places and things, not according to their generally received reputation, but to the impression they made on ourselves, I shall say much less of Freyburg (the capital of the canton so named) than travellers and books of travel usually say of it. I shall agree with them in telling you that this city stands on a very lofty promontory formed by the

windings of the river, the Saarine,—that many of its old houses are situated on the very verge of its precipices, and look as if a high wind would blow them into the river beneath, that

a long line of feudal and embattled towers and walls run "up hill and down dale," marking the ancient boundary of the city, that the buildings within the town are both shabby and mean; yet, that, on the whole, the place is like no other in Switzerland. Respecting all these particulars, I can add mine to the general voice; but I cannot join in the laudatory chorus, that Freyburg is singularly "striking and romantic,' and "highly picturesque." So far is this from being the case, that I never saw a town really possessing so many attributes of the picturesque (such as a lofty site, a winding river, withfeudal watch-towers and walls) that had so few pretensions to it. The heights on which the city stands, bare of all vegetation, resemble the sides of great sand-pits,-the Gothic towers have been kept in repair (at least many of them are perf ect), and have neither the tints of age nor the ivy crown of old Time upon them; whilst their

forms are rather clumsy than noble; and the river has neither colour nor clearness to call forth admiration, nor does it possess any adjuncts that are at all beautiful.

Freyburg in Freyburg has but one striking object belonging to it; and that is indeed one of the finest kind, a suspension bridge, the longest and loftiest of all bridges of this nature in existence; being no less than 905 feet in length, 28 in breadth, and 174 in its elevation above the river; truly a great and wondrous work of art, and one that may justly call forth a feeling of national pride. We were much struck with this bridge as we entered the city from the Berne road; though we all agreed, its means of suspension being effected by long pieces of iron that imitate ropes, was not to be compared, in beauty, to the Hammersmith chain suspension bridge that crosses "old father Thames." My notes respecting this Freyburg are brief; for when a place did not strike me, I cut the account very short, reserving my detailed notices for things more worthy recollection. It is quite true that Freyburg is a strong

hold of the Romish priesthood; since even in these days it contains five convents for men, and four for women, within its walls. One of these is a college, on a very large scale, for the Jesuits. We saw several of them walking about the town; and we saw, also, what was a curiosity (more especially to my companions), a couple of bare-footed Cordeliars. They wore their coarse brown monkish gowns, had sandals on their feet, and were decorated with their long rosaries. They were by no means a favourable specimen of the holy men of Freyburg; for they looked dirty and gross in their persons, and seemed to be coarse mannered, altogether vulgar, and swinish.

We did not admire the cathedral; it is, though Gothic, an ugly building, in very bad taste. Here, however, we heard the famous organ. Mr. Bray has already mentioned it in his notes about cathedrals, so I shall not say much concerning it, unless it be to agree with him, that the instrument was much too powerful for the size of the building in which it was placed. The vox humana stop deceived me;

for, on entering whilst the organ was playing, I fancied the choristers were singing. I felt quite angry with the organist (who could play well when he chose to do so), for he literally murdered one of the noblest of all Handel's compositions - the Coronation Anthem, by playing it as fast as he would a country dance! and left out the whole of the magnificent introduction, where the piece opens repeating, swelling, rising, chord after chord, in the rich volume of its harmony, till the "Zadock the priest " bursts forth in that power of sound that gives a thrill to the nerves, and makes the blood run cold with the suddenness, the richness, the rush of the subject, so nobly introduced. On the whole, what with the organ being so much too loud for the building, and the jig-like performance of the organist, I was rather disappointed than otherwise.

We had taken up our quarters at the Zähringen, at the head of the suspension bridge on the town side. We were fortunate in doing so, as our inn commanded the only portion of the