1816: the Grandest Tour

Germany: Chapter 1

The next morning saw Isaac perched on top of the rattling carriage, bleary eyed with his collar pulled up against the light rain. Next to him was not, sadly, his friend Dick Blackford, but a rather taciturn Swiss driver from Lausanne named Jobert. He'd tried to engage the fellow in a chat with his rudimentary French, but had thus far received only grunts in reply. If forced, Isaac would have admitted he'd rather be traveling south with Dick, Hugh, and Robert. But he also respected George's plans, now that his employer had revealed the hoped-for rendezvous with this Susan Tilney.

Isaac knew little to nothing of Germany, so had no idea what to expect. One of the few facts he remembered was that unlike France or England, Germany was a region divided into many small states, each with their own rulers and laws. But then, he reflected, he hadn't known much of Switzerland either before setting foot in it, and it hadn't proven to be such a strange place.

Inside the coach, Tobias was dozing on one bench in the newfound – and welcome – space left by Robert and Hugh's departure. George, meanwhile, stared out at the distant countryside, pondering the vast journey behind and ahead of them. The parting from Hugh and Robert had turned out much more bittersweet than that with the Shelleys. Now the foursome (plus valets) which had intrepidly covered half of France together was broken up, and each half would have to shift for itself. George had a few lingering worries about the good judgment of Hugh and Robert, especially in southern France with its centers of gambling and debauchery. Still, they had a good valet with them in Blackford, and with any luck he would guide the two gentlemen clear of their worst impulses.

To pass the time George thought he might read: perhaps a guide to Germany, or one of Tobias's books on the language. But the majesty of the Jura mountains inexorably drew his gaze. Such great peaks reminded him of Scotland and home in a way, and yet in another seemed forbidding and alien. Perhaps these had inspired Mary in the wild ranging of her lost, unnatural creature.

In two days they reached Lausanne, the first large town after Geneva. Aside from a fine cathedral and great square castle that once served as the bishop's residence, they found little to interest them. A few curiosities also presented themselves, such as the practice of chaining criminals by twos while they performed menial tasks like cleaning the streets. Jobert told them casually that some of these men had been sentenced to such work for life.

Another troubling feature of the town, and the country that followed it, were the teeming masses of beggars. Among them were alarming numbers of children, and they swarmed the town squares with apparently little relief. When George asked Jobert the cause of this, his laconic answer was a run of bad harvests. The price of bread at the average inn was indeed higher than they were used to, and for George and Tobias this began to put the strange weather patterns of the summer into greater focus. For the peasantry such a wet, cold summer was no mere inconvenience – it was life and death.

Outside of the larger towns life was invariably more harsh. One afternoon saw the two gentlemen and Isaac sat on stools in a humble pigsty, eating only curds and whey. Something about this humble existence fired George's soul. It was like they were undergoing a strict penance, though for what sin he knew not. But this abstract thinking vanished when they came across pitiful sights, such as village children with great wens growing from their necks – caused, they were told, by drinking impure local water.

After another few days on the road they came to the gates of Berne. They stopped before going in to admire several bears, which were kept in a ditch outside the walls since they were featured on the city's coat of arms. After feeding the animals a few chunks of bread, they entered the city.

Berne was a well-preserved medieval town crowded into the bend of the river Aare, and it was here that George and Tobias first realized they had crossed the language frontier, into the Swiss cantons that spoke German. It was road signs that tipped them off, but straining their ears they could also make out the local dialect, which was definitely not French. They stayed in Berne for a few nights as there were several points of interest, and to rest from the journey so far. The great Protestant churches were certainly a contrast to the Gothic art they'd seen in France, and quite bare inside for theological reasons. Tobias – from his more reformed upbringing – admired them as much as anything before, but George regretted the lack of beauty and splendor.