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Val fare."

the thick

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R XIII.

Salive.

he Arcades-Jewellers-Watchmakersglish Cricket Ground-The Camp-Distribulitary Force-Fortifications-Excursion to Petit --Autographs--Rousseau--An Indulgence of Pope II.--Original Letter of Buonaparte's-Visit to Mont

AUGUST 3d.

CCOMPANIED by my kind friend Mr. Rousseau, I made the circuit of the city. We began with a visit to the Bridge of the Isle, and Cæsar's Tower, on the northwest side, where the Rhone, issuing from the lake, divides into two broad streams, and rushing on with amazing rapidity, unites soon again in one large and deep channel; thus passing through a corner (as it were) of the town, and soon afterwards receiving the Arve at its entry into France. The waters of the former river, as has already been noticed, are of a muddy complexion as they flow through the Valais, and enter the south-east extremity of the lake. It is then and not till then, that spreading themselves over a surface, fifty miles in length, and in some parts nine miles in breadth, they deposit their alluvion, and here pass out of the lake, in a limpid current of a bright blue colour.*

*Such is the impetus of the two currents, that in meeting they do not intermix, but run side by side in the same deep channel; and the line of

of evening shed itself over the face of the waters.-The view of Geneva, whose republican equality of altitude in its buildings is broken only by the high towers of the Cathedral, does not improve upon the eye as you approach it from the lake: the range of buildings facing which, though lofty, are destitute of architectural stateliness: most of the houses in that quarter exhibit strong symptoms of dilapidation and neglect, of unrepaired and perhaps irreparable decay. Heavens, how unlike the quays and wharfs of an English seat of commerce! Here indeed we have an inland sea; but the crowded port is no where to be found!

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283

CHAPTER XIII.

GENEVA-The Rhone-The Arcades-Jewellers-WatchmakersPublic Walks-English Cricket Ground-The Camp—Distribution of the Military Force-Fortifications-Excursion to Petit Saconnex-Autographs-Rousseau--An Indulgence of Pope Julius II.--Original Letter of Buonaparte's-Visit to Mont Salive.

AUGUST 3d.

ACCOMPANIED by my kind friend Mr. Rousseau, I

made the circuit of the city. We began with a visit to the Bridge of the Isle, and Caesar's Tower, on the northwest side, where the Rhone, issuing from the lake, divides into two broad streams, and rushing on with amazing rapidity, unites soon again in one large and deep channel; thus passing through a corner (as it were) of the town, and soon afterwards receiving the Arve at its entry into France. The waters of the former river, as has already been noticed, are of a muddy complexion as they flow through the Valais, and enter the south-east extremity of the lake. It is then and not till then, that spreading themselves over a surface, fifty miles in length, and in some parts nine miles in breadth, they deposit their alluvion, and here pass out of the lake, in a limpid current of a bright blue colour.*

*Such is the impetus of the two currents, that in meeting they do not intermix, but run side by side in the same deep channel; and the line of

It is on the Rhone that the Hydraulic Machine is erected, which draws up and impels its waters, at the rate of 500 pints a minute, to the most elevated parts of the city. Below the water-works the river is crossed by two bridges of wood, which have both a strong vibratory motion, caused by the extreme force of the current: the upper one in particular communicates a very disagreeable feeling as one passes over it.

In this quarter also are placed the public-corn storehouses, an important establishment, under the controul and management of La-Chambre-de-Bled, which has always in these magazines a regulated quantity of corn, and moreover has a certain sum at its disposal for purchasing fresh supplies. The bakers are furnished with flour from these stores, and the price of bread is thus kept free from fluctuation. This precaution has doubtless been found necessary in so very circumscribed a territory, and where importation from the surrounding country is always precarious. It also enables the Genevese occasionally to assist their poorer neighbours. A memorable instance of this kind, Mr. R. informed me, took place no longer ago than last year; when there was a famine in Savoy, and hundreds of his Sardinian Majesty's Catholic subjects would have perished with hunger, but for the charitable subscriptions and timely assistance of the magistrates and inhabitants of this little Protestant State.

demarcation is as distinct as if drawn by a pen, there being not the least blending even of the two sides in contact with each other. The only advantages they gain of each other, are, when a bay occurs on either side, the current on that side occupies it; but still preserves its central line unbroken: or if a headland or turn of the river takes place, the inside current then gains an advantage, and forces her competitor into a narrower channel, but this is soon rectified in the course of a short distance.-C.

Surely if it were only for the sake of such good Samaritans as those of Geneva, the Priests and Levites of Turin should, with their Sovereign at their head, "go and do likewise" to that neglected, impoverished, oppressed, insulted race of virtuous and enlightened people, the Vaudois of Piedmont. The King and his subjects most probably would do so; but that his and their predecessors, in obedience to Papal injunctions, persecuted and attempted to exterminate the inhabitants of the Protestant Vallies, and that "Semper eadem is more emphatically descriptive of the religion of Roman Catholics than of their jurisprudence.'

Retracing our steps, we proceeded through the Rue Basse, where the principal shops are situated, and where those ponderous structures of timber, dignified with the name of Arcades, are, in spite of their height, gloom, and ugliness, acceptable for the shelter they offer from the sun's heat, both to the resident and the passing stranger. In one of these shady but unsightly thoroughfares, I observed over the portal of a house these words:-"Ici est né Charles Bonnet, Le XIII. Mars, MDCCxx." A truly Christian Philosopher, who pursued a career in the science of Natural History not less distinguished by theoretical soundness than by practical utility.

The houses, built of stone, are most of them six stories high. The attics of those in the more elevated parts of the city are tenanted by watch-makers and other mechanics whose business requires a strong light. Some of the best residences in the body of the place, inhabited by

"If any one pretend to insinuate that the modern Roman Catholics differ one iota from their ancestors, he either deceives himself, or wishes to deceive others."-Plowden.

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