Page:The Works of J. W. von Goethe, Volume 12.djvu/33

Rh the part belonging to Berne, before the causeway (which there terminates) branches off into two parts. Through a little wood of pine-trees we entered the French territory. Here the scene changed greatly. What first excited our attention was the wretched roads. The soil is rather stony: everywhere you see great heaps of those which have been picked off the fields. Soon you come to a part where is very marshy, and full of springs. The woods all around you are in wretched condition. In all the houses and people you recognise, I will not say want, but certainly a hard and meagre subsistence. They belong, almost as serfs, to the canons of St. Claude: they are bound to the soil (glebæ astricti), and are oppressed with imposts (sujets à la main-morte et au droit de la suite), of which we will hereafter have some talk together, as also of a late edict of the king's, repealing the droit de la suite, and inviting the owners and occupiers to redeem the main-morte for a certain compensation, but still even this portion of the valley is well cultivated. The people love their country dearly; though they lead a hard life, being driven occasionally to steal the wood from the Bernese, and sell it again in the lowlands. The first division is called the Bois d'Amant. After passing through it, we entered the parish of Les Rousses, where we saw before us the little Lake des Rousses and Les Sept Moncels,—seven small hills of different shapes, but all connected together, which form the southern limit of the valley. We soon came upon the new road which runs from the Pays de Vaud to Paris. We kept to this for a mile downwards, and now left entirely the valley. The bare summit of the Dole was before us. We alighted from our horses, and sent them on by the road toward St. Cergue while we ascended the Dole. It was near noon. The sun felt hot, but a cool south wind came now and then to refresh us. When we looked round for a halting-place, we had behind us Les Sept Moncels,