found cavity, 500 ft. deep, surrounded by an amphitheatre of limestone rock from the top to the bottom." It is more than 2 m. in diameter. "At times, when a change of weather is impending, the crater of the mountain is seen to become suddenly filled with a cloud of white vapour, working and rising and falling with an easy but perceptible motion, until the whole hollow presents the appearance of an immense cauldron of boiling vapour, which seldom rises above the edge. If any escape, it is by the opening towards the defile; and I have seen it repeatedly issue in a thin white line, and float gradually down the centre of the valley till imperceptibly diminished and dissipated." Latrobe.

The echo produced by firing a gun within the Ĉreux de Vent is like a scattered fire of musketry, or a succession of discharges from a battery; and the hollow may be called the very cradle of the winds, which appear to be perpetually blowing from

nearly insulated by the Orbe, which is crossed by 2 bridges--a lower one of great antiquity, and an upper and modern one of a single arch, 124 ft. span, in use at present. It was the Roman station Urbigenum, and a place of importance in the middle ages, under the Burgundian Kings, who had a Royal Castle here. The fair but cruel Brunehilde, Queen of the Franks, took refuge here, with her granddaughter, but was soon put to death. The three sons of Lothaire I. met here, in 855, to divide his kingdom. In 1475 the Swiss took Orbe by assault; but the Castle, whose venerable ruins, reduced to two solitary towers of antique structure, are now included in a terrace which serves as a public walk, made a lengthened resistance. The garrison, yielding step by step, disputed the possession of each chamber, stair, and passage. The last remnant were pursued into a tower, which the Swiss set fire to, and the few who fell into their hands alive were thrown over the battle

ments.

There is a high road into France from Orbe, along the 1. bank of the Orbe, by Jougne and Salins.

About 2 m. above Orbe, near Mont Charand, is a cavern, with stalactites, called Grotte aux Fées: not far from it is a cascade of the Orbe.

An interesting excursion may be made from Orbe to the Lac de Joux, 12 m. The carriage road thither turns away from the river at once, and proceeds through Romainmotier, under the singular mountain called Dent de Vaulion, to Le Pont, on the Lac de Joux. The vale of the Orbe is one of the most beautiful in the Jura, and the pedestrian may find a footpath along its banks, up to its source, in the cliff below Pont.

Pont, a little village, named from a bridge across the channel, which connects the Lac de Joux with the small Lac des Brenets, is the best head-quarters, as it has a tolerable inn. It is prettily situated at the S. base of the Dent de Vaulion, one side of which is a sheer precipice of bare limestone 2000 ft. high-the other a

steep slope, or inclined plane, covered with verdant turf. It requires a steady head to look from the top over the verge of the precipice.

About 3 m. N. of Pont, and the same distance above Vallorbe, is the source of the Orbe, which rises at once a copious stream, supplied, it is supposed, by subterranean conduits from the Lac de Joux.

The valley in which the Lac de Joux is situated contains two other lakes, Le Ter and Brenet, and is entirely shut in by high hills; so that, although these sheets of water are fed by all the streams of the valley, they have no visible outlet above ground. There are, however, large cavities and orifices in the beds of these lakes, called entonnoirs, through which the waters escape. These fissures are sometimes rendered incapable of carrying off the waters from internal obstructions, and thus inundations are caused in the valley. A tunnel, of no very great extent, might drain the lake entirely. The Lac de Joux is nearly 3500 ft. above the level of the sea. The source of the Orbe is about 700 ft. lower than the surface of the lake. The scenery of the Valley de Joux is very romantic, and will alone compensate for a visit. Along the S.E. side of the lake rises the imposing mass of the Mont Tendre, 5730 ft. high: its lower slopes are well wooded. The view from its summit, extending to Mont Blanc on the one side, and to Soleure on the other, will repay the trouble of the ascent. There is a path down the opposite side of the mountain, leading, in 2 hrs., to the village of Mont Richer. An unfortunate English gentleman, named Herbert, who was drowned in a well near the châlets of the Mont Tendre in 1837, is buried at Mont Richer. Henri Chenu, fruitier, is said to be a good guide for the Mont Tendre. There is a cross-road along the N.W. shore of the Lac de Joux, from Pont to Les Rousses, on the great post-road from Dijon to Geneva. Another crossroad, winding round the shoulder of the Mont Tendre, runs direct from Pont to Aubonne, on the way to Ge

neva, rendering it unnecessary to return to Orbe.]

