lichen Zins), and a proclamation of the magistrates (1682-84) denounced those who lent money at a discount of 4 or 3 per cent., as "selfish, avaricious, and dangerous persons." Like many other Swiss towns, Bâle is much indebted to the liberality of its citizens, who continually bestow magnificent gifts and legacies for the public benefit. The Münster has been restored, and the Museum built and endowed by private means alone. Bâle was for many centuries an Imperial German town, governed by its bishops, under whom it appears to have flourished. It joined the Swiss confederation in 1501. The dissensions which broke out soon after 1830 between the inhabitants of the town of Bâle and those of the country, led to a civil war between the parties, and a bloody contest near Liestal occasioned the Swiss Diet, in 1832, to pass an act for the formal separation of the canton into two parts, called Bâle Ville (Basel-Stadt) and Bâle Campagne (Basel - Landschaft). Bâle Ville, however, refused to submit, and attacked the Campagne with 1600 men, of whom 400 were left on the field of battle, Aug. 1833. The diet then occupied the whole canton, and a final separation was made. Bâle Campagne consists of two-thirds of the territory of the whole canton, and has for its capital Liestal. The peculiarity of the half cantons is that they send only one instead of two senators to the Ständerath, but each has an independent vote. There is very good trout and grayling fishing in the Birs, and also in the Wiese, about 3 m. from Bâle, on the rt. bank of the Rhine. Railways.—A. CENTRAL STATION. -Direct line to Paris by Mulhouse and Troyes. Express in 12 hrs. 35 min. (Paris time is 26 min. behind that of Bâle, and on each side of the façade of the station is a clock—W. Paris time, E. Berne; French trains go by the former, Swiss by the latter. Trains are sometimes lost through ignorance of this arrangement. Swiss money is not taken on the French line, or French on the Swiss.) To Strasbourg and Paris; to Lyons, in 1 day, by Belfort, Besançon, and Dijon; to Olten, Zürich, Lucerne, and Berne. B.-BADEN terminus in Little Bâle or Klein-Basel, N. of the Bridge; to Freyburg, Baden, Heidelberg, Frankfort; to Schaffhausen, the Rhine Fall, and Constance. Travellers entering France can have their passports vise by the French Consul. Office close to the Central Rly. Stat., next door to H. Euler; open 11 to 1 and 2 to 4. Environs. On the Val Moutiers road, 10 min. from the Aeschen Thor (the S. Gate) stands a Gothic cross to the memory of the Swiss who fell in the Battle of St. Jacob, 1444. (See Rte 4.) On the same road, near Dornach, is Arlesheim, residence of the Bishops of Bâle between 1678 and 1792; and the English gardens of the Château of Birseck. About 3 m. from the town, just within the French frontier, is Hüningen, the great establishment for pisciculture. 21,600,000 impregnated eggs were distributed by its agency in 3 years. It is near the stat. of St. Louis, on the 1. bank of the Rhine. At St. Chrischona, conspicuously placed on a hill about 4 m. E. of Bâle, is an interesting missionary establishment. The salt-works of Schweizerhalle are 3 m. S.E. of the town on the 1. bank of the Rhine. They were established by the Baron von Glenck of Gotha, who began a series of borings in 1821 to reach the salt bed which extends below the cantons of Aargau, Schaffhausen, Berne, and even Valais. He was successful in 1835, and had a concession of the beds for 70 years on paying a tax of one-tenth of the raw produce, and supplying the canton at the rate of 2 fr. 70 c. the cwt. The total produce is 207,000 cwt. to his memory by his friend Bernouilli, was destroyed by the curé of the village, who was in the habit of repairing his kitchen floor with slabs from the churchyard. It has been replaced by a fresh monument at the expense of canton Soleure. Beyond Aesch the ruin of the Castle of Angenstein is seen 1., and the road enters l'Evêché, that part of the canton Berne which anciently belonged to the Prince Bishop of Bâle; the valley contracts, increasing in picturesque beauty as you advance. Zwingen and its castle are passed, and 1. a road by the Passwand to Ballstall and Olten. Laufen, a curious, old, and dirty walled village. Inn, Sonne. Soyhière (Germ. Saugern)-a village prettily situated, with a small country Inn (Croix Blanche), tolerably good. Here is the division of languages: part of the inhabitants speak German, part French. Bellerive no longer an Hotel. A contracted pass, the rocks of which on the rt. are surmounted by a convent, leads into the open basin of The valley of the Birs, commonly called the Val Moutiers (Münsterthal, in Germ.), through which this excellent road passes, is one of the most romantic in the Jura. It consists of a series of narrow and rocky defiles, alternating with open basins, covered with black forests above, and verdant meadows below, enlivened by villages, Delémont (Delsberg) (Inn: Ours, mills, and forges. A road was origin- good; Faucon). [Diligence daily in ally carried through the Val Moutiers about 5 hrs. to Porrentruy (Pruntrut by the Romans, to keep up the com--Inn, Ours), passing along the base munication between Aventicum (Rte. 45), the Helvetian capital, and Augst (Rte. 7), their great fortified outpost on the Rhine. As long as it runs through Bâle Campagne, i. e. for 4 or 5 m., it passes dirty villages and mean houses. On leaving Bâle the road passes the scene of the memorable fight of St. Jacob (Rte. 4). 