the gardens are well kept, and neat, which I wonder at, the mafter being a Frenchman.

We shall continue our journey the day after tomorrow. I am going to fend this letter to the poft.-Don't be surprised at not hearing from me till after our arrival at Turin; not that I fhall neglect writing; but, it is poffible I may not be lucky enough to find an opportunity of sending a letter from any part of Savoy. I have not forgot that you was defirous I fhould be very particular in my account of that country: whatsoever I meet with which appears remarkable, or extraordinary, or that has not been noticed by Richard, Lalande, or Keyfler, &c. you may depend upon it, shall not escape me; though I should imagine those authors have not omitted any thing of confequence, nor have I the vanity to put my hafty letters in competition with their travels.-They made this journey with a view to writing and publishing their obfervations for the benefit of travellers, and the information of the curious; but we who travel merely for our amufement, and I who write for

yours only, if my letters fhould prove fufficiently entertaining to chase away une partie de vos ennuies, (for I know no expreffion in our language for that univerfal complaint, although no nation is more tormented with, the disorder than the English) I shall think my end fufficiently answered, and your approbation will be more grateful to me, than the applause of all the learned doctors of the Sorbonne, I remain, as ever, moft affectionately yours, &c.

VOL. I.

C

LET

Geneva.

WE

LETTER III.

September 25th, 1770.

E quitted the neighbourhood of Geneva to-day at noon. Do not expect from me a defcription of this famous city and republic; Į am neither qualified nor inclined to defcant upon the merits of their form of government, laws, &c. -nor is the town at all to my tafte; I mean its ftreets, architecture, &c. It is very dirty, and I should imagine trade flourishes prodigiously by the number of carts and drays with which the ftreets are crowded. Our hoft was not unreasonable, and we parted without any difpute. I write this from Friangean. a little village called Friangean, fituated in a bottom, furrounded by high mountains. Our inn has a dangerous appearance, but that is all; for the poor people do every thing in their power to oblige us. They have dreffed an elegant little fupper, confifting of a fine young turkey, a tongue a la daube, two fallads, one of anchovy, the other of lettice; a deffert compofed of cheefe, bifcuits, Mafpinerie, almonds in fhell, butter churned fince our arrival, and very good wine both white and red. Is not this a fumptuous repaft for fuch a favage place? And what do you think they charge us, including our courier? Only five livres, five fols, French. I dare fay you thought Savoy afforded nothing but acorns and goat's whey.-From Geneva to this place, our road has not been abfo

lutely bad, though we have had fome rough steps. The mountains, according to their different aspects, produce vines in abundance, corn, buck-wheat, and various kinds of pulfe.-The Arve winds along the valley, its waters are clear, and foaming in their courfe break over several large ftones and rocks which have tumbled into it from the mountains on each fide.-Do not imagine that we post it here; there is no going fast in fuch roads; fo we have hired an excellent Geneva carriage, with four ftout fleek republican horses, and a careful coachman, who boafts with J. J. Rouffeau of being a citizen of Geneva; he appears en bon point, is rich, and communicative,has talked to us much about Lord who has

been admitted, to his great fatisfaction, a citizen of Geneva. Good night. To-morrow we fet out early to gain Chamberry.

Rumelie.

Aix.

LETTER IV.

Chamberry, Sept. 26th.

WE have paffed feveral frightful bridges to

day; for by the winding of the road round the protuberances of the mountains, you are obliged to cross the Arve inceffantly. At Rumelie (a wretched old town) there is a dangerous bridge at prefent, and an afcent from it to the inn, by no means pleafant on account of its abrupt steepness. But, it feems, they propofe foon to build a very good bridge here. The inn belongs to the marquis de T-n, a Seigneur of Turin; and had been the family chateau. I ran through the apartments, which are paved, as well as wafte and wild; and at length came to a great faloon, which had no other ornament, or furniture, than the family arms blazoned; not even one grim ancestor in armour to grace its naked walls:-But I fuppose the family pictures are conveyed to Turin. As foon as we poffibly could we took leave of Rumelie. I believe no place in the world, of its fize, contains more beggars; but I fufpect them to be the inhabitants of the town, who demand alms in the most importunate and clamorous

manner.

From thence we came to Aix, where we employed about an hour in examining its fprings and baths. The road is good from Rumelie to Aix, and from thence to Chamberry. Cultivation is not

neglected;

neglected; on the other fide of Aix the mountains are laboured until their extreme acclivity mocks the peasant's toil. Their corn is still very green, their hay now making; having a bad prospect of grapes this year, they have neglected their vines, whose branches trail in diforder along the ground. From Aix hither, there is no mountain to afcend or defcend; fertile plains open themfelves out on each fide of the road to a great extent, whose boundaries are mountains covered with fnow. Abundance of standard fruit-trees, forming confiderable orchards, and bending under their harvests, the corn growing between them in many places, ftrike the mind with ideas of plenty, widely differing from those I had formed of Savoy. But it feems this landscape is to have its contraft. -At Aix we made every inquiry, our time would permit of, in regard to the medicinal qualities of its waters. Two of the fprings burft out of a rock on the fide of a fteep mountain, which are arched over like a grotto. The upper bath, fupplied by one of thefe fprings, has a ftrong fulphureous fmell and taste. The spring flows out of a leaden pipe inferted in the rock, in a stream which measures about two inches and a half diameter it is fo exceffively hot, that I could not fuffer it to fall upon my hand for a quarter of a minute. M- held his hand repeatedly under it, till at last it fwelled, looked very red, and itched. Our guide told us, that a Geneva gentleman, who had but just left the town, and who was so paraC 3 lytic