Polliat (3 miles). Pop. 1,500. And 5 miles from this is BOURG, or Bourg-en-Bresse. 23 miles from Macon, 298 from Paris. HOTELS.-Du Palais; de l'Europe; du Nord; du Griffin. Population 11,680. The chief town of department Ain (formerly La Bresse), in a fine spot on the Reyssouse, was founded in the thirteenth century by the dukes of Savoy, and given up to France, 1350. It is on the whole well built; having some fountains, one of which is to the memory of General Joubert. A good bronze statue of Bichat, the surgeon, by David, is in the Bastion promenade; Nôtre Dame church, in the Gothic and Rennaisance styles, contains some noticeable carvings in the stalls of the choir. At the Hotel de Ville is the Musée Lorin, of 117 paintings, bequeathed to the town, 1856. There are also a halle au blé (corn market), a circular building; public library of 19,000 volumes; college or school; a prison on the site of the ducal château; and a large hospital outside the town. In Faubourg de Brou is the fine Gothic church of Brou, built in the 15th cent., by Margaret of Austria, whose motto, "Fortune, fortune, fortune," is repeated all over it, and whose remains were discovered in the crypt, 1856. It is 228 feet long. It contains many specimens of arabesque and other carvings, stained windows, and tombs of the dukes of Savoy, when seated here, besides eight or nine religious houses. The dial was set up by Lalande, the astronomer, who was born at a house in the town, with "Observatoire, 1792," upon its front. Manufactures of linens, cotton thread, silk stockings, leather; and a trade in wine, corn, live stock. Good poultry is got here. Conveyances to St. Etienne-du-Bois, Coligny, Lonsle-Saulnier, &c. From Bourg, through the forest of Seillon, to La Vavrette (6 miles). Pass the Surand, a branch of the Ain, to Pont d'Ain (5 miles), on the Ain, here crossed by a suspension bridge. On Mont Olivet (about 1,000 feet high) is an old castle of the dukes of Savoy. Pop. 1,470. Coaches to Neuville, Cerdon, La Cluse, Nantua, St. Claude (see Route 21.) [CERDON (13 kil.) under precipitous mountains, is near the fine fall of Marcolin, close to the old castles of Labatie and St. Jullien; and not far from the great fall of the river Fogue, in a wild spot. NANTUA (19 kil. further), a sous-préfecture, &c., of 3,701 souls, on a lake between the mountains in the Jura chain, having a Lombard church, where Charles the Bold was buried. Fine trout are caught in the lake. Trade in shoes, muslins, woollens, tapes, thread, &c. Hotels.-Du Nord; de L'Ecu (crown piece); d'Angleterre.] Cross the Ain on a six-arch bridge, near a taffeta factory. Ambronay (3 miles), near a Roman fort called, however, Motte Sarrasin. The Gothic church was part of an abbey founded by St. Bernard. Coaches to St. Jean-le-Vieux, Jujurieux. Amberieu (4 miles), at the junction with the direct line from Lyon, (See A, below). Pop. 2,470. An ancient necropolis was laid open in building the station. It stands at the foot of the Jura mountains. The source of the Gardon is at hand, with Allymes castle and St. Denis-le-Chauson tower, near Mont Luisandre, which stands 2,653 feet above sea. Coaches to Lagnieu, Rix, Serrieres, &c. Across the Rhône (to the south) is the large and curious grotto de Balme. [A. The stations towards Lyons are as follows:Leyment (4 miles) in a gorge. Meximieux (5 miles), where four high roads meet, under an old castle. Pop. 2,500. It has a good trade. Montluel (8 miles), stands below the ancient Mons Lupelli, on the Séreine, and has part of a Roman way, which went to Lyons, past Miribel, &c. Pop. 2,800 Cloth for the army is made here. It was the capital of Valbonnes. Beynost (2 miles). Miribel (2 miles). Pop. 2,920. Thence to the quai of St. Clair, on the Rhône, and, by a handsome iron viaduct, over to Les Brotteaux, in the suburbs of Lyons, See Route 20. From Ambérieu, by road, up the valley of the Albarine, among wooded heights and remains of old forts, to ST. RAMBERT-DE-JOUX (7 miles), where the river Brévon falls in, on the Albarine, among moure tains, with a pop. of 2,800, employed in the manufacture of linens, damasks, silks, velvet, and paper. A pass, 20 kil. long, leads between steep cliffs on both sides, on to BELLEY (33 kil.) a sous-préfecture and bishopric, on the Furan, near the Rhône, which is rossed by a supension bridge for the high road into Italy across the frontier. It was rebuilt after a fire in 1385 by the dukes of Savoy, and given | Paradis (3,363 feet), opening out upon the Credo up to France, with the district of Bugey, 1609. mountains (the Jura in the distance) and Arlad The Cathedral has two pillars of a temple to Castle. Cybele, and a good clock-tower. Le Camus the friend of St. Francis de Sales, held the diocese. There are a public library, Abbé Greppo's cabinet of medals, &c., and the college where Lamartine was educated. Hotels.