No People Are More Sensible
Than The Lyonnese Of The Great Benefits Produced By The Revolution, And No
People More Deprecate A Return To The Ancien Regime.
Oct. 2nd, GENEVA.
I started in the diligence for Geneva on the 28th Sept. and found it
exceedingly cold on ascending the mountain called the Cerdon; the scenery
is savage and wild, and the road in many parts is on the brink of
precipices. We stopped at Nantua for supper and partook of some excellent
trout. There is a large lake near the town, and 'tis here that the Swiss
landscape begins. Commanding a narrow pass stands the fort of L'Ecluse. The
Austrians lost a great many men in attempting to force it. From this place
you have a noble view of the Alps and Mont-Blanc towering above them. As
this was the first time I beheld these celebrated mountains I was
transported with delight and my mind was filled with a thousand classical
and historical recollections! The scenery, the whole way from Fort l'Ecluse
to Geneva, is most magnificent and uncommonly varied. Mountain and valley,
winter and summer, on the same territory. Descending, the city of Geneva
opens gradually; you behold the lake Leman and the Rhone issuing from it.
We entered the city, which is fortified, and after crossing the double
bridge across the Rhone, we arrived at the Hotel de l'Eau de Geneve at 12
o'clock. The most striking thing in the city of Geneva to the traveller's
eye as he enters it, is the view of the arcades on each side of the street,
excellent for pedestrians and for protection against sun and rain, but
which give a heavy and gloomy appearance to the city. An immense number of
watch-makers is another distinguishing feature in this city. The first
thing shewn to me by my valet de place was the house where Jean Jacques
Rousseau was born; I then desired him to shew me the spot where that
barbarian Calvin caused to be burnt the unhappy Servetus for not having the
same religious opinions as himself.
The most agreeable promenades of the city are on the bastions and ramparts,
a place called La Treille and a garden or park of small extent called
Plain Palais. In this park stands on a column the bust of J.J. Rousseau.
This park was the scene of a great deal of bloodshed in 1791 on account of
political disputes between the aristocratic and democratic parties, or
rather between the admirers and imitators of the French Revolution and
those who dreaded such innovations. This affair excited so much horror, and
the recollection of it operated so powerfully on the imagination of the
inhabitants, that the place became entirely abandoned as a public
promenade, and avoided as a polluted spot for many years. Very likely
however a sort of lustration has taken place; an oration was pronounced and
the place again declared worthy of contributing to the recreation of the
inhabitants. It is now become the favourite promenade of the citizens of
Geneva, tho' there are still some who cannot get over their old prejudices
and never set their foot in it.
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