The lake of Geneva is only about 190 ft. lower than that of Neuchâtel. The road from Orbe traverses the high ground or water-shed separating the two basins. An attempt was made, in 1639, to connect the two lakes, and through them unite the Rhine with the Rhone, by means of a canal cut between the rivers Orbe and Venoge. It was finished as far as Entre Roche, a distance of about but difficulties either in the levelling, or occasioned by the interference of private interests, prevented its being carried further. The plan of completing it has been revived. It lies about 14 m. to the E. of the road.

12 m.;

1 La Sarraz-(Inn: Maison de Ville)-is an ancient town romantically situated on the Venoge. About 4 m. farther is Cossonex-(Inn : Hôtel d'Angleterre)—from which town roads branch off to Lausanne and Morges.

4 Aubonne-(Inns: Couronne; Lion d'Or)—an ancient town of 1667 Inhab., with an Eastern-looking castle. Byron says of it-" The entrance and bridge something like that of Durham : it commands by far the fairest view of the lake of Geneva (and of Mont Blanc behind it); a grove on the height of very noble trees. Here Tavernier, the Eastern traveller, bought (or built) the château, because the site resembled and equalled that of Erivan, a frontier city of Persia. Here he finished his voyages." The Church contains the monument of the brave French Admiral Duquesne, the conqueror of De Ruyter the chastiser of the Turkish and Algerine corsairs, whose services Louis XIV. refused to recompense, and whose body that monarch for a long time denied to his son,-exiled to Aubonne by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, because Duquesne was a Protestant, and refused to adopt the king's religion. Aubonne is less than 3 m. distant from the lake. On the hills sloping down towards the lake called La Côte, between Aubonne and Nyon, grows the best Swiss wine, called le Moulart.

The Signal de Bougy-above Aubonne, 2730 ft. above the sea-level, is a celebrated point of view.

1 Rolle, on the high road from Geneva to Lausanne (Rte. 56). 63 GENEVA (See Rte. 53).

ROUTE 53.

DIJON TO GENEVA.

=

193 kilom. 120 Eng. m. Diligences run daily in 21 hrs. Malleposte in 15 hrs.

DIJON. (Inns Hôtel du Parc, in a sort of park outside the town; Hôtel de la Cloche best.) For a detailed description of this road, and the railway to Paris, see Handbook for France. 19 Genlis.

15 Auxonne (Inn: Grand Cerf).

16 Dôle. In clear weather Mont Blanc may be seen from this neighbourhood.

18 Mont Sous Vaudrey. A delightful road leads from this to Neuchâtel, by Salins and the Val Travers (Rte. 49).

19 Poligni (Inn: Hôtel de Genève). 13 Montrond.

10 Champagnole has two small inns, Hôtels de Genève and de Lyon.

11 Maisonneuve.

9 St. Laurent (Inn: La Poste). 11 Morey (Inn: La Poste). 17 Les Rousses. Here is the frontier Custom-house of France. Travellers arriving from Geneva undergo a strict search. Trinkets, musical boxes, and watches (more than one) must be declared. Watches may now be introduced by paying a duty ad valorem. 15 La Vattay. In descending the mountain a sublime view is disclosed of the Alps, Mont Blanc, the lake of Geneva, and the intervening plain. There is another road to Geneva by St. Cergues (instead of Gex): "it branches off a little beyond Les Rousses, and is very preferable in some respects. It has been made at a great expense by the canton de Vaud, and is one of the finest works of the kind.

"Les Rousses to St. Cergues, 1 post; St. Cergues to Nyon,

"The traveller is recommended to mount the steep and picturesque streets of Nyon up to the fine old château, once the seat of the Bailis de Nyon, in order to see the view from the Terrasse des Marroniers.

"St. Cergues is the spot from which the Dôle, the highest summit of this part of the chain of the Jura, can be most easily ascended. Mules and guides can be procured at the small Inn of St. Cergues, which affords tolerable accommodation for a night. The ascent of the Dôle from St. Cergues requires about 3 hours' march; but it is neither fatiguing nor dangerous. Perhaps there is no mountain in Switzerland which better repays the traveller for his fatigue, and no view more wonderfully extensive, and admirably diversified, than that which it commands."-R.

The descent of the Jura to Gex is made much more easy and convenient than before, by an excellent new road.