-Loyola; Tissot. Bellegarde (11 miles), a buffet, at the Swiss border, is among the rocks on the Rhône where the Valserine joins it. Every one coming into France is strictly searched here by the custom-house officers, and the passport asked for. Here the fall of the Rhône, the deep bed of the Several lakes, grottoes, mountains &c., are in the Valserine, and the point of junction of the two rivers neighbourhood. may be visited by the curious; also the fine viaduct At 22 kil. further is Chambéry in Savoy; but this is of the Valserine, 820 feet long, on 11 arches, one of best reached by rail, from Culoz station.] The mountain valley becomes more wild and cipitous, to which is 164 feet high and 171 feet span. There is a pre-road bridge over the Rhône. Leaving Bellegarde, we enter the grand Credo tunnel, which pierces a range of the Jura mountains, and is 12,796 feet long, ventilated by six shafts, the deepest being 705 feet down to the line. An English firm, Brassey and Buddicum were the contractors; it took 3 years to Tenay, where the river forms several cascades, and turns mills. The line still ascends to a point 1,294 feet above sea, from which it then descends to the valley of the Rhône, at Rossillon (8 miles) marked by an old fortress. make. Coaches to Belley, Yenne, &c. The fort of Ecluse, built by Vauban, to guard the Through a deep rocky cutting, and a tunnel of 1,883 deep pass, becomes visible. It was destroyed 1814, feet, to and has been restored and strengthened. Virieu-le-Grand (4 miles), where the vine short tunnels of 279 feet and 606 feet, to begins to appear. Pop. 950. Coach to Belley. Artemare (2 miles). Coaches to Champagne, Fitignieu, &c. Here Mont Colombier, and the fall of Cerveyrien (6 kil.) may be visited. The mountain close to the station) is nearly 5,030 feet above sea, and commands, therefore, a fine prospect of the Rhône valley, the Dauphiny Alps, &c. The fall, best seen in spring, then makes a descent of 150 feet. The tooth-like peaks of hills about here are called molars. Culoz (5 miles), on the Rhône, under the southside of the Colombier mountain. Here the branch line to Chambéry parts off, crossing the Rhône by a bridge of 685 feet to Chatillon, the next station to Aix-les-Bains, whence it is 10 miles to CHAMBÉRY, and 130 miles to TURIN.-See Bradshaw's Swiss Handbook. Seyssel (8 miles) station is opposite the village, which lies on the Swiss side of the river, and is reached by a suspension bridge, with the douanes of the two countries upon it. Here Seyssel asphalte is quarried, and the river is navigable for barges. Montagne du Credo is 5,356 feet above sea level. Pass Dorche chàteau, then the iron viaduct of the Vézéronce, which stands 121 feet high, and rests on an arch 164 feet span, divided again, for strength, into three arches. The Pyrimont Seyssel mines of asphalte are close by. The rocky banks of the Rhône are now pierced by a succession of tunnels, named Surjoun (499 feet long). Bognes (1,476 feet), Gônnisseat (2.760 feet), and Pass two Collonges (7 miles). Pop., 1,280. Chancy (1 mile). A bridge across the Rhône is just finished. La Plaine (31 miles), the first place within the Genevese territory. Satigny (3 miles). Pop., 1,044. Meyrin (2 miles). Here the line attains its culminating point, 1,334 feet above sea level, and Mont Blanc may be caught sight of. Pass a long cutting and embankment to Geneva, 100 miles from Lyons, 114 from Macon, See Bradshaw's Swiss Handbook. 