Lion Monument carved in 1819 by B. Thorvaldsen.
Hotel du Cygne ~ It is rainy and cloudy again today, but at intervals among the shifting clouds we can see the mountains around us. Lucerne is directly upon the lake; on one side of the city rises the steep Mount Pilatus, on the other, but further off towers the Rigi (spelt in several ways). Up to this evening we have not seen the summit of either mountain, both are above the clouds. Lucerne is surrounded on all sides but one by high land and seems to be a fitting portal to the majestic scenery of the Oberlands. Our rooms are large, connect and have each two windows that look out over the Lake with a little balcony in front. I could almost toss a cigar into the water from them. This afternoon during a pause in the rain, we went to see the lion designed by Thorvaldsen and cut in solid rock, in memory of the Swiss guard who fell while defending the palace of Luis 16th. It is colossal in size and cut in the face of a perpendicular rock, so that it rests in a niche formed by cutting the figure. The lion is 26 feet long but as it is above one and proportions well preserved it does not look very large. He is in a crouching attitude, transfixed by a dart, with his paw resting on a shield on which are engraved the “fleur de lis” of France. The whole design is full of grace, life, and feeling. Our rooms cold and damp. We bought some Swiss wood carving on our way home.
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