being the same as in France, viz. 1 fr. 50 c. for each horse per post, and 75 c. to the postilion, except that for every person in the carriage above the number of horses 1 fr. 50 c. is charged instead of 1 fr. (as in France). The postboys expect 40 sous a post.

Diligences go twice a-day to Lausanne, and four times a-week to Martigny. A voiturier will take about 6 hours to Lausanne, exclusive of stoppages. The tolls at each post are heavy.

N.B. The road by the S. shore of the lake (Route 57) to St. Maurice is 2 posts shorter than this by Lau

sanne.

The greater part of the first stage out of Geneva lies among villas and pleasure-grounds not unlike English country-seats. Few spots in Europe present so many admirable sites for a dwelling as the shores of Lake Leman in full view of Mont Blanc. About a mile from Geneva the Hotel of Sécheron is passed. After a mile or two Mont Blanc is hid behind the intervening mountains of Voirons, and does not reappear until near Nyon.

The parish of Versoix, through which the road passes, formerly belonged to France. The Duke de Choiseul, minister of Louis XV., irritated with some proceedings of the inhabitants of Geneva, proposed to raise a rival city at Versoix which should deprive Geneva of its trade. A pier was projected into the lake, to form a port, a grand place was laid down, and streets running at right angles were marked out; but beyond this the plan was never carried into execution. Hence the verses of Voltaire :

"A Versoix nous avons des rues,

Mais nous n'avons point de maisons." A little beyond Versoix (now an inconsiderable village) we pass out of the Canton of Geneva into that of Vaud.

12 Coppet, a small village of 600 inhabitants, only remarkable for the

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Château, which belonged to Madame de Staël, immediately behind it. It is now the property of the Duc de Broglie, her son-in-law. It is a plain edifice, forming three sides of a square, the front towards the lake being flanked with a tower at each end. It was the residence of Madame de Staël as well as of her father, the French minister Necker. There is a portrait of her by David, and a bust of Necker. One room is pointed out as the study in which the author of Corinne composed many of her works. Her inkstand and desk are still preserved. The grounds are traversed by shady walks; and a clump of trees surrounded by a wall, in a field a little to the W. of the house, shrouds from view a sort of chapel in which Necker and his daughter are buried.

14 Nyon-(Inn: Soleil)—a town of 2682 inhabitants, stands on a height; but its suburb, through which the high road runs, extends down to the lake. It was the Roman Novidunum.

An excellent carriage-road ascends the Jura from this in zigzags to St. Cergues (Route 53). From the top of the Dôle, on the left of this road, and 15 miles from Nyon, there is an exquisite view (see p. 130).

1 Rolle. (Inn: Tête Noir, small and not first rate.) The hills around this village are covered with vineyards, producing a tolerable wine. One of the best Vaudois wines is grown on the slope between Rolle and Aubonne, called La Cote. On the opposite shore of the lake is discerned the Gulf of Thonon, and the snowy head of Mont Blanc peering over the mountains of the Chablais. A little further on the rocks of Meillerie and the entrance of the Valais appear.

13 Morges. (Inn: La Couronne.) Behind this little town of 2800 inhabitants rises the old castle of Wufflens, distinguished by its tall square donjon and group of minor turrets, built of brick, with deep machicola

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tions. It is said to have been built by Queen Bertha in the tenth century. It is well preserved and highly picturesque. On the next stage the river Venoge is crossed.

The distant view of Lausanne, scated on sloping hills and surmounted by its cathedral and castle, is pleasing. Between it and the lake, at the distance of of a mile, stands the suburb or village of Ouchy (Inn : Ancre, at the water-side), which may be termed the port of Lausanne. Lord Byron wrote the Prisoner of Chillon in this little inn, in the short space of two days, during which he was detained here by bad weather, June, 1816: " thus adding one more deathless association to the already immortalised localities of the lake."

