14. London, Paris, SW

[Jul 1854]

It was thus that I left on a sailing ship for London. It was in the month of July. We were thirty-six days in crossing. The voyage was agreeable, since we had only a small number of passengers. We encountered a gale of wind much like the one of the first crossing. At last, in the midst of a heavy rainstorm, we arrived at Gravesend, at the mouth of the Thames. The river is very wide at its mouth, and gradually narrows until one arrives at London Bridge. We next saw Greenwich, a little town where there is a hospital for sailors, old and crippled. It is there that there is a well regulated clock which gives the official time for all the English ships. All the maps which are published in Great Britain, have their first meridian at Greenwich; from there one counts toward the East or West.

At length we arrived in London. The commerce of this city is so extended that the two sides of the Thames are not sufficient for the ships which enter. There were therefore vast reservoirs dug, which one calls docks, which are connected with the river by means of canals. And so our ship was safely moored in the London dock.

I had little time for examining the city of London but she had nothing of the beauty of Paris. First of all, the town is so extended, that the smoke from the numerous chimneys must travel a long way not to settle on the city. This smoke rises like a fog, and in decomposing, lets fall a dust which soils the clothing and faces. The weak light gives an indistinctness to all the edifices. The angles seem less sharp. The houses are not very high, and generally of red brick, which becomes monotonous.

I went down Regent Street and walked as far as Hyde Park. This park was not planned by work of man. There are ponds and hills; the verdure is magnificent, which undoubtedly is the result of the dampness of the climate. Cavendish Square, which one sees before arriving at Hyde Park is perfectly level with gardens highly ornamented.

In Hyde Park I saw soldiers who had come from the mountains of Scotland, who are called Highlanders. They have a singular costume, having a skirt which comes to the knees, and no trousers.

In Cavendish Square there was an office of Buchanan, the Ambassador from the United States. I went there to have my passport signed, permitting me to cross France. There was a negro at the door, so I saw that I was not mistaken in the address. I showed my papers, having some time before declared my intentions of renouncing my Swiss citizenship and making myself an American.

In America, the idea is that as soon as a foreigner has sworn that he renounces his country, and has become an American, he must be protected by his adopted country. But the Ambassador told me that he had received an order from President Pierce, not to sign a single passport for persons not having their final papers. I had then to go to the Swiss Ambassador, to get a passport, without which I could not have crossed France.

From London I went to Paris, and I went to see my friend, Julien, who received me with joy. I spoke to him of salvation. He told me that an assemblage of "savants" had made a research to know what to hold concerning the divinity of the Bible, and that they had found that it was not divine. Therefore, he held with these 'savants'. Lelia: Scientist in French doesn’t necessarily have to do with science: a “savant” can be a learned person in any field, ex. History.

As to the dirigible balloon, it had been for the two brothers a ruinous enterprise. They had become associated with a theatre director, who had exacted much; and soon after, when the funds were lacking, it had been necessary to abandon all.

From Paris to Dijon by railroad; and from there to Ballaignes by stagecoach. There I gave my trunk to a coachman, who was going to La Vallee, and went on foot for Vallorbes.

Great joy for me and for my family, after an absence of two years. Soon I went to Bioux. It was there that I had true joy, in receiving so much light upon the subject which was closest to my heart. Jules Berney, the Fanchette [a surname], who was not yet his wife, Henry from Treycovagnes, (a village not far from La Vallée de Joux), were among those who convinced me not to join a sect. Walk with God. Walk alone as long as you are alone. And if God wants to give you companions, He will.

They gave me the address of a brother named Louis Charles Piguet from Brassus, who lived in N.Y. and also that (the address) of brothers Truan at Knoxille, TN, and they have me a book for them. Jules Berney, la Fanchette, qui n'était pas encore sa femme, Henri trey Covagne, furent parmi ceux qui me fait de ne pas vous joindre à une secte. Marchez avec Dieu. Marchez seul pendant que vousetes seul. Et si Dieu veut vous donner des camarades, il le fera.

On me donna l'adresse d'un frère nomé Louis Charles Piquet du Brassus, qui demeurait à New York, ainsi que celle des frères Truan à Knoxville dans le Tennessèe, et on me donna un livre pour eux

I was given the address of a brother (surely brethren) named Louis Charles Piguet (from Le Brassus, village of the Valley of Joux) that lived in New York and these of the Truan brother of Knoxville Tennessee. I was given a book for them. [Doms Jun 2005]

I went to see my friend Zing at Avenches, who showed me how to make a certain valuable ointment. In passing through Estavayer, I went to see my old childhood friend, Constant. Great joy at first; but when I spoke to him of salvation, he became cold, and we soon parted. I went also to Chaux de Fonds, to buy supplies for watchmaking, and at the same time, I passed a few minutes with my friend Henri, who lived at Pargots.

At home I found few changes. My mother lived alone with Jules who for the time-being, was working on the new road. He proposed to be married to Jeannette Mouquin, to which my mother opposed herself; and since he was under her authority until he should reach his majority, the marriage was postponed until the next Spring. It was then celebrated, to the great displeasure of my mother.

Upon my arrival George was at military training as rifleman, and returned within a few days. We had a long consultation upon his future, since, being a watchmaker, his work was not paid in money. In our valley, the manufacturers for whom one works have always a store where they sell a little of everything; and they pay their workers in merchandise but charging more when in payment for work. Thus one makes little, and, since number of manufacturers was but two in our end of the valley, one was obliged to bow before them to have work.

George, having considered these things, had gone to the Canton de Neuchatel. He would very much have wished to learn a certain branch of watchmaking which would have permitted him to live there, since one paid in money and that the parts of the watch there manufactured paid more than the work in La Vallée. I proposed that he come and join me in America. To prepare himself he must learn two branches of the work [il fallait apprendre le repassage et l'échappement à ancre.]; and since we knew that the tutor would not give money, I loaned George six hundred francs, which he was to repay me without interest when he became of age.

We left then for Le Locle, making the trip on foot. Leaving Mont du Lac at midnight, we arrived in the evening. That same night a fire destroyed the hotel of our village [l'hotel de la truite], and all the adjoining houses.

Here then was George placed, and with the prospect of becoming a watchmaker. And what made the sojourn in Le Locle pleasant was that my cousin, Francois Bubloz lived there with his family. There was also my friend, Henri Rochat, who lived at Pargots, a little hamlet near Doubs, on French territory. He lived at this place in order to escape military service