389 from Paris. ROUTE 24. Lyons to St. Etienne, Andrezieux, By railway, 841 miles, 4 to 5 hours. Oullins (3 miles), on the west bank of the Rhône, which our line follows to Givors, while the Marseilles line follows the east bank. Oullens is a pretty spot, having a college, which was the seat of Cardinal de Tencin; a church in which Jacquard is buried; and the Château du Perron, which belongs to the Lyons Hospital. St. Genis Laval, near this, was an old seat of the primates of Lyons. Irigny (32 miles). Vernaison (2 miles) opposite Solaise, La Tour-de-Millery (13 mile). Grigny (1 mile), opposite Ternay, is a little port, and has remains of a fine château of the Moulceau family. Givors (2) miles) is placed where the canal and the Gier join the Rhône, and has a basin or port, 880 feet long. Pop., 10,000. There are important glassworks and foundries here, and a large new church, in the Grecian style. A junction of 3 kil. places it in communication with Chasse, on the Marseilles line, across the Rhône. St. Romain (3 miles). Burel (2 miles). Couzon (3 miles), near a tunnel of 2,950 feet. Rive de Gier, close to the last station, a manufacturing town of 12,000 souls, on the Gier, where the canal to Givors ends in a large basin, is at the middle of the best coal field in France. They make glass, steel, machinery, railway carriages, silk, &c., here. It is in department Loire. Some distance to the right, at Champonost, are to be seen many arches of a Roman aqueduct. Grandecroix (3 miles) or Les Rouardes. St. Chamond (3 miles), under a cultivated hill, where the Janon joins the Gier. Pop., 8,300. It is well built, and has two churches, a college and library, public baths, and a ruined château, with many foundries, cotton and silk mills. Ribbons, lace, nails, copper goods, &c., are made. Hotels.-Du Chapeau Rouge (Red Hat); la Tête d'Or (Gold Head). Many fossil plants, of the usual tropical character, are found in the coal mines. Terrenoire (5 miles). Then through a tunnel of 4,900 feet (only a single line), to St. Etienne (1 mile). ST. ETIENNE (35 miles from Lyons.) HOTELS.-De l'Europe; Du Nord; De la Paix; De la Poste. Pop., 56,100, or 60,000 with the suburbs. In 1804 it was only 24,000. A sous-préfecture in department Loire, on the Furens, with little to recommend it beyond its manufactures of fire arms, tools, cutlery, hardware, and ribbons, which are some of the most important in France. It stands on a rich bed of coal and iron, and the river turns above a hundred factories of various sorts. Grindstones are quarried in the neighbourhood, of the white sandstone of which the houses are built. The Hôtel de Ville, in the Grand Place, is a large pile, including the bourse (exchange), chamber of commerce (conseil de prud'hommes), museum of minerals and practical arts, and a bibliothèque of 5,000 volumes. The church is of the 11th cent. There are bridges, a school of mines, a college, the government gun factory, a salle de spectacle (theatre), gas works, &c. The ribbons produced here are of great beauty, and worth upwards of 45,000,000 fr. yearly. About 500,000 tons of coal are exported. Conveyances: coach to Le Puy, Clermont, &c. [Across the ridge dividing the basins of the Loire and Rhône lies BOURG-ARGENTAL (28 kil. south-east), which stands in the valley of the Deune, under an old castle, and is noted for its white silk manufacture. ANNONY (see Route 20) is 15 kil. further.] From St. Etienne, on the railway to Montbrison and Roanne by a succession of inclined planes only, you pass Villars (32 miles). La Fouillouse (2) miles). Here a branch rail, of six miles, for goods, coal, &c.. turns off to Andrezieux, passing La Querilliere station. Montrond (6 miles), a little place on the Seine, 15 kil. from Montbrison (to which there is a coach), having the ruins of an old castle, with another, called Bellegarde, not far off. [MONTBRISON. HOTELS.-Du Centre; De la Poste; Du Lion d'or. Pop., 6,000. All the trains stop at Montrond for this town (fare 1 franc), via which there is a correspondence with Clermont (see Route 53). It was chosen for the capital of department Loire, on account of being near the middle of it, and stands on the Vizezy, under a volcanic rock, which bears some remains of a castle built by the counts of Forey, and gives name to the place. The old town walls are gone; it is ill built; and the only edifice worth notice is Nôtre Dame cathedral Church, founded 1205, by Guy IV., Comte de Forey, whose marble effigy, with a lion at the feet, is inside. It is a plain Gothic building, having but one tower completed, and a lofty vault. St. Maurice church has a dome. The Préfecture belonged to the brethren of the Oratory; a library of 15,000 volumes is at the college. There are a corn market, a salle de spectacle, barracks, a hospice, &c. Charles VII. signed a treaty