^T. 28.] JOURNAL. 181 



former. It has two beautiful and very steep hills, 

 between which the Saone winds, which add much to 

 its appearance. . . . 



April 5. — I broke off here some time ago, and left 

 a space which I intended to fill up the first spare mo- 

 ment, by telling you what I saw at Lyons ; what kind 

 of a town it is ; how I might possibly have seen Mont 

 Blanc from it had it not been a rainy day ; how I 

 called on Seringe,^ saw the little botanical garden, 

 took notice of many little contrivances, particularly 

 the way he keeps the aquatic plants wet ; how he went 

 with me to the Academic of Lyons, the branch of the 

 University of Paris. ... I could also describe the 

 manufacture of velvet, which I also saw, but for all 

 these things time does not permit ; a good opportunity 

 of sending to New York occurring to-morrow morn- 

 ing. So I must leave the hiatus. . , . 



I was called this morning at a quarter befoi-e four ; 

 went down to the steamboat, which was to start 

 promptly at five, but which did not until half an hour 

 later, — a narrow comfortless vessel, with no awning 

 or protection for the decks, in which point, and in the 

 lack of all comfortable arrangements, it is just like 

 every other steamboat I have seen since I left New 

 York, those between Liverpool and Glasgow alone 

 excepted. The Rhone, even at Lyons and far below, 

 merits pretty well the epithets applied to it, where 

 it " leaves the bosom of its nursing lake," — " the blue 

 rushing of the arrowy Rhone," for it is rapid the 

 whole course. At Lyons it has a blue tint like that 

 of the ocean, though not so deep. Well, we were off 

 at length, and aided by the current we made very 



1 Nicolas Charles Seringe, 1775-1856 ; professor at Lyons. Seringia 

 named for him. 



