Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 February 1914 — Châlef Life in a Swiss Village [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Châlef Life in a Swiss Village

by A. Z. Murray

I ”s\L fQB HAT happiness is to be found some|(l__whertfc outside himself seems to be J an almost universal feeling among IpH mankind. ‘‘Dort wo du nicht bist, |S| dort is das Gluck ” As the y ears pass by, the fallacy in it begins to h—ijt make itself felt, but each individual f5%%> has to find it out for himself in the school of experience; nor must he '— hope by any argument to convince those who "have not yet learnt the lesson. Thousands are now accustoihed to take an annual holiday in the Alps, but most of these, having only a few short weeks at their disposal, stay at a hotel. There,are, however, many—and their number is ever increasing—who go out with their families and spend the whole season in the mountains, yet who grow weary of continual hotel life, and seek after something that shall he not only more independent but less expensive, for to many the question of expense looms larger every year. Such can hardly do better than take a furnished chalet in the hills. There are many such to be found, and although rents tend to increase, they cannot yet be said to be excessive. The Swiss have realized thef fact that there is a growing demand for well-appointed chalets in good situations, so that many have recently been built and others are being adapted. Those thinking of taking-flash a chalet for the winter months wouM be well advised to see that it stands at an altitude of not less than 3,500 feet above sea level. Should it be lower there will be some risk of fogs from the plains and lakes rising above it, and of wet mud taking the place of firm, dry snow. It may be remarked in passing that for housekeeping purposes it is useful to choose a place within easy 'reach of some town such as Montreux of Interlaken, though much shopping is best done by post. If the house is large it will sometimes happen that the owner will retain a few rooms for his own personal use. In this case he will almost always be glad to give help whenever it is asked for: The average Swiss village, let it be said, does not usually provide the luxuries of a Capua, but the visitor will quickly discover where to obtain everything that he needs. He will soon find that his chalet can be managed with remarkably little servant power. “Centralheating" may be called a necessity, and, in a private house where the ventilation can be properly attended to, it does not produce the stuffiness that is such an undesirable feature in so many hotels. “At Rome a's at Rome” is a useful motto for those who live away from their country. The Swiss peasant has his own opinions and hip own way of looking at life. Therefore, a visitor should not be angry with hhn when he finds that he has a fixed notion that all foreigners are semi-mil-lionaires. Is it surprising that the villagers, being intelligent if somewhat narrow and uneducated, should 100k # upon the gens de sejour who come from afar and live in nice houses, and, so far as they can see, do no work whatever, as almost inexhaustible gold mines? They would hardly bo human if they did not use their, opportiinitles of making hay while the sun shines; only it rests with each visitor to see that he does not personally contribute an unreasonably large share of the hay. The dweller in hotels sees but one side of Swiss character—the outside; foi; though the Swiss may be business-like, he is emphatically not obsequious by nature. On the contrary, he is vigorously independent. The father of a large family will he grateful to receive any crumbs from the rich man’s table, in the shape of discarded clothes for the use of his boys, provided that they are offered , as from an equal to an equal, for he is very sensitive. But in a short time one of the boys will probably bring a basket of eggs “to thank monsieur and madame.” The writer was once aßked to photograph some girls, and a few days later a message came from the children’s mother: “Might she do some of the household washing free of charge in return?” That is not such a bad kind of independence! At least, it compares favorably with a variety that is to be met with, which thinks to show its independence in rough man--1 ners, but is not above taking everything it can get without making any adequate return. Take him all round, the Swiss peasant is an interesting and a good man to deal with. Suspicious at first, and sensitive always, he responds warmly when he is treated with tact and sympathy. One of the very first questions that occur to a possible chalet dweller is: "Will there be plenty of congenial society, or shall we be dull?” To which the reply must be made that the amount of society depends largely on the place selected, and its nature on one’s self. It is always possible to ascertain beforehand the number and size of the hotelß in the village, and these may be looked upon aB a fairly reliable index of the visiting population. Moreover, it has been the writer’s, experience that hotel keepers, far from looking askance at chalet dwellers, welcome them ( and willingly allow them the use of their skating rinks and toboggan runs on very moderate terms. Many chalets are now built with an «pen fireplace in the drawing room, where cheerful wood flreß may be lighted. And, let it be remembered, that in most places, wood is so plentiful that within a few minutes’ walk of the chalet sackfuls of fir cones and armfuls of sticks and logß may be collected; nor is it possible to exhaust the supply. Yet in the daytime artificial heating can often be dispensed with. Day after day the sun shines in cloudless beauty, and it is possible to sit out on the balcony readiiig hour after hour. So dry Is the air that snow evaporates with the heat more rapidly than it melts, so that unless the thaw be vary pronounced there is a total absence of “slush." Last winter, a week of snow at the'beginning of December was followed by six weeks of

daily sunshine. This period gave way in turn to a time when snow and frost transformed the whole countryside into a perfect fairyland. The snow is crisp but not wet, the air keen yet not raw, and everyone comes in with the glow of health on his countenance. Though it Is possible to feel pleasantly tired in such air after a long tramp or a big ski ing expedition, there is never a sensation of Aeariness. Here and there in a sheltered cor-

ner the sun will chase away the snow, and almost instantly a few stray primroses and gentians—the forerunners of spring—will burst into flower. Even in December, if the season be a mild one, they may be found. A little later, fields of delicate snowflakes are common locally. With the lengthening days of February and March, when the sun, rising higher in the heavens, disperses the 'snow, every meadow and pasture teems with the loveliest of flowers. There seems to be no end to Nature’s prodgality. Acres and acres of cowslips, of a size and richness not known to England, bloom uninterruptedly for more than six weeks. Anemones, white and yellow, large and small, thrive in the wildest profusion; while in the woods, fragrant daphne is followed by the wild lily of the valley. In many places the pheasant eye narcissus grows as thick as grass, and scents the while neighborhood. Indeed, from a distance Qf tqn miles, the mountain

“Alps” appear as if sprinkled with snow, but on a closer approach they are seen to be covered with narcissi. So profuse are they that the hosts of visitors who carry away axmfuls every day make no noticeable impression. Most people have at least heard of the fields of wild narcissi that extend from Les Avants all the way into the Gruyeres country, and many have seen them; but not so many are aware that they may be seen in numerous other districts qf the Alps. In every valley golden globe flowers grow in masses that catch and reflect the sunlight while orchids and

lilies of many kinds and colors vie with each other in brilliancy. A little higher up at the melting of the snows may be found the >delicate soldanella, most modest of flowers; but perhaps more gorgeous than any other, at least when seen in masses, is the gentiana verna, whose intense azure blue, spread on the vivid green of the young grass-shoots, forms a natural carpet of unsurpassable loveliness. Amid such a Paradise of flowers the idea of an artificial garden is unthinkable! It will sometimes happen that a late snowfall will occur even in April or May. The calei

dweller may come down to breakfast and find a couple of feet of snow outside his windows. While he is breakfasting, the sun rushes out from' behind a neighboring ridge, and in an hour or two there is no more snow. That same afternoon roads and meadows will be dry and flowers once more firm and upright. Soon it becomes too hot to sit in the sun. That is the end of the winter season. - , For those who have become weary of the noise and hurry and dirt of town life, what greater change could be imagined? It may be that there will come a moment to the chalet dweller when he will feel, mingled with reluctance at leaving the calm life of the mountains, a certain anticipatory joy at the thought of returning once more to the crowded days of city life. But what oi * that ? It only means that the spell has worked —that the cure is complete.

A Typical Swiss Châlet

In the Village—a Frozen Fountain

A Frozen Cascade, in the Chalet Grounds