ned with fir-branches and
ribbons, occupied by the wives and daughters of the nobles and people,
and with insurgent peasants, the infantry with their gun brought up the
rear. It was not a bad picture of the old time, the weapons shone in
the sunshine, and the figures rose, sharply defined, from the dazzling
snow.

"The performance began about three o'clock, and lasted four hours. The
success exceeded all expectation; the house was filled, and the
applause loud. I experienced painful moments behind the scenes, as for
instance when the fighting heroes, in spite of all admonitions, would
strike at each other with their long sharp swords, so that the sparks
flew, and I was obliged to be contented that only a few drops of blood
flowed from a slight wound in the hand. The play was followed by a
supper to all who had cooperated, and the gentry of the village, and
lastly a dance. The knights danced in their armour till midnight,
having put it on about mid-day. I concluded, therefore, that this race
had not degenerated in bodily strength from their forefathers, who
fought at Murten and Granson.

"The two following representations went off as fortunately as the
first. The population streamed in from far and near, also travellers
from Basle, Zuerich, and other cities. Since that one-and-twenty years
have passed; in the new school buildings there is a theatre, in which
the scholars perform small pieces; but the worthy men still look back
with pride to the great performances of their youth.

"One consequence of this play was, that the master became a part of the
joyous recollections of the Swiss villages. The house which the
community had hired for the institution, and the dwelling of the
master, a provisional locality, stood with its front to the old
high road; behind lay the little garden, at the back of which was a
meadow belonging to the house which pastured two goats, and on which
fruit-trees were planted. My abode was on the ground-floor; on the
first storey, to which there was a narrow steep staircase, was the
school-room and a reception-room. In summer acquaintances from the
neighbourhood came frequently, and relations from home visited us,
delighting in the country and in the well-disposed people. The
holiday-time was gladly made use of for expeditions among the
mountains. The close intercourse with the men of the village was also
beneficial to the school, of which the wants were amply supplied.
Without any application,