CHAP. 1809. What is it, then, which has wrought so surprising a change in the manners and habits of the inhabitants in Europe of the great mountain girdle of the earth? What is it which has spread cultivation through wastes deemed in ancient times inaccessible to improvement, and producing the humanised the manners of a people remarkable only, Tyrolese character. 14. Influence of religion in under the Roman sway, for the ferocity and barbarism of their customs? What but the influence of religion; of that faith which has calmed the savage passions of the human mind, and spread its beneficial influence among the remotest habitations of men, and which prompted its disciples to leave the luxuries and comforts of southern civilisation to diffuse knowledge and humanity through inhospitable realms, and spread, even amidst the regions of 'desolation, the light of knowledge and the blessings of Christianity? Impressed with these ideas, the traveller, in crossing the St Bernard, and comparing the perfect safety with which he can now explore the most solitary parts of these mountains, with the perils of the passage as attested by the votive offerings even in the days of Adrian and the Antonines, will think with gratitude of the religion by which this wonderful change has been effected, and with veneration of the saint whose name has for a thousand years been affixed to the pass where his influence first reclaimed the people from their barbarous life: and in crossing the defile of Mount Brenner, where the abbey of Wilten first offered an asylum to the pilgrim, he will feel with a late amiable and eloquent writer, "how fortunate it is that religion has penetrated these fastnesses, impervious to human power, and, where precautions are impossible and resistance useless, spread her invisible ægis over the traveller, and conducts him secure under her protection through all the dangers of his way. When in such situations he reflects upon his security, and despises, "Him! he has never yet stole a Tchernemorsky cow," speaks volumes as to the real character of this people, and corroborates the unfavourable picture of their customs drawn by a much more experienced and judicious observer, Clarke, who describes them as a nest of freebooters. "The Circassians are almost all robbers by profession. The descriptions given of natives in the South Seas do not present human nature in a more savage state than its condition exhibits among the Caucasians. Instructed from their infancy to consider war and plunder not only as a necessary but an honourable occupation, they bear in their countenances the most striking expressions of ferocious valour and of duplicity."-See CLARKE's Travels, chap. 1, vol. ii 34, 35. CHAP. LVIII. 1809. recollects that these mountains, so savage and so well adapted to the purposes of murderers and banditti, have not in the memory of man been stained with human blood, he ought to do justice to the cause, and gratefully to acknowledge the influence of religion. Impressed with these ideas, he will behold with indulgence, perhaps even with interest, the crosses which frequently mark the brow of a precipice, and the little chapels hollowed out of the rock where the road is narrowed; he will consider them as so many pledges of security, and rest assured that so long as the pious mountaineer continues to adore the 'good Shepherd,' and to implore the prayer of the afflicted Travels, i. 98. mother, he will never cease to befriend the traveller nor to discharge the duties of hospitality." *1יי 1 Eustace's character of with that of Though inhabiting the same mountain range, and under the influence of the same climate as the Swiss, the 15. Tyrolese are distinguished by a totally different national National character; a striking example of the undying influence of the Tyrolese that difference of race which appears to stamp indelible compared features on the remotest generations of men. Both have the Swiss. the usual qualities of mountaineers—a bold and intrepid character, a frame fitted to endure toil, a soul capable of despising danger; both are distinguished by their uniform and enthusiastic love of freedom, and both have been made illustrious in every age by their heroic and martial exploits. But, nevertheless, the fundamental principles of their life are different. The Tyrolese is animated with an ardent and enthusiastic loyalty; attachment to the House of Austria has ever distinguished him; he mingles prayers for his beloved Kaisar with his supplications for his family and his country. The Swiss, nursed in republican ideas, abhors the very name or emblems of royalty. The Tyrolese is ardent, impetuous, sometimes inconsiderate; the Swiss grave, reflecting, always tenacious: the former seldom quits his native valleys for foreign service, and has never sold his blood in mercenary bands; the latter is to be found in the remotest countries of Europe, observation. and has in every age lent out his valour for foreign gold.2 *It is to the unceasing efforts of the clergy, during the many centuries that elapsed between the fall of the Roman empire and the revival of knowledge, that the judicious historian of Switzerland ascribes the early civilisation and humane disposition in modern times of the Helvetic tribes, and invariably the first traces of order and industry appeared in the immediate neighbourhood of the religious establishments.-See PLANTA'S Switzerland, i 17, et seq. 2 Personal LVIII. CHAP. Patriotic devotion strongly animates both; but in the Tyrolese it is dignified by disinterested attachment to the throne; in the Swiss, somewhat dimmed by its union with the thirst for individual aggrandisement. 1809. 16. Love of freedom which ani mates the people. Their cha racter and manners. Notwithstanding, however, the long-established and hereditary loyalty of the Tyrolese, there is no part of Europe where the love of freedom is more strongly felt, or its practical blessings have been more uninterruptedly enjoyed. In every part of the country, the bold and martial air of the peasantry, their athletic form and fearless eye, bespeak the liberty and independence which they enjoy. Often the people carry arms, universally they possess them; on Sundays or holidays they usually appcar with costly weapons in their belts or slung over their shoulders, as a mark at once of their wealth and privileges. The frequent exercise of the chase, and the universal practice of firing at targets and serving in the militia or trained bands, have given them a great degree of proficiency in the use of fire-arms; of which the French and Bavarians, in the course of the war, had ample experience. It was in a great degree in consequence of the extraordinary perfection