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COSTUMES AND CUSTOMS.

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insecurity. We have been struck to-day with the picturesque and almost fantastic dress of the people; the men, and even young men, with the immensely broad-brimmed hat, which appears in many of Rembrandt's pictures, and the women showing a singular passion for the colour of scarlet. The throng, gathered in the village market-places, most of whom, by-the-by, are women-they are the sellers in market-wears an appearance as strange and bizarre almost as would an assembly of Turks.

There is, in short, no business or labour, apparently, which the women of this country do not perform. In the morning we always meet great numbers of them, either going to the fields with hoe and shovel in hand, or to the markets with the basket of vegetables or fruit upon their heads. This toil and exposure bereaves them of every feminine charm of person; though their countenances are not unamiable, nor more dull or coarse than might be expected in the circumstances. We learn from the attentive and sensible keeper of the Fortune Hotel here, (to whom I commend all weary travellers passing through Offenburg,) that women as regularly hire themselves out to work in the field, as men, and at nearly the same price-being eighteen sous for the women, and twenty-one sous

for the men, per day-they providing partly for themselves-i. e., they take soup for breakfast at home; their employer provides bread and a pint of wine for their dinner, they adding meat and eggs if they choose; and they expect supper from their employer.

VILLINGEN, SEPTEMBER 6.

To-day we have

been passing through the Black Forest; by which is meant, not a continuous wood, nor a level country covered with forest, but a succession of hills, clothed with fir trees principally, and looking dark enough justly to give its name to this extensive tract of country. Many of these hills wear a singular aspect; the foliage being bright and glossy, as well as dark: and the forms, bold and beautiful. The road, for thirty miles from Offenburg, leads up a small river, and through a delightful valley, which eventually becomes very picturesque and wild, and very much like what I expect in the scenery of Switzerland. The inhabitants, too, wear, I am told, the Swiss costume, and build their houses in the Swiss fashion: the former, that is to say, wearing large hats, and the latter an immense penthouse roof, much in the same style. They lookthe houses-very comfortable, though they must be very dark; and are delightfully scattered up and down among the hills and valleys--a thing we have

MODES OF BUILDING.

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scarcely seen before on our whole journey upon the Continent.

We saw a funeral procession to-day, of a very singular appearance. The coffin-it was that of an infant-was borne by a woman, on her head. A boy came after her, with a crucifix, bound with ribands and covered with flowers. Then followed a few men, and a considerable number of women, walking two and two-the women having black gauze caps on their heads, with a fringe of black lace, nearly covering the forehead, and singing a low funereal chant.

With regard to these large projecting roofs of the houses, and indeed the whole style of themfor they quite commonly embraced domicile, stable, woodhouse, carthouse, and barn, all under one roof-I cannot help again remarking, how suddenly, just in passing from one village to another, this new scene presented itself. Certainly, these people cannot be like our countrymen ; who, if they are about to build a house, or to do anything else, observe, as they pass through the country, how others are doing, and what improvements are to be made. The result, among us, is a great deal of variety, and a continual progress. But the people here, either never travel, or they never thinknever observe anything; else it would be impossi

ble for them to settle down, each village for itself, into this unbroken uniformity. And, indeed, they have nothing like the look of intelligence, of alertness and inquisitiveness of mind, that are seen in America.

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Switzerland-Schaffhausen-Observance of the Sabbath on the Continent-Comparisons of the general Aspect and Manners of the People on the Route, with those of our Country-Falls of the Rhine-Zurich-Zug-Righi-William Tell-Lucerne Thun.

SCHAFFHAUSEN, (SWITZERLAND), SEPTEMBER 8. We entered Switzerland about ten miles north of this, and the entrance was most appropriate. We had scarcely passed the boundary stone, with Baden inscribed upon it, when there sunk down a deep and narrow valley on our right-deep as if it were placed out of this world, and looking calm, undisturbed, silent, and sequestered, as if it did not belong to this world. We soon descended into it; and with a glorious and gorgeous vista of autumnpainted hills constantly opening before us, we rode all the way to Schaffhausen.

To-day is Sunday, and we are resting at this place. The Sabbath, all over the continent of Europe, it is well known, is partly a holyday. I con

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