At seven we were on hand, and with the syndic and his sweet little girl we visited the finest Gothic pile in Switzerland, which was built in 1275, and consecrated by Gregory X. The form is that of the Latin cross. Formerly it had two towers; but one was destroyed by lightning, in 1825. Here are several fine monuments and tombs of interest; one an effigy in mail armor of Otho of Grandeson, and another of Pope Felix V., who resigned the papacy and became a monk, and a very beautiful one to the wife of Stratford Canning; the figures of which are eight in number, and two of them are by Canova; also the tomb of Bernard de Menthon, founder of the St. Bernard Hospice.
We returned to the Hotel de Ville and took breakfast with Madame Gadaud, for whom and her kind family we shall long cherish grateful recollections.
From Lausanne we took boat for Vevay. The port of Lausanne is the little village of Ouchy. I ought to tell you that John Philip Kemble, the great tragedian, is buried two miles from this place. We found the excursion on the lake very agreeable, and passed many pretty villages on the left shore till we came to Vevay, a sweet little town, of five thousand inhabitants, and is embowered in vineyards. It is about one mile and a quarter from the foot of the Alps. Here we had a view of the Castle of Chillon, and Byron was on our tongues at once. My great object in coming here was to see St Martin's Church, for here are buried Ludlow, the regicide, and Broughton, who read the sentence of Charles I. Charles II. could never get the Swiss to deliver these patriots into his hands. In the afternoon we took another boat and went to Geneva in about five hours, and stopped at Ouchy, Morges, Rolle, Nyon, and Coppet. At Morges is a fine old castle, in good condition. Nearly opposite Rolle we saw the hoary head of Mont Blanc, towering above the giant brotherhood of Alpine heights. We did not see Lake Leman in a storm, and though certainly beautiful in its adjuncts, not more so than Lake Erie. At Coppet was the residence of Madame De Staël.
We reached Geneva in the evening at seven, and went to the Hotel L'Eou. Here we were delighted to meet again with the Rev. Dr. Murray and Dr. Chetwood, and also to find the Rev. Mr. Chickering and Rev. Mr. Jacobus, with his family, and other valued friends.
The approach to Geneva from the lake is very imposing; but I was less pleased with the town itself than I expected to be. Its position is very grand. Its history is every thing, however. The Cathedral Church of St. Peter is a fine specimen of the Gothic of the eleventh century. The sounding board is the same under which Calvin preached.
The population is about forty thousand, including the suburbs, and thousands of tourists are every year residents for a few days. We had a pleasant morning at the Museum, where are some good pictures and many curiosities. In the library are Calvin's letters in MS., forty or fifty volumes of MS. sermons, &c. This same Calvin and this old town of Geneva have had much to do with our own blessed country; and we feel the agency of this man and this town in all our ten thousand joys and comforts.
I could not forget that here was the home of Merle D'Aubigné, the historian of the Protestant reformation, and that here, too, is the residence of the learned Gaussen, the author of Theopneusty, and of the venerable Cæsar Malan. Calling upon this last-named gentleman, I was delighted to find that the Evangelical Association of Geneva was in annual session. This is the great Protestant body with which the American Evangelical Union is in alliance, and for whose operations our friend Dr. Baird has awakened so lively an interest. I went to the church where the meeting was convened, and was introduced to Count George, a very pious Frenchman of fortune, who resides here and devotes himself to the cause of the Protestant religion. He is a Baptist, but is connected with the church which embraces several evangelical denominations. The count presided with great ability; he is a very elegant man, about thirty-four, I should imagine.
I had the pleasure to hear D'Aubigné give a report of his visit to Great Britain. He spoke for two hours. He is quite the orator, and had entire command of the audience, who wept and laughed as he proceeded. The historian is a very noticeable man, and strongly reminded us all of President Wayland, to whom his resemblance is very striking.
Dr. Murray made a few remarks on behalf of his brethren, and we were all invited to a soirée at the assembly-rooms in the evening. Perhaps two hundred and fifty ladies and gentlemen were present. Several addresses and prayers were made. I was announced for an address, but came late on the list; and having no fancy to be translated by a man at my elbow, I quietly withdrew at the fitting time. I was much pleased with Professor Gaussen, who is a very accomplished gentleman. He looks about forty-five, but told me he was very much older.
The clergy present at this convocation were from various parts of France and all the Swiss cantons, and I never saw a finer set of men in any clerical assembly. Pastor Malan is exceedingly venerable in his appearance. He is about sixty-eight years of age, his hair gray, and worn long in the neck, with a good deal of curl to it. His gait is quick, and he has much the manner of the venerable Dr. Beecher. This patriarch of Geneva is very cheerful, knows every one, and has a word for every one. He told me that he loved Americans, but that they had spoiled his habitation by stealing two of his daughters, who, he explained to me, were married to excellent clergymen in the United States.