Traversing the shady promenade of Montbenon we enter

a

1 LAUSANNE. (Inns: Faucon, excellent, but rather expensive; new house, to be called Hotel de Gibbon, is in progress (1838); Lion d'Or, a comfortable and not expensive house.) Lausanne, capital of the Canton Vaud, contains 14,120 inhabitants. The Pays de Vaud (Germ. Waadtland), was originally subject to the Dukes of Savoy, but having been conquered by the Bernese, remained tributary to the republic for 2 centuries, until 1798, when it purchased its own independence. The town stands on the lower slope of the Mont Jorat, which sinks gradually down to the lake, but is intersected by several ravines, giving it the form of distinct eminences. From this cause the streets ranging over broken ground are a series of ups and downs; many are very steep, and run in a direction parallel to the lake, so as to exclude all view of it. They are mostly narrow and not very clean, and few of the houses stand on the same level. If the stranger would emerge from this labyrinth of dusky buildings to look about him, he must climb up the steep ascent behind. A very good point of view

is the

Terrace of the Cathedral. At the foot of the flight of steps leading to it from the market-place ask for the keys of the door, kept at the sexton's house, No. 6. The Cathedral, a very extensive building, and internally the finest Gothic church in Switzerland, was founded A.D. 1000, and some traces of the original edifice may perhaps be traced in the round arches behind the high altar. With this exception the existing building dates from the 13th century, 1275. Some of the pillars supporting the nave are detached. The circular window in the N. transept, 30 ft. in diameter, is remarkable. Among the monuments within the church are a mailed effigy of Otho of Gransom, whose ancestor, Otto de Grandeson, held several important offices in England, uuder Henry III. and Edward I.; the monument of Victor Amadeus VIII. (Voltaire's "Bizarre Amadée"), who was duke of Savoy, Bishop of Geneva, and pope under the title of Felix V., but resigned in succession all these dignities, preferring to end his days as a monk in the convent of Ripaille, on the opposite shore of the lake. His tomb is much mutilated. The monument of Mrs. Stratford Canning, a vase with a bas-relief, by Bartolini (not by Canova, as most guide-books have it), is not very remarkable. Here also is interred the venerated Bernard de Menthon, founder of the Hospice of the Great St. Bernard, which is named after him.

On another platform, a little way behind the Terrace of the Cathedral, stands the Castle, a picturesque, massive square tower with four turrets at the angles. It was originally the residence of the Bishops of Lausanne, but is now the council-house of the canton.

Lausanne possesses a College, founded 1587, and a Cantonal Muin which are some objects of seum, interest-such as a collection of minerals from Bex and a model of the salt-mines there. It is not defi

cient in the other branches of natural history. A specimen of the silurus glanis, one of the largest fresh-water fishes, came from the Lake of Morat. Many antiquities discovered within the canton, at Aventicum and on the borders of the Lake Leman, are preserved here.

The house of Gibbon the historian is in the lower part of the town, behind the church of St. Francis, and on the right of the road leading down to Ouchy. It is said not to be changed. It has a garden, a terrace overlooking the lake, a summerhouse, and a few acacias; but another summer-house, in which he is said to have finished his history, and his berceau-walk, have been removed. He alludes to them in the following remarkable passage:

"It was on the day or rather the night of the 27th of June, 1787, between the hours of eleven and twelve, that I wrote the last line of the last page in a summer-house in my garden. After laying down my pen I took several turns in a berceau, or covered walk of acacias, which commands a prospect of the country, the lake, and the mountains. The air was temperate, the sky was serene, the silver orb of the moon was reflected from the waves, and all nature was silent."

"Much has been done of late years by the Canton of Vaud to improve the institutions of this little state. The Penitentiary, Prison, and Normal School, may interest some travellers, and may bear witness to all of the munificent and enlightened spirit of the councils of one of the smallest and most democratic communities in Europe."-H. R.

There is an excellent reading-room here (? Cassino), to which strangers are admitted by a member's introduction.

The English church service is performed every Sunday in the Chapelle du Culte. The Lutheran service is also performed in the same building in the course of the day.

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The Post and Diligence-office is in the Place St. François, near the church. The office for post-horses is in the Rue Martheray, No. 57.

