370 LETTERS OF A CONTINENTAL TOURIST. 



On the morning of the 23d I went to see the confluence of the Rhone 

 and Saone. As usual where expectation has been raised high, I was 

 disappointed. No doubt the descriptions are literally correct. The 

 smooth gentle Saone creeps into contact with her bustling bullying 

 sister, and is at once shouldered on one side, and only allowed a nar- 

 row space to flow in. Still the colour of the two rivers is not so 

 strongly contrasted as the narratives of travellers had led rne to expect. 

 There is a milky tinge in the Rhone which distinguishes it from the 

 other as they move along side by side ; but with the sun shining on 

 the water, as was the case when I saw it, the line of demarcation can- 

 not be traced, except from a favourable position whence you look 

 down on the stream from above. The speed of the Saone is soon in- 

 creased to a very considerable velocity by contact with the Rhone, 

 which travels at a pace that fully justifies the epithet it bears, namely 

 " Rapid." 



The walk down the Quais to the junction of the rivers, planted as 

 they are with tall poplars on either side of the road, is pleasant 

 enough, and a ridge of hills on one side which confines the Saone to 

 its course, and which is studded with buildings, forms an excellent 

 background to the town, which is built principally between the two 

 rivers. Indeed one of the merits of Lyons in the eyes of a stranger, 

 to console him for its many defects, is its situation with respect to its 

 waters. Both rivers flow through it, a portion of the city being built 

 on the right bank of the Saone, a small portion on the left of the 

 Rhone, and the rest on the intermediate peninsula. The extreme 

 rapidity and turbid colour of the one, the darker hue and marvellous 

 slowness of the other, are such as to render it impossible to mistake 

 them. Now if you once learn the situation of your residence, or any 

 spot you know well, with respect to the rivers, in case of doubt or dif- 

 ficulty in the course of your wanderings get to the quais, observe the 

 course of the river, and which it is, and ascend or descend, turn to the 

 right or left, as may be required. No spot in Lyons can be far distant 

 from one or other of the streams, so that you cannot be at a loss. 



Notwithstanding the excessive heat I contrived to mount the hills 

 to the westward of the Saone to La Fourviere, and ascended to the 

 observatoire, a square tower built to a moderate height, so as to en- 

 able the spectator to overlook the steeples and seven-storied houses. 

 With the exception of the chain of hills on which this building is 

 erected, the country about Lyons is quite flat, so that you have a beau- 

 tiful view from the terrace at the top of the observatory. The town, 

 though very dirty and nasally offensive to a degree unparalleled in my 

 experience, is from such a distance highly picturesque, the irregula- 

 rity of the buildings, the height of the houses, and the clearness of 

 the atmosphere, all aiding to form a tableau which, if it has not yet 

 been used for a panorama, offers every advantage for such a purpose. 

 They say that sometimes the peak of Mont Blanc is seen from hence. 

 It may be so, but I saw it not. 



The stained glass of the cathedral is an object worthy of attention, 

 though I do not think much of the building itself. The interior has 

 a very solemn aspect, produced I conceive by the softened light. 

 There is in another part of the town a pyramidical monument, built in 



