At Kussnacht they embarked on the lake of Lucerne, and as they approached the fine town of that name, they were enchanted with the views which presented themselves on all sides.

Lucerne revolted from the house of Austria, and joined the confederacy which had been partially formed. In 1386, however, Leopold invaded the canton with a numerous army, determined to bring the people back to their allegiance. The combined troops of the Swiss engaged the enemy at Sempach, and gained a bloody victory, in which Leopold lost his life. When his troops began to waver and fall back, he might have escaped; but determined not to survive such an ignominious day, he rushed into the thickest ranks of the foe, and was slain. His armour is still preserved in the arsenal of the place, together with a quantity of cords, with which, according to tradition, he intended to have bound the citizens of Lucerne.

The government of this republic is aristocratical, or rather oligarchical. The sovereign power resides in the council of one hundred, comprising the senate, or little council. The former is nominally paramount, but the whole power actually resides in the latter, consisting of thirty-six members.

The chiefs of this republic are two advoyers, who are chosen from among the members of the senate, by the sovereign council, and annually confirmed. In all elections, the relations of the candidate, to the third degree, are excluded from voting; and neither the father and the son, nor two brothers, can be members of the senate at the same time. This is apparently an excellent

regulation, to prevent the too great influence of family connections; but, however specious in theory, it is found to be useless in practice.

Lucerne being the first in rank and power among the Catholic cantons, is the residence of the pope's nuncio. The town scarcely contains three thousand inhabitants; it is almost destitute of manufactures, and has little commerce. Nor is this all....there is neither taste nor encouragement for learning; yet, under those combined disadvantages, some few have rendered themselves eminent by their literary acquirements. Our author mentions M. Balthasar, a member of the senate, and a man of great intellectual energy.

The population of the canton has considerably increased within the last century, a proof of the mild equity of the government, and the progress of the people in agricultural pursuits; for they have little else to depend on.

The cathedral and the Jesuit's church are the only public buildings worthy of notice; and they are laden with false ornaments, and disgraced by paltry paintings. In the cathedral is a fine-toned organ of large dimensions.

The bridges, which skirt the town, round the edge of the lake, are the fashionable promenades. Being covered a top, and even at the sides, they afford a pleasing view of the surrounding scenery. They are frequently decorated with coarse paintings.

On the arrival of Mr. Coxe and friends at Lucerne, they were introduced to General Pfiffer, an officer in the French service, and a native of this town. He shewed them his topographical representation of the mountainous part of Swit

zerland, which is extremely curious. It is a model in relief, about twelve feet long and nine and a half broad, comprising about sixty square leagues.

The composition is principally a mastic of charcoal, lime, clay, pitch, and a thin coat of wax; but so hard, that it may be trode on without damage. The whole is painted to nature; and represents the vegetable productions, the strata, lakes, towns, villages, and every object that can deserve the least attention.

The fine representation of a great part of Switzerland is taken from actual examinations on the spot, and has employed the general for many years. He takes his elevations from the level of the lake of Lucerne, which, according to Saussure, is about one thousand four hundred and eight feet above the level of the Mediterranean.

The general was extremely polite, and took a pleasure in explaining every circumstance connected with his model. He began this elaborate work when he was fifty years of age, and though in his seventieth, when Mr. Coxe last saw him, continued his annual expeditions to the Alps, with a spirit and ardour that would fatigue the most active youth.

Among the phenomena of nature, he particularized the Rigi, an insulated mountain near the lake of Lucerne, twenty-five miles in circumference, and rising to a perpendicular height of more than four thousand feet. It is entirely composed of gravel and pudding stones, and must have been formed by the waters.

Another singular curiosity is Mount Pilate, in the same vicinity, formerly called Mons Pileatus,

from its top being generally covered with a cloud, or cap. This word has been corrupted into Pilate, and a thousand ridiculous stories have been invented to account for the name. Among others, it is said, that Pontius Pilate, being seized with remorse, made an excursion into Switzerland, and drowned himself in a lake at the top of that mountain.

At the elevation of five thousand feet, and in the most perpendicular part of Mount Pilate, is observed in the middle of a cavern, hollowed in a black rock, a colossal statue of white stone. It is the figure of a man, in drapery, standing, leaning his elbow on a pedestal, with one leg crossed over the other, and so regularly formed, that it cannot be supposed to be a lusus naturæ. To this statue the peasants give the name of Dominic, and frequently accost it. By whom, or in what manner, it could be placed in such a situation, which has hitherto proved inaccessible to all, it is difficult to conceive. About the beginning of the present century, one Huber, a native of a neighbouring village, attempted to descend into the cavern by means of ropes let down from the summit of the rock. He succeeded so far as to gain a near view of this singular phenomenon, and was again drawn up in safety.

On a second trial he was suspended in the air, and was endeavouring to draw himself into the cavern by fixing a graple to the statue....At this instant the cord broke, and he was dashed to pieces.

Since that dreadful accident, no one has ventured to repeat the experiment from the same quarter. In 1756, however, General Pfiffer, and eight others, made a trial to penetrate to this sta

tue by a small opening on the opposite side of the mountain, which was supposed to communicate with the cavern. They crept on their hands and knees, one behind the other, and winding inthe bed of a small torrent, through several narrow passes, they, at length, discovered the light of the sun through a remote chasm; but as the distance seemed very considerable, and as the fall of a single stone would have precluded their return for ever, they deemed it prudent to desist, and returned without effecting their purpose.

In his different visits to Lucerne, our author traversed the interior parts of the canton, by several routes. In one, he proceeded to the valley of Entlibuch, not often visited by travellers, which is one of those districts that unites the mild and cultivated with the more wild and rugged scenery of Switzerland.

On quitting this valley, they crossed the Emme, over a covered bridge. The romantic situation "of Wertenslein, a convent of Cordeliers, overhanging the perpendicular banks of that torrent, attracted their attention by its singular beauty. At Malters, being fair day, they stopped, and dined at the table d'hote, in company with several gentlemen from Lucerne. In walking through the fair, they observed several booths for the sale of artificial flowers, which were eagerly purchased by the country girls, and stuck in their hats with a degree of rustic elegance not unbecoming.

Near Zoffingen, they passed through a narrow valley, bounded by a chain of hills, which presented a charming sylvan scene. As they descended towards Surzee, the vallies expanded; and coasting the lake of Sempach, they came to