here with the Duke of Savoy. It was ravaged by the Calvinist leader, the Baron des Adrets, 1562. In the neighbourhood are three mineral springs on the river, one, called the Hospital, being the most useful. Conveyances to Clermont-Ferrand, &c. About 2 kil. south of Montbrison, at Moignt, is a round building, about 130 feet diameter, faced with pilasters, and commonly called the palace of the Saracens. It is supposed to be the site of the Roman Mediodunum. Further south (21 kil. from Montbrison), is St. Bonnet-le-Château, near Agrippa's Roman way, on the top of a hill, on which stood the camp of Varus, afterwards styled Château-Vair.] The next station on the main line, is Feurs (6 miles), on the Loire, the old capital of Forrez, and the site of the Roman Forum Secfusianorum, of which traces are seen, in parts of the church, in a mosaic, &c., in a house hard by, besides parts of columns, aqueducts, &c. There is a bronze statue to Colonel Combes, who fell at Constantine, in Algiers. Pop., 2,900. Outside is an unfinished church, begun by Louis XVIII., as a memorial to the victims of the Revolution. Mont Lezore, a basalt hill, is near Balbigny (5 miles); then comes St. Jodard (6 miles), on a double inclined plane. Vendranges St. Prie (3 miles), near St. Symphorien de Lay, which has remnants of old walls, and cotton factories. St. Cyr (3 miles). Roanne (4 miles), the Roman Rhodumna, and a sous-préfecture in department Loire, on that river, with 13,400 pop., and a trade by water and rail in wines (called Renaison, St. Andre, &c.), cotton, grain, iron, charcoal, and other products. It has a good bridge over the Loire, a large church, baths, a theatre, and a library of 10,000 volumes at the college. Conveyances to Clermont, &c. Here the junction with the Orleans rail, viâ Moulin, is formed, making the direct railway distance of Roanne from Paris 280 miles. ROUTE 25. Lyons to Bourgoin, Grand Chartreuse, Grenoble, Gap, Digne, Cannes, Nice. By rail to Bourgoin, by road to Voison, rail to Grenoble, thence by road. Distance about 260 miles. Lyons station, in Perrache, as in Route 20. Venissieux (4 miles), in dept. Isère. St. Priest (3 miles). Pass St. Laurent-desMures (pop. 1,200), so called for its mulberry trees. Heyrieux (6 miles). LA TOUR DU PIN (15 kil.), a sous-préfecture, with 2,700 souls, on the Bourbre, with a trade in wine, grain, leather, &c. LE GAZ (8 kil.), where the road from Grenoble and Voreppe crosses the Rhône, towards Belley, on the other side of it. [Following the Chambéry road, you come to PONT DE BEAUVOISIN (10 kil.), on the Guiers, which is covered by a single arched bridge with the French and Savoy douanes at the ends. Pop. 3,800 (part in both countries). The Chaille pass leads on by Les-Echelles-de-Savoie (15 kil.), St Thibault-de-Cour (12 kil.), by Chambéry (12 kil.), whence the rail is taken to St. Jean de Maurienne, then over Mont Cenis to Susa, and by rail again to Turin, in ITALY. At Les Echelles-de-Savoie, there is a way, south, to St. Laurent-du-Pont, from which the Chartreuse may be visited, as below.] The next place to Le Gaz is MONTFERRAT (9 kil.) Then Voiron station (19 kil.), on the St. Rambert and Grenoble line, in the richly cultivated valley of Grésivaudan. Coaches to Apprieu, Burcin, Chambéry, les Echelles, Grand Lemps, Montferrat, Pont de Beauvoisin, St. Etienne, St. Laurent-du-Pont, Virieu, &c. Moirans (4 miles), near VOREPPE (pop. 3,100), where sand for making glass, &c., is got, and conveyances may be taken for Grand Chartreuse. Coaches to l'Abène, l'Allègerie, Tullins, Vinay, &c. [La Grand Chartreuse takes about 6 hours to reach by mule, which may be hired for 5 fr. there and back. Passing through the valley, covered with fir, &c., on one side you come to La Placette (1 hours); then to St. Laurent-du-Pont (1 hours), about half-way (10 miles) from Voreppe, on the little mountain stream of Guiers-Mort, up which the road lies. At Fourvoirie ( hour), the path suddenly narrows, at a rustic bridge, thrown across the stream. A gateway leads on to the rugged path made by the monks through this defile, which is lined by cliffs, several hundred feet high, covered with trees, and is so narrow and obscure that you can hardly see the sun, the river all the while foaming at the bottom. After Pont Peraut bridge (3) hours) is crossed you come to a second gateway and a pointed rock called the Ailletto