and beauty, a species of living records of the taste and manners of past ages,-being generally ornamented with colossal representations of Swiss warriors of the fifteenth century, clad in steel, with wasp shapes, and stuffed breasts, bearing on the head diminutive caps, which strangely contrast with their vast exuberance of beard and stern countenances." The cathedral stands beside the castle. The sepulchral stone of Farel, the reformer, appears in front of the edifice.

A very pleasant excursion may be made by taking the steamer at Neuchâtel, and proceeding to Yverdun, at the other end of the lake. The scenery along the banks, though not equal to that of many other Swiss lakes, presents much to attract the eye; the hills are covered with vines, country houses are seen here and there near the water's

edge, and on the right in the background are the sombre Jura mountains, the natural boundary between Switzerland and France. Yverdun was a town in the days of the Romans, and was called Ebrodunum. The principal building in the place, which contains between 3,000 and 4,000 inhabitants, is the castle, built in the twelfth century, and now famous as having been the residence of Pestalozzi, the founder of the system of instruction which bears his name.

Not far from the Lake of Neuchâtel, and united to it by the river Thiel, is the smaller Lake of Bienne. The scenery is here much the same; but on the western extremity many beautiful and interesting views present themselves-particularly those of Jolimont,

the Château Baillival, and the ancient Abbey of Erlach, near the embouchure of the Thiel.

At this end, too, not far from the shore, is the little island of St. Pierre, which for two months served Rousseau as a place of refuge. The house where he resided has long served as an inn; and here his admirers will be gratified by finding everything—particularly his room-in nearly the same state as the philosopher left it. It is surrounded on three sides by a piazza level with the ground; one forms the farm buildings, the second the dwelling house, and the third serves for the accommodation of strangers. A huge walnuttree throws its shade over the whole court.

The walks through the wood and orchard with which the island is covered, are delightful and refreshing; and fanned by the cool breath of the lake, afford a delicious retreat during the summer solstice. From the eminence in the centre, occupied by an elegantly designed temple, the view is strikingly picturesque. The ground, covered with rich velvet turf, such as bordered the enchanted isle of Calypso, slopes gently towards the shore, and contrasts its own bright green with the deep blue of the water in which it is embedded.

Rousseau himself says, in one of his works, "Of all the dwelling-places which I ever had-and I have had several-none has rendered me so truly happy, and caused me such tender regrets, as the island of St. Pierre in the Lake of Bienne. Oh! that I could go and end my days in that dear isle, never again to leave it, nor again to see an inhabitant of the continent, to recall to my remembrance the injuries of every kind which they have pleased to heap upon me for so many years."

CHAPTER V.

ROUTE FROM GENEVA TO CHAMOUNI-BONNEVILLE-CLUSES-GROTTO

D'ARPENAS-ST. MARTIN-ST. GERVAIS-COL DE BONHOMME-NANT NOIR-SERVOZ-MONT BUET—ANOTHER ROUTE-COL D'AUTERNE-THE VALLEY OF CHAMOUNI.