Steam-boats touch at Ouchy, the suburb of Lausanne, at the waterside, twice a-day, on their way to either extremity of the lake.

The neighbourhood of Lausanne is unrivalled for the number and beauty of the walks which it presents. Partial and pleasing glimpses of the lake are obtained from the terraces within the town, and from that of Montbenon, just outside the walls, on the way to Geneva; but far more extensive and beautiful prospects are presented from the heights above it. The best spot for an extensive survey is the elevated platform called the Signal, but the ascent to it is very fatiguing. Near it is the extensive forest of Sauvabellin (Silva Belini), in which it is said the Druids once worshipped the god Bel, and thence its name. There are a great number of country-seats in the vicinity; that of Vernens is highly praised; its grounds have the character of an English park, with the Alps and the lake in addition. Cooper, the American novelist, thus describes the view from the heights above Lausanne :— "The form of the lake prevents an entire view of it from any single spot. One is as well placed at Lausanne as at any other spot perhaps for such a purpose; but even there the W. end of the sheet is quite concealed by the curvature. If the foot of the lake is hid from the eye, its head, on the. contrary, lies open before the spectator, and it offers one of the grandest landscapes of this the noblest of all earthly regions. In that direction the mountains of Savoy rise like ramparts, and the valley of the Rhone retires in the distance, until it is lost in the sublimity of mystery (?). Whichever way the eye wanders over the wide range of hill-sides, villages, vineyards, mountains, and blue water, it never fails to return to this one spot, which on the whole offers one

H

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of the nicest combinations of the great and the enchanting in scenery of any place within my knowledge." Mont Blanc is not visible from the Signal, but may be seen from the top of the Jorat, on the road to Berne.

About 2 miles out of Lausanne, beyond the Calvaire, on the Berne road, is the Cemetery of Pierre de Plain. John Philip Kemble, the tragedian, is buried within it.

N.B. Posting (§ 5) begins at Lausanne, and continues over the Simplon into Italy, and by Geneva into France. Diligences run daily in summer from Lausanne to Vevay and Bex, to Berne, to Geneva, to Neuchâtel, and to Bâle.

The road to Vevay is very narrow, and partly enclosed between the high walls of vineyards, rendering it very tiresome, and in summer dreadfully hot, being unsheltered by trees. (?Ă new road has, it is said, been lately made.) It improves near Vevay, as the gorge of the Rhone appears in sight, overlooked by the snowy peaks of the Dent de Midi.

2 Vevay. (Inns: Trois Couronnes, the best, and good; Ville de Londres.)

Vevay (Germ. Vivis, the Roman Vibiscum) is the second town in Canton Vaud, and has 4486 inhabitants. It is principally distinguished for the exceeding beauty of its situation, on the margin of the Lake Leman, at a point where the scenery of its banks is perhaps most beautiful. The writings of Rousseau have contributed not a little to its celebrity in this respect. He says in his Confessions-"J'allai à Vevay loger à la clef, et pendant deux jours que j'y restai sans voir personne, je pris pour cette ville un amour qui m'a suivi dans tous mes voyages, et qui m'y a fait établir enfin les héros de mon roman. Je dirai volontiers à ceux qui ont du gout et qui sont sensibles, Allez à Vevay, visitez le pays, examinez les sites, promenez vous sur le lac, et dites si la nature

n'a pas fait ce beau pays pour une Julie, pour une Claire, et pour un Saint Preux; mais ne les y cherchez pas."

From the little terrace at the end of the market-place the eye surveys the scenery of the Nouvelle Heloise. On the E. the village of Clarens, Montreux, Chillon; beyond it Villeneuve and the gorge of the Rhone, backed by the gigantic Alps of the Vallais, the Dent de Midi, and Pain de Sucre (neighbours of the Great St. Bernard); while on the opposite shore of the lake rise the rocks of Meillerie, surmounted by the peaks of the Dent d'Oche, and the village of St. Gingough, at the foot of the mountains.