or Aiguillette, from which the pass widens, up to the spot where the Monastery stands, in a circle of forests and irregular peaks, 4,270 feet above the sea. LA GRANDE CHARTREUSE (13 miles), the head of that monkish order of which Charter House in London was a branch, was founded, 1084, by St. Bruno, from the mistaken notion that he would find purity of heart and love to God and man, in flying from his duty to society, to a life of useless contemplation. The present pile is of a much later date, an irregular collection of high-roofed buildings. One long gallery leads to the general's apartments, church, kitchen, refectory, &c.; another to the cloisters, chapterhouse, and cells for about sixty brethren and servitors. Higher up the stream is a chapel, which was St. Bruno's cell. The monks dress in white or brown; they take one meal a day with a light supper, alone, but on Sundays and holidays they meet in the refectory, some one reading while the others eat. Strangers are kindly treated, and you may find eggs, fish, fruit, and sweetmeats, with a good bed, for which it is usual to give them 4 francs a-day. Ladies are lodged outside the precincts. The monks make excellent vegetable elixir and eau de melisse, distilled from the plants around; also tooth powder, and mineral paste called boule d'acier. You come back on the same road, or round to Grenoble, by Sapey, in six hours.] St. Robert (7 miles), from which it is 3 miles to HOTELS.-Hotel Monnet, 14, Place Grenette, kept by Mr. Trillat, son-in-law and successor to Mr. Monnet. Excellent accommodation. De l'Europe, Place Grenette, a good and most comfortable house, deserving our best recommen dations. Hotel des Trois Dauphins, Pop., 31,300. H OBJECTS OF NOTICE.-Statue of Bayard-Palais de justice-Museum-Fortifications. An ancient fortified town, chief place of department Isère, head of a diocese, and of a military division, finely seated on the rapid Isère (which cuts it in two), under a hilly ridge 900 feet above sea, called Mont Rachel. The best view of it is from this ridge, which commands a wide prospect of 30 leagues, taking in even Mont Blanc. The Drac joins the Isère, near the town. The old province of Dauphiné, of which it was the capital, took its name from the dolphin, or Dauphin, borne, at first, in the arms of its old counts and their successors, then by the eldest son of the reigning sovereigns. It was called Cularo by the Romans, till the Emperor Gratian changed it to Gratianopolis, whence the present name is derived. The oldest part is St. Laurent, on the north bank, where the old wall stood, below the ridge just mentioned, which has the new citadel on it, enclosing a piece of the ancient Bastille. Two bridges (one, a suspension bridge) join this, to the Bonne, or largest half, on the south side, which contains some good houses (on the quays) and streets; but, in general, the streets are narrow. It has seven gates, with many fountains; and is lit with gas. Among the promenades and objects worth notice, are Place Grenette; Place Nôtre Dame and its Cathe dral, a Gothic structure of no mark; Place St. André, containing a bronze statue of the famous Bayard, and a church which held the tombs of the Dauphins, whose old Gothic palace is now the Palais de Justice, opposite; the Cours, towards Pont de Chaix; the Porte de France; and the public gardens (with a figure of Hercules), near the quai and the préfecture, which belonged to the Constable Lesdiguières. The crypt of St. Laurent's church, which dates from the sixth century, is in the quarter of that name. At the bishop's palace is another room, once occupied by Bonaparte. The college, or high school, the public library of 60,000 vols. and 600 MSS. are in the same building with the Museum, which, besides pictures, minerals, &c., contains statues of Condillac, Mably, Vaucanson, who were all natives, as were Casimer Perier, Barnave, Rollin (?) Here also is another of Bayard, "le chevalier sans peur et sans reproche" (the knight without fear or stain) who was born near Grenoble. There are an artillery school, schools of medicine, &c., two priests' seminaries, theatre, &c. The fortifications, as planned by Vauban and General Haxo, render this frontier town a place of great strength. It is liable to inundations in wet seasons. Rev. M. Fermaud is Protestant pastor here. Manufactures of good gloves, cottons, cheese, |