LEAVING now the city of Geneva for Chamouni, at the Port de la Rive, the road offers some fine views, including the range of the Jura. A little stream, the Foron, which is crossed, is the boundary of the canton of Geneva and the Sardinian frontier. Not far beyond it is a sugar-loaf mountain-the Mole-towering to a height of nearly 6,000 feet. The eminences which bound the Arve have a bold aspect, and Bonneville is entered through a fine avenue of elms. It is situated in the midst of a wide and well cultivated plain, and is much better built than most towns in Savoy. The market-place and main streets are very broad, and the houses in the environs are surrounded with gardens and plantations. The valley of the Arve continues wide till near the town of Cluses, where the dark limestone rocks advance upon the river, leaving only a narrow passage for the road. This little town is quite entombed amidst the mountains. A large number of its inhabitants are employed in the manufacture of watch-movements for Geneva and Germany. The defile beyond is narrow and winding, presenting some scenes of striking beauty. The following engraving exhibits the ruins of Cluses after a fire, which occurred not long ago. The Arve, after rising in the Col de Balme, flows rapidly down its steep slope, and through the valley of Chamouni, then passing out at the south-western, extremity, continues its impetuous course as far as the Rhone, which it enters a little below Geneva, after flowing about sixty miles from its source. Its waters are principally derived from the glaciers of Mont Blanc, from which issue the Arveiron and other smaller streams, emptying themselves successively into its channel as it flows along in its course through the valley. It is very remarkable for the rapidity of its current, which is so great, even at the end of its course, that its waters do not mingle with those of the Rhone for some time after it has entered that river; it is even said that its violence, at times, has been such as to have impeded the course of the Rhone, and to have caused the waters of that river to flow back into the lake of Geneva, thus giving to the water-wheels of the mills on its banks, a direction contrary to their usual one. Walnut-trees abound on either hand, and on the precipitous mountain sides are small forests of beech-trees. At a cottage in the village of Balme, a cannon is kept ready loaded for those who wish to hear the echoes produced by its report, which, as may be supposed, from the narrowness of the valley, are very nunerous, Here, too, guides are provided for those who wish to visit the Grotto of Balme, situate in the mountain, to the left of the high road. Its opening may be seen from thence, and resembles the mouth of an oven, being semicircular, and about ten feet high by twenty broad. The bottom is almost horizontal. Its depth is about 640 paces, and then it becomes so narrow that it is impossible to penetrate further. At 340 paces from the entrance is a very deep well. The walls are covered with stalagmites, stalactites, and very thick crystalisations. Beyond Balme the valley widens, and spreads before the eye the picturesque beech-groves of

Maghlans, scattered in some meadows of a broken or waving surface, edging the Arve, while enormous rocks of fantastic shape tower on all sides through the foliage. The waterfall, called the Nant d'Orli, showers down from one of the rocks. About three quarters of a league beyond Maghlans, on the left, is a fine cascade, called the Nant d'Arpenas, which is, however, less remarkable for its beauty than its altitude.

There is a touch of the poet in the description given of it by one who, after gracing the bar of England, blends the utmost suavity with the highest dignity of the bench:

"The Nant d'Arpenas is the fall of a small rivulet, which gushes down unseen from fissures of the lofty rock, then, in mid-air, leaps from it, and meeting immediately with little projections, is dashed into fine atoms, floats off some 200 feet from the ground in an everlasting, yet everchanging, feather; and, though a portion of the water may be caught by the lower rock, and may drizzle down it, the body of water actually disperses-makes itself air into which it vanishes.' It is like a spirit embodied-no! not embodied

shaped, breaking from the rock-ever perishing yet ever renewed-an image of purity, evanescence, and duration! Its substance is as slight as its identity-the most ethereal of all things which in any sense endure-light as 'the snowfall in the river'—or a wreath of smoke-yet existing as a waterfall for thousands of years-the Ariel of inanimate matter! I gazed upon it till it looked like a speck of gossamer cloud; and sighed for it even while the vale, expanding wider and wider, and becoming grander and grander, dazzled me with its luxuriance and brightness."

Soon after leaving Bonneville, the clouds had begun to assemble from various quarters, the sun had become concealed, and just after coming within sight of this cascade, the rain

descended in torrents. As we were in a covered carriage, we could watch the effects of this sudden Alpine shower on the scenery around. The road was speedily covered with little streams, the torrent was increased in speed and volume, and the Nant d'Arpenas became changed from a white foamy cascade into a dark muddy fall. What must be the effect when this continues for several days!

In advancing towards Sallenches, the road passes through the lower part of the great calcareous formations of Savoy, consisting of a vast thickness of a dark argillaceous limestone, alternating with thicker beds of grey limestone. Near St. Martin, beds of dark,