of the Tyrolese marksmen, that the inhabitants of the province, with little aid from the Austrian armies, were enabled for so long a period to make head against the united forces of France and Bavaria. Their dress is singularly calculated to add to this impression. That of the men consists, in general, of a broad-brimmed hat, sometimes ornamented by a feather; a jacket, tight to the shape, but generally worn open, and exhibiting a red or green waistcoat; a broad girdle, richly ornamented, fastened in front by a large buckle of costly workmanship; embossed braces worn over the waistcoat, and supporting tight breeches, which, with gaiters up to the knee, are invariably made of black leather. The colours of the attire, especially about the breast, are brilliant and varied, and, with the pistols or knife stuck in the girdle, bespeak a degree of opulence rarely to be met with in the actual cultivators of any other country. But every thing about them indicates general and long-established well-being, and demonstrates that the opulence which industry had won, has been fearlessly and habitually displayed by the possessors. They are courteous and hospitable in their manner to 1 CHAP. LVIII. 1809. wards strangers: but they expect a similar treatment from these; and in no country of Europe is an insult more likely to be avenged, or is the peasant more ready to redress with his own hands any wrong, whether real or imaginary, which he may have received. Honest, sincere, and brave, the people are yet warm in their temperament; and acknowledging no superiors, and being but Malte little habituated to gradation of rank, they expect to be 516. Pertreated on all occasions on the footing of respect and vation. equality. But if this is done, in no part of the world will Inglis's the foreigner experience a more courteous reception, or 164. can he repose with more perfect security on the honesty and fidelity of the inhabitants.1 Brun, vii. sonal Obser Tyrol, i. 162, 17. freedom always. government. The two circumstances which have mainly contributed to nourish these independent and manly feelings in the Tyrolese peasantry, are the practical freedom of their Practical government, and the circumstance of their being, in general, which the proprietors of the lands which they cultivate. Though people have forming part of a despotic monarchy, ever since the enjoyed under acquisition of their province by Austria in 1363, the the Austrian Tyrolese have uniformly been in the practical possession of all the blessings of freedom; and from the earliest times they have enjoyed the two grand privileges of voting for representative assemblies, and not being taxed. without their own consent.* Impressed with the bold and impetuous character of these fearless mountaineers, as well as the vast importance, in a military point of view, of their country to the defence of the Hereditary States, the Austrians not only never made any attempt to infringe their privileges, but treated the inhabitants with such lenity, that they knew government only by the protection and benefits which it afforded. The taxes were so light as to be almost imperceptible; civil appointments were almost all filled by natives; municipal officers elected by the people; customhouse restraints were hardly felt; the con *In the Tyrol, as in Sweden, the four orders of nobles, clergy, burghers, and peasants, met in a general convocation at Innspruck, where the president was chosen by the suffrages of the united body. The Bishops of Trent and Brixen were usually elected alternately for that situation. In these assemblies, all matters relative to taxation, as well as the calling out the militia, were settled; and in order to facilitate the latter, a sort of conscription was established, and the days of service, being in general forty-two, were fixed upon. These days were a period of festivity and recreation to the youth upon whom the lot fell. To the latest times, previous to the cession of the province to Bavaria in 1805, these privileges had been religiously observed by the Austrian government.-MULLER'S Gesch. ii. 27, 29. LVIII. 1809. CHAP. scription was unknown. Four battalions of light-armed troops were all that was required by government from the province, though it contained seven hundred thousand souls -a requisition rather felt as a privilege than a burden, as it afforded a vent to their numerous and warlike youth-and these regiments were always filled up by volunteers. But the whole male inhabitants were enrolled in the militia, and regularly instructed in the rudiments of the military art and ball-practice. Twenty thousand men, capable of being augmented to double that force in case of need, were at all times ready to defend their mountains, and often, by their Hofer, 14, 15. Barth. 64, 72. hardihood and valour, rendered essential service to the monarchy in the most critical periods of its history.1 1 Malte Brun, vii. 516, 517. Gesch. And. 18. In the German Tyrol, the peasantry are almost all owners of the land they cultivate; a state of things of all The peasants others the most favourable to social happiness, when not of their land. brought about by the spoliation of others, and accomGreat influ- panied by a tolerable administration of government. It on their cha- is much less so on the Italian side of the mountains: are all owners ence of this racter. there, great proprietors, with their attendant evils of nonresident gentry and resident middlemen, are to be found. Hence, in a great degree, as well as in the original difference of race, the wide distinction between these two great divisions of the country in the character and independence of the people. Their look, their customs, their character, are essentially distinct. In the German Tyrol are to be seen a national dress, primitive usages, early hours, independent character, intrepid resolution; in the Italian, polished manners, harmonious accent, opulent cities, selfish craft, enervating luxury. The line between the two, however, is not to be drawn merely according to the flow of the waters into the Danube or the Po; the German population has overpassed the crest of the mountains, and come far down towards the Italian plains; all the valleys of the Adige and the Eisach above Bolsano are inhabited by the northern brood, who, with the harsh language and fair hair, have preserved the virtues and customs of their fathers. The population of German, is 550. Inglis, nearly four times that of Italian descent; and in all i. 164, 167. struggles for freedom or independence, though the latter Observation. has not been wanting in energetic characters, the weight of the contest has fallen upon the Gothic race.2 2 Malte Brun, vii. Personal |