THE TOWN.
The valley described by Rollo in his letter to Lucy, contained in the
last chapter, is indeed a very remarkable pass. The Romans travelled it
nearly two thousand years ago, in going from Italy to France, or, as
they called it, Gaul. Caesar describes the country in his Commentaries;
and from that day to this it has been one of the greatest thoroughfares
of Europe.
The valley is very tortuous, and in some places it is very narrow; and
the road runs along through it like a white thread, suspended, as it
were, half way between the lofty summits of the mountains and the
roaring torrent of the Rhone in the deep abyss below.
After emerging from this narrow pass, the road comes out into an open
country, which is as fertile and beautiful, and as richly adorned with
hamlets, villas, parks, gardens, and smiling fields of corn and grain,
as any country in the world. At length, on coming over the summit of a
gentle swell of land, that rises in the midst of this paradise, the
great chain of the Alps, with the snowy peak of Mont Blanc crowning it
with its glittering canopy of snow, comes suddenly into view.
"Look there!" said the conductor to the company on the banquette. "See
there! the Mont Blanc, all uncovered!"
The French always call Mont Blanc _the_ Mont Blanc, and for _all clear
and in plain view_ they say _all uncovered_.
It is calculated that there are only about sixty days in the year, upon
an average, when Mont Blanc appears with his head uncovered. They,
therefore, whose coming into Switzerland he honors by taking off his
cap, have reason greatly to rejoice in their good fortune.
Rollo had seen snow-covered mountains shining in the sun before; but he
was greatly delighted with this new view of them. There is indeed a
peculiar charm in the sight of these eternal snows, especially when we
see them basking, as it were, in the rays of a warm summer's sun, that
is wholly indescribable. The sublime and thrilling grandeur of the
spectacle no pen or pencil can portray.
[Illustration: VIEW OF GENEVA]
After passing over the hill, and descending into the valley again, the
company in the diligence came soon in sight of the environs of Geneva.
They passed by a great many charming country seats, with neat walls of
masonry bordering the gardens, and wide gateways opening into pretty
courts, and little green lawns surrounding the chateaux. At length the
diligence came thundering down a narrow paved street into the town.
Every thing made haste to get out of the way. The postilion cracked his
whip, and cheered on his horses, and shouted out to the cartmen and
footmen before him to clear the way, and made generally as much noise
and uproar as possible, as if the glory of a diligence consisted in the
noise it made, and the sensation it produced in coming into town.
At length the immense vehicle wheeled round a corner, and came out upon
a broad and beautiful quay. The quay had a range of very elegant and
palace-like looking houses and hotels on one side, and the water of the
lake--exceedingly clear, and bright, and blue--on the other. The place
was at the point where the water of the lake was just beginning to draw
in towards the outlet; so that there was a pretty swift current.
The engraving represents the scene. In the foreground we see the broad
quay, with the buildings on one side, and the low parapet wall
separating it from the water on the other. In the middle distance we see
the diligence just coming out upon the quay from the street by which it
came into the town. A little farther on we see the bridge by which the
diligence will pass across to the other side of the river--the diligence
offices being situated in the row of buildings that we see on the
farther side. This bridge is not straight. There is an angle in it at
the centre. From the apex of this angle there is a branch bridge which
goes out to a little island in the lake. This island is arranged as a
promenade, and is a great place of resort for the people of Geneva.
There are walks through it and all around it, and seats under the trees,
and a parapet wall or railing encircling the margin of it, to prevent
children from falling into the water.
As the diligence rolled along the quay, and turned to go over the
bridge, Rollo could look out in one direction over the broad surface of
the lake, which was seen extending for many miles, bordered by gently
sloping shores coming down to the water. On the other side the current
was seen rapidly converging and flowing swiftly under another bridge,
and thence directly through the very heart of the town.
The diligence went over the bridge. While it was going over, Rollo
looked out first one way, towards the lake, and then the other way, down
the river. On the lake side there was a steamboat coming in. She was
crowded with passengers, and the quay at the other end of the bridge,
where the steamer was going to land, was crowded with people waiting to
see.
On the other side of the bridge, that is, looking down the stream, Rollo
saw a deep blue river running more and more swiftly as it grew narrower.
There were several other bridges in sight, and an island also, which
stood in the middle of the stream, and was covered with tall and
ancient-looking buildings. These buildings indeed more than covered the
original island; they extended out over the water--the outer walls
seeming to rest on piles, between and around which the water flowed with
the utmost impetuosity. The banks of the river on each side were walled
up, and there were streets or platform walks along the margin, between
the houses and the water. There were a great many bridges, some wide and
some narrow, leading across from one bank to the other, and from each
bank to the island between.
The diligence passed on so rapidly that Rollo had very little
opportunity to see these things; but he resolved that as soon as they
got established in the hotel he would come out and take a walk, and
explore all those bridges.
"It is just such a town as I like," said he to himself. "A swift river
running through the middle of it--water as clear as a bell--plenty of
foot bridges down very near to the water, and ever so many little
platforms and sidewalks along the margin, where you can stand and fish
over the railings."
In the mean time the diligence went thundering on over the bridge, and
then drove along the quay, on the farther side, past one office after
another, until it came to its own. Here the horses were reined in, and
the great machine came to a stand. The doors of the lower compartments
were opened, and the passengers began to get out. Two ladders were
placed against the side, one for the passengers on the banquette to get
down by, and the other to enable the blouses that stood waiting there to
uncover and get down the baggage. Rollo did not wait for his turn at the
ladder, but climbed down the side of the coach by means of any
projecting irons or steps that he could find to cling to.
"Now, Rollo," said Mr. Holiday, "the hotel is pretty near, and we are
going to walk there. I am going to leave you here to select out our
baggage, when they get it down, and to bring it along by means of a
porter."
"Yes, sir," said Rollo; "I should like to do that. But what hotel is
it?"
"The Hotel de l'Ecu," said Mr. Holiday.
So Mr. and Mrs. Holiday walked along the pier to the hotel, leaving
Rollo to engage a porter and to follow in due time.
The porter carried the baggage on his back, by means of a frame, such as
has been already described. Rollo followed him, and thus he arrived at
last safely at the hotel.