592 



LYONNAIS LYONS. 



exported. 1 1 is a timid creature, incapable of attack- 

 ing the larger quadrupeds, but very destructive to 

 rabbits and hares, on which it chiefly preys. It 

 mutes but little resistance when brought to bay by a 

 hunter; for though, like a cat, it spits, and erects the 

 hair on its back, it is easily destroyed by a blow with 

 a slender stick. It is about three feet long from the 

 tip ot' its nose to the end of its tail, which is about 

 six inches in length, with a black tip. Its large 

 paws, slender loins, and long, but thick hind legs, 

 with large buttocks, scarcely relieved by a short, 

 thick tail, give it a clumsy and awkward appearance. 

 Its gait is by bounds, straight forward, with the back 

 a little arched, and lighting on all the feet at once. 

 It swims well, and will cross the arm of a lake of 

 two miles in width, but is not swift on land. Its 

 flesh is eaten, being fat, white, and somewhat resem- 

 bling the rabbit in flavour. It breeds once a year, 

 having two young at a time. The other American 

 species are F. rufa and F. fasciata, both of which 

 are smaller than the preceding. The former occurs 

 in the Atlantic states as well as to the north and 

 west ; the latter appears to be confined to the bor- 

 ders of plains, and the woody country in the vicinity 

 of the Pacific. 



LYONNAIS ; a ci-devant province in the eastern 

 part of France, of which Lyons was the capital. 1 1 

 consisted of Lyonnais Proper, Beaujolais, and Forez. 

 It now forms the departments of the Rhone and the 

 Loire. See Department. 



L YONNET, PETER, a celebrated naturalist, born in 

 1707, at Maestricht, graduated at Utrecht, and was for 

 some time a counsellor at the Hague. He afterwards 

 became secretary, and Latin and French interpreter 

 to the states of Holland . This situation occupying but 

 little of his time, he employed himself in researches 

 into the natural history of insects and other animals, 

 particularly such as were to be found in the vicinity 

 of the Hague. He formed a valuable collection of 

 shells, and was admitted into many of the principal 

 scientific societies in Europe. His death took place 

 January 10, 1789. His most important production 

 is entitled Traite anatomique de la Chenille qui ronge 

 le Bois de Saule (1760, 4to) a work no less remark- 

 able for originality of design than for splendour of 

 execution. Lyonnet was distinguished for his skill 

 as a painter and engraver, and he displayed much 

 ingenuity in improving microscopes, and other instru- 

 ments used in making his observations. 



LYONS, or properly, LYON (Lugdununi) ; the 

 second city of France, situated on the Rhone and 

 Saone, ninety-three leagues S. E. of Paris, and sixty- 

 three N. W. of Marseilles ; an archiepiscopal see ; 

 capital of the department of the Rhone ; headquar- 

 ters of a military division ; and seat of numerous 

 administrative and judicial authorities ; lat. 45 46' 

 N. ; Ion. 4 49' E. ; population, including the sub- 

 urbs, in 1828, 185,723. Three bridges cross the 

 Rhone, which is here about 650 feet wide, and often 

 occasions great destruction by its inundations, as was 

 the case particularly in 1812 and 1825. The Saone, 

 which is 480 feet wide, is crossed by six bridges. 

 The rivers are lined with wharves, some of which 

 are adorned with handsome buildings, thronged 

 with boats of various descriptions, and resound with 

 the hum of numerous mills and water-shops. The 

 interior of the city presents the aspect of an old 

 town, with narrow and dark streets, lined with 

 houses seven or eight stories high, built solidly of 

 stone. The pavements are pebbled, and there are 

 no side-walks. Some of the streets, in the more 

 modern quarters of the city, are more spacious and 

 handsome. There are fifty-nine public squares, 

 among which that of Louis le Grand, or Bellecour, 

 one of the most magnificent in Europe, is adorned 



with beautiful lime-trees, and an equestrian status 

 of Louis XIV. The monastic grounds and gardens 

 have been mostly covered with buildings since the 

 revolution. Among the principal buildings are the 

 splendid h6tel de ville, next to that of Amsterdam, 

 the finest in Europe ; the palace of commerce and 

 the arts, connected with which are lecture-halls, 

 where various courses of lectures are delivered ; the 

 vast prefect house, formerly a Dominican convent, 

 with an extensive garden ; the principal hospital, or 

 hotel Dieu ; the Gothic cathedral of St John, &c. 

 There are also numerous hospitals and churches, a 

 palais de justice, and an extensive prison. The tower 

 of Pitrat, erected on an elevation to the north of the 

 city, for an observatory, fell down in 1828, but has 

 since been reconstructed. Many antiques have 

 been found in the part of the city situated on the 

 ancient Forum Trajuni, and on the site of an impe- 

 rial Roman palace. Medals, coins, vases, statues, 

 lachrymatories, &c., with remains of aqueducts, of 

 a theatre, and Roman baths, are among the relics 

 of antiquity. On the hill of Fourvieres is a general 

 cemetery, adorned with trees and handsome tombs, 

 laid out in 1808. Lyons contains one of the finest 

 libraries in France, consisting of 92,000 volumes. 

 Among its scientific and useful institutions, are a 

 royal college, medical and theological schools ; an 

 academy of science, literature, and the arts ; agri- 

 cultural, Linnsean, medical, law, Bible, and other 

 societies ; a mont de piete, savings-bank, &c. The 

 commerce and manufactures are extensive ; the 

 most important article is silk, the manufactures 

 of which are celebrated for their firmness and 

 beauty ; silk and woollen, and silk and cotton stuffs, 

 beautiful shawls, crape, silk hose, gold and silver 

 lace, &c., are among the products of her industry, 

 a large proportion of all the silk raised in France, 

 and great quantities imported from Italy, are wrought 

 up here. The silk raised in the vicinity is remark- 

 able for its whiteness. In 1828, the number of estab- 

 lishments for the manufacture of silk was (within 

 the walls) 7140, and that of the looms, 18,829. 

 Printing and the book trade, paper hangings, the 

 manufacture of glass, jewels, artificial flowers, hats, 

 &c., give occupation to numerous hands. Lyons 

 has an extensive transit trade of provisions for the 

 southern cities, and of the oil and soap of Provence, 

 and the wines of Languedoc, for the northern. 

 Numerous and extensive warehouses and docks facili- 

 tate the great commercial operations of this queen of 

 Eastern France. The Lyonnese are industrious, pru- 

 dent, acute, intelligent, and honest. 



The time of the foundation of Lyons is uncertain. 

 Augustus made it the capital of Celtic Gaul, which 

 received the name of Lugdunensis. In the reign of 

 Nero, it was burned to the ground. In the fifth 

 century, the Burgundians made it their capital. In 

 the twelfth century, the sect of YValdenses was found- 

 ed by Peter de Vaud, a merchant of Lyons. Italian 

 fugitives, who came to seek refuge from the rage of 

 parties in their country, in the thirteenth century, 

 brought with them their arts and wealth. Lyons 

 suffered much during the religious wars of the six- 

 teenth century, and was recovering from its losses 

 when the revolution of the eighteenth again covered 

 it with desolation. The citizens having risen against 

 the terrorists, in their municipal government, and the 

 Jacobin club (May 29, 1793), the convention sent 

 an army of 60,000 men against the devoted city, 

 which, after a brave resistance of sixty-three days, 

 was taken. Collot d'Herbois and Couthon erected 

 the guillotine, en permanence, and, dissatisfied with 

 this slow method ot execution, massacred the citizens, 

 in crowd*, with grape-shot. The fortifications, and 

 many buildings were demolished the name of Lyons 



