The Swiss Riviera 
MOUNTAIN SHEEP SEEKING SHADE 
the sires of Blonay were not able 
to hold themselves as independent 
lords, so they attached themselves 
to the house of Savoie, who had 
other strongholds on the south 
side of the lake, and received 
from them high dignities in re¬ 
turn for their constant fidelity. 
About the patrimonial manor, the 
old castle of Blonay, built 1175, 
clustered twenty villages which 
they controlled, and here they 
held their little court and lived 
surrounded by vassals, who in 
time of peace took part in their 
fetes and hunts, and in times of 
war followed them to battle. 
The conquest by the Bernese 
was a terrible blow to their im¬ 
portance; one branch of the family 
remained Catholic and Savoyard 
and continued near Evian; the 
other Reform and Vaudois, and 
resides in the chateau of Blonay. 
Approaching the shore by boat the many new 
buildings are very conspicuous in the landscape, 
but few have the charm or interest equal to the small 
classical villa on the Isle de Clarens, standing out 
bright in the sunshine, which was recently built 
by Monsieur Chartran, the great French painter, 
recently better known in America by reason of his 
portraits of President Roosevelt and his family. 
Beautiful Chillon itself is, however, so softened by 
time, and so blends in with the landscape and its 
surroundings, that it at first escapes one’s notice. 
In the Middle Ages the lake was the great route 
for transportation, and during the wars between the 
lakeside states and because of the rivalries between 
the families, it was the scene of many bloody naval 
combats. The fleets of the princes, lords and 
abbes displayed their banners in the daytime, while 
during the night the brigands attacked the belated 
mariners for plunder. How great the contrast with 
the present time! 
A Temple by the Lakeside 
