We joined the equestrians on the summit, where the horses were discharged, and we proceeded the remainder of the distance on foot.  We soon met the Bear of Berne, and entered the great canton.  The view of the valley of Meyringen, and of the cataracts, greeted us like an old friend; and the walk, by a path which wound its way through the bushes, and impended over this beautiful panorama, was of course delightful.  At length we caught a glimpse of the lake of Brientz, and hurrying on, reached the village before two.

Here we ordered a gouter, and, while taking it, the first English party we had yet seen, entered the inn, as we were all seated at the same table.  The company consisted of this English party, ourselves, and a solitary Frenchman, who eyed us keenly, but said nothing.  It soon appeared that some great political crisis was at hand, for the Englishman began to cry out against the growing democracy of the cantons.  I did not understand all his allusions, nor do I think he had very clear notions about them himself, for he wound up one of his denunciatory appeals, by the old cant, of “instead of one tyrant they will now have many;” which is a sort of reasoning that is not particularly applicable to the overturning of aristocracy anywhere.  It is really melancholy to perceive how few men are capable of reasoning or feeling on political subjects, in any other way than that which is thought most to subserve their own particular interests and selfishness.  Did we not know that the real object of human institutions is to restrain human tendencies, one would be almost disposed to give up the point in despair; for I do affirm, that in all my associations in different countries, I do not recollect more than a dozen men who have appeared to me to entertain right notions on this subject, or who have seemed capable of appreciating the importance of any changes that were not likely materially to affect their own pockets.

The Frenchman heard us speaking in his own language, which we did with a view of drawing John Bull out, and he asked a passage in the boat I had ordered, as far as Interlachen.  Conditioning that he should make the detour to the Giesbach, his application was admitted, and we proceeded forthwith.  This was the fourth time I had crossed the lake of Brientz, but the first in which I visited the justly celebrated falls, towards which we now steered on quitting the shore.

Our companion proved to be a merry fellow, and well disposed to work his passage by his wit.  I have long been cured of the notion “that the name of an American is a passport all over Europe,” and have learned to understand in its place, that, on the contrary, it is thought to be prima facie evidence of vulgarity, ignorance, and conceit; nor do I think that the French, as a nation, have any particular regard for us; but knowing the inherent dislike of a Frenchman for an Englishman, and that the new-fangled fraternity, arising out of the trading-principle