13 Gex. Ferney, Voltaire's residence (described in p. 148), is passed 5 m. before reaching

H.

17 GENEVA. (Germ. Genf; Ital. Ginevra.) Inns: L'Ecu de Genève ; Hôtel des Bergues; Couronne-three excellent inns, facing the lake. It is not easy to say which is best. du Rhone, clean and reasonable: H. des Etrangers,mile outside the town, highly spoken of, clean and quiet - C. W.: La Balance. English Pension, under the management of Mrs. Monroe, has been opened in the Campagne Mirabeau, 10 minutes' walk from the town, on the Lausanne road. Restaurant, Richter (Lion d'Or), Rue du Rhone, No. 62, good.

An

Geneva, though the capital of the smallest of the Swiss cantons, except Zug, is the most populous town in the Confederation, since it contains 32,000 Inhab. (8300 Rom. Catholics), or, including its suburbs, 37,724. It is well situated, at the W. extremity of the lake of Geneva, at the point where "the blue waters of the arrowy Rhone" issue out of it. The river divides the town into two parts; the

smaller on the rt. bank being called | Quartier St. Gervais. The intensely blue colour of the waters of the Rhone, alluded to by Byron, is certainly very remarkable, and resembles nothing so much as the discharge of indigo from a dyer's vat. The cause of it has not been satisfactorily explained. Sir Humphry Davy attributed it to the presence of iodine. The extreme purity lasts but for a short space, since a mile below the town it is polluted by the admixture of the waters of the turbid Arve, and retains the same dingy hue all the way to the sea.

Geneva, if approached from the lake, now presents a very imposing appearance, in consequence of improvements, made since 1830, for which it is indebted, in no slight degree, to the circulation of the gold of English travellers among its inhabitants. An entirely new quarter has started up on the rt. bank of the Rhone, called Quartier des Bergues, and displays a handsome front of tall houses, among which is the Hôtel des Bergues, lined with a broad quay, towards the lake. A spirit of emulation has been excited on the opposite bank by the sight of this modern rival. The unsightly houses which lined the margin of the lake have been refaced and beautified, while a broad belt of land has been gained from the water to form a series of Quais. This is connected with the Quai des Bergues by two handsome bridges, thrown across the lake, and united with a small island, formerly a part of the fortifications, now occupied by a very inferior statue of Rousseau. Since 1848 the fortifications near the Porte de Rive have been razed, and partly thrown into the lake, so as to form a new Quai, to be occupied by new streets and houses. On other sides, however, Geneva is still surrounded with ramparts and bastions, erected in the middle of the last century by the aristocratic magistracy of that period. It is divided into the upper and lower town; and this distinction, arising from the even nature of the ground, is perpe

un

tuated in the rank and condition of the inhabitants of the two divisions. The upper town consists almost entirely of the large and handsome mansions of the burgher aristocracy, heretofore the senators and magistrates of the republic. The lower town and Quartier St. Gervais is the seat of trade and of democracy. the Faubourg St. Antoine of Geneva :-its streets are narrow, its houses lofty, and it has something of the air of the old town of Edinburgh.

The feuds arising between the high and low town were not few, nor void of interest; indeed, they would fill a long and amusing historical chapter: they often led to bloodshed; but the democrats below generally brought their exalted neighbours to reason by the simple expedient of cutting off the water-pipes, taking especial care to guard the hydraulic machine which furnished the supply to the upper town, and which is situated in their quarter.

Although Geneva is a great focus of attraction for travellers of all nations, 30,000 being the number which is calculated to pass through the town annually, it possesses few objects of interest to the passing stranger. As a town, it is not very prepossessing; it has no fine public buildings, and scarcely any sights. It is owing to its beautiful environs, to its vicinity to Chamouni, to the charming scenery of its lake, and to its position on the high road from Paris to Italy, that it has become a place of so much resort.

The Cathedral, or Ch. of St. Pierre, is of an extreme simplicity of architecture. Its fine Corinthian portico added on the outside is a blemish where it is placed, but its interior possesses interest as a very early and uncorrupted specimen of the Gothic of the 11th century. It contains the monuments of Agrippa d'Aubigny, the friend of Henry IV., and grandfather of Mad. de Maintenon, and that of the Comte de Rohan, a leader of the French Protestants in the reign of Louis XIII. A statue of plaster now replaces one of marble, ruthlessly destroyed at the French Revolution.