4 m. farther, near Reinach, on the opposite bank of the Birs, is another battle-field-that of Dornach --where the Swiss gained a victory over a much larger Austrian force in 1499, during the Suabian war. The bone-house, near the Capuchin convent, is filled with skulls gathered from the field. In the ch. of Dornach Maupertuis the mathematician (d. at Bâle 1759) is buried. A monument, set up of Mont Terrible.] Fine view of the Jura and gorge of Moutiers. The bishop-princes of Bâle had a palace here. In the neighbourhood of Bellerive many Celtic remains have been found, particularly at Creux Belin and Roche de Courroux, opposite Vorbourg. It is unnecessary to pass through Delémont, as our road turns to the 1., following the course of the Birs, towards Courrendlin (Germ. Rennendorf. Inn: Cerf). Here we enter a defile higher, grander, and more wild than any that have preceded it. This is, properly speaking, the commencement of the Val Moutiers. Precipices overhang the road, and forests of fir cover the mountains above. In the midst of the gorge are the iron fur naces and forges of les Rondes, supplied with ore in the shape of small granulated red stones, varying from the size of a pea to that of a cherry. The rent by which the Jura has been cleft from top to bottom, so as to allow a passage for the Birs, exhibits marks of some great convulsion, by which the strata of limestone (Jura-kalk) have been thrown into a nearly vertical position. The gorge terminates in another open basin, in the midst of which lies Moutiers. [Direct road to the Weissenstein and Soleure branches off beyond the gorge, about 1 mile before reaching] Moutiers Grandval, or Münster · (Inn: Cerf, fair)-a village of 1250 Ìnhab., named from a very ancient Münster of St. Germanus on the height, founded in the 7th century, and now fast falling to ruin. [There is a good car-road from Moutiers to the summit of the Weissenstein (Rte. 3), a distance of 10 m. (3 hrs.), up-hill nearly the whole way, but fit for the cars of the country, one of which, drawn by 2 horses, may be hired to go and return for 20 fr. It passes Grandval (Grossau) and Gänsbrunnen. Diligence daily to Olten in 64 hrs., passing Gänsbrunnen.] At the upper end of the basin of Moutiers the road is conducted through another defile, equally grand, at the bottom of which the Birs foams and rushes, overhung by perpendicular cliffs and funereal firs. Court. The valley to the E. of Court, called Chaluat (Tschaywo), is inhabited by the descendants of the Anabaptists, expelled from Berne in 1708-11. They are distinguished by their industry and simple manners: the young men wear beards-they speak French. Malleray (Lion d'Or, a good Inn; capital trout). Convenient sleepingplaces either here or 3 m. further, at Tavannes (or Dachsfelden = badger's field) 2523 ft. (Inns: Couronne, pretty good; Croix). [From Delémont to Tavannes, a more circuitous, but not less fine route, may be taken, along the valley of the Sorne, through Bassecourt. It passes the ironworks of Untervelier (2 hrs. 40 min.), built in a narrow gorge; then ascends through the gorge of Pichoux, in 2 hrs. to Bellelay on a bleak table-land (3500 ft.). This was formerly a convent of Premonstrate monks, built in 1136; it is now converted into an excellent brewery and a glass manufactory. Cheeses, called têtes de moines, are exported. Hence 1 hr. down to Tavannes.] NVMINI AVGV VIA. FACTA. PER C.. VR.... VM. PATERNUM In honour of the Cæsars this passage was made by * ** Paternus, Duumvir of the Colony of the Helvetii. The archway is about 40 ft. high and 10 or 12 thick, and marked the boundary which separated the Rauraci, who extended to Bâle, from the Sequani. It was fortified by the Austrians in 1813. Here is the watershed, 2834 ft., dividing the streams of the Birs from those of the Suze. Sonceboz-(Inn: Couronne, good)— a village in the Protestant and charming Val St. Imier (Germ. Erguel), up which runs a road to Chaux de Fonds (Rte. 50), and out of which another branches S. to Neuchâtel from Villeret. The old road to Bienne descends the valley along the 1. bank of the to Lausanne and Geneva, to Bâle, Soleure and Olten. The Rly. from Bienne to Berne (4 trains daily, 1 hr. 10 or 20 min.) crosses at Brügg Stat. the Zihl, which flows out of the Lake of B. at Nidau; Inn, Bär. It next crosses the Aar by a lattice-bridge 800 ft. long, near Busswyl, and ascends its rt. bank to Suze, which forms several small cascades. The projecting rock of Rondchâtel was occupied in feudal times by a fort, and held by the powerful Bishops of Bâle, to whom it gave the command of this pass. The View from the old road on the last slope of the Jura, over Bienne and its lake, with St. Peter's Isle, and the district watered by the Aar, Emme, and Zihl, backed in clear weather by the snowy range of the Alps, from Mont Blanc to the Titlis, is exceedingly beautiful. On the bare limestone slope of the Jura, close to the road, are many granite boulders. (See § 16.) Bienne (German Biel) - Inns: *Couronne; H. du Jura; Croix Blanche-an industrious town, and Junction station of the Central and Berner-Staats Rlys. (Pop. 6053, 660 Roman Catholics) is prettily situated at the mouth of the valley of the Suze, at the foot of the Jura, here mantled with vines, and about a mile from the head of the lake of Bienne (Rte. 49). It is still surrounded by its ancient walls and watch-towers, and is approached by several shady avenues. Bienne anciently belonged to the Bishop of Bâle, but the citizens, early imbued with the spirit of freedom, formed a perpetual alliance with Berne in 1352, for the defence of their liberties, in revenge for which the town was burnt by its liege lord. The Reformation further weakened the connection between the town and its ecclesiastical ruler, and at the beginning of the 17th century his authority became nominal. [The Chasseral (or Gestler), one of the highest mountains of the Jura, may be ascended from Bienne. It is 5279 ft. above the sea. The view embraces Mont Blanc on the rt., the Bernese Alps and Pilatus and Rigi. There is a carriage-road as far as the village of Nods, about 3 hrs.; thence a footpath, about 1 hr., to the top. You may descend to Neuveville on the lake and rly. viâ Nods.] From Bienne, railway to Neuchâtel and Yverdon (Rte. 49), thence Hofwyl, long well known as the agricultural and educational institution of the late M. de Fellenberg. The surrounding district was little better than a bog when M. de Fellenberg settled here in 1799; but he gradually brought it into cultivation; and an English agriculturist, who had been sent abroad to investigate the state of farming on the continent, reported that here alone he had seen really good ploughing. The rly. leaves on rt. the picturesque peninsula of Enge, nearly surrounded by the Aar. At Tiefenau a lofty Road-bridge of 3 arches, a noble structure, has been thrown over the river. Nearly opposite the N. extremity of the Enge lies Reichenbach, which belonged to Rudolph of Erlach, the hero of the battle of Laupen, murdered here, in his old age, by his son-in-law, Jost von Rudenz, with the very sword which he had wielded at that glorious victory. The assassin was pursued, as he fled from the scene of his crime, by the two bloodhounds of the aged warrior, who broke loose at their master's cries. They tracked the murderer's footsteps of their own accord, and after some hours returned with gore-stained lips, and nothing more was heard or known of Jost von Rudenz. Rudolph was buried at the neighbouring church of Bremgarten, where a stone in the N. wall of the chancel marks the spot. A bridge of ingenious construction over the Aar carries the rly. on the top, and the carriage-road on a second story, into BERNE Terminus. (Rte. 24.) ROUTE 3. BÂLE TO SOLEURE AND BIENNE, BY Bâle. Liestal Laufelfingen . Olten Soleure Herzogenbuchsee Bienne Eng. m. 81 91 254 434 54 67 SOLEURE STAT. (Germ. Solothurn)— (Inns: Couronne, good and moderate; Cerf; La Tour; Bargezi, opposite the Stat.) Soleure, the capital of the canton, is prettily situated on the Aar, at the foot of the Jura range, 1397 ft. above the sea, and has 7036 Inhab. In the middle of the 17th centy. it was surrounded by fortifications of great extent, which took 60 years to complete, and consumed vast sums of money. In 1835 the removal of a part of these costly and useless works was decreed by the Great Council of the canton. It is on the whole a dull town with little trade and few manufactures, except lenses and mathematical instruments. At the end of the principal street, approached by a flight of steps, flanked by fountains representing Moses striking the rock, and Gideon wringing the dew from the fleece, stands the Minster of St. Ursus (the saint was a soldier of the Theban legion), an Italian building, finished 1773, by Pisconi, of Ancona; it is distinguished by its size, and on the whole is handsome. In the Sacristy are some fine Missals. The Jesuits' Church (Jesuiten Kirche) has a genuine Holbein, Christ on the Cross, 1522. The Clock Tower (Zeitglockenthurm), in the market-place (a continuation of the same street), bears a German inscription, which attributes its foundation to a period 500 years before Christ; it may owe its origin to the Burgundian kings. It is square in As far as Aarburg the road is the form, and constructed of the most same as in Rte. 4. Near Aarburg, solid masonry, rough outside, origiwhich is a little beyond Olten, it di-nally without window or other openverges and follows for some distance the rt. bank of the Aar: it then goes through a fertile but uninteresting country to Herzogenbuchsee, Junct. Stat. (Railway Restaurant, Inn: Soleil), a town of 4500 Inhab. Here our line leaves that of Berne (Rte. 5), and turns W. towards the Jura; crossing the Grosse Emme. Rt. is seen the hotel on the Weissenstein. The Aar is crossed shortly before reaching ing, for 80 feet. If we are to believe the two Latin verses on the front of this building, Soleure is the most ancient city in N.W. Europe except Treves: In Celtis nihil est Solodoro antiquius, unis By the side of the clock are some quaint figures. One raises a sceptre at the striking of the hour, and at every quarter Death turns his glass. The Arsenal (Zeughaus), a gable |