In the Church of St. Martin, a little above the town, Ludlow the regicide is buried, as well as Broughton, who read the sentence of death to Charles I. They died here in exile, a price having been set upon their heads; and repeated applications were made to the canton of Berne to deliver them up, which the government very properly refused to accede to. Ludlow's house still exists; he placed over his doorway this inscription" Omne solum forti patria."

The wines of the neighbourhood of Vevay, especially of the sunny district extending hence to Lausanne, and called La Vaux, enjoy a considerable reputation. The Romans are believed to have first planted the vine on these hills; and the discovery of a stone inscribed "Libero Patri Colliensi" proves that they had erected a temple to Father Bacchus at Collium, a little village now called Cully, on the margin of the lake, between Vevay and Lausanne.

A society or guild of very high antiquity, called 'Abbaye des Vignerons, having for its motto the words "Ora et labora," exists at Vevay. Its object is to promote the cultivation of the vine; and for this purpose it despatches every spring and autumn experts," qualified persons, to sur

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vey all the vineyards of the district, nd upon their report and testimony rewards the most skilful and inaustrious vinedressers with medals and pruning-hooks (serpes d'honneur) as prizes.

In accordance with a custom handed down from very ancient times, which is possibly a relic of pagan superstition, this society celebrates once in 15 or 20 years a festial called la Fête des Vignerons. It Sommences with the ceremony of owning the most successful culti

tor of the vine, which is followed nd accompanied by dances and processions formed of the lads and lasses of the neighbourhood attired as Fauns bearing the thyrsus, and nymphs. Faher Bacchus in his car, and Ceres troned on a waggon filled with weatsheaves, appear in the most classical costume in the midst of their followers. But the procession includes a singular mixture of scripturai characters along with these heathen Bacchanals. Thus Silenus riding on his ass is followed by Noah in his ark, and Pomona is succeeded by the spies from Canaan bearing between them the bunch of grapes. A vine-press and a forge at work are also exhibited, drawn by fine horses. On other days of the fête (for it lasts for several) the spectators are entertained with the native dances and songs of Switzerland, performed by the herdsmen and shepherdesses of the neighbouring Alps; and the concluding and perhaps the most interesting part of the festivities consists in the bestowing upon a young maiden, the fairest in fame and form in the vicinity, a dower, and in the celebration of her marriage with a partner of her choice. As many as 700 persons took part in the last festival, and one of the ballet-masters of the French opera repaired hither from Paris, several weeks beforehand, to drill and instruct the rustics in dancing. The ground was kept by 100 young men in the picturesque ancient Swiss costume, which has

been delineated by Holbein. The 2 last anniversaries were in 1819 and 1833, and multitudes of spectators flocked from all parts to witness them. The road from Vevay to Freyburg by Bulle is described Route 41.

The path from Vevay over the Dent de Jaman, and the road thence to Thun, form Route 41.

"The gardens of M. de Hauteville are situated about 1 mile from Vevay, and deserve to be visited as much for their fine horticulture as for the superb view they command."—B.

About 2 miles off, on a swelling eminence overlooking the lake, stands the ancient Castle of Blonay, built in the 10th century, which belonged to the same family for 700 years. Further on, by the lake-side, is Chatelard, another castle.

About a mile out of Vevay the hamlet of La Tour de Peil, with a castle built at the water-side in the 13th century, is passed. A mile further lies

Clarens, so sentimentally described by Rousseau in the Nouvelle Heloise. It is a poor, dirty village, far less attractive than many of its neighbours, and it probably owes its celebrity to a well-sounding name, which fitted it for the pages of a romance. Rousseau's admirers have puzzled themselves with endeavouring to identify the localities, though he has himself stated that they are grossièrement altérées." The spot on which the beautiful "bosquet de Julie" is sought for is now a potatofield. Byron says that the trees were cut down by the monks of St. Bernard, and lavishes some unworthy and undeserved abuse upon those hospitable ecclesiastics; but he has forgotten to ask whether the bosquet really ever had any existence except in Rousseau's imagination. Byron indeed viewed the spot with a poet's eye, and the exquisite beauty of the surrounding scenery, which has been accurately described by Rousseau, called up all the poet's enthusiasm and inspiration.