Has very little, as a city, to recommend it. It is characterized by
much active industry within doors, the _savans_ and _mechaniciens_
being pent up in their closets and ateliers, and very little gaiety
pervades the promenades. Some parts of the town are sufficiently
picturesque; the overhanging roofs, for which it is remarkable, are,
however, too lofty to screen the pedestrian from the rain, especially
if accompanied by a high wind, and form no shade from the sun. The
pavement of the streets is bad, and their irregularity is a
considerable drawback from the internal appearance. The pavement of
the inclined plane in the Hotel de Ville, by which we gain the arduous
ascent that conducts to the Passport office, is a curiosity of its
kind, and perhaps unique. The city is tolerably well fenced in with
walls within walls, draw and suspension bridges, and gates; while
stakes and chains secure from surprise on the part of the lake. The
small canton of Geneva, though in the vicinity of the Great Alpine
chain and the mountains of the Jura, includes no mountains. The name
of the city and canton has been traced by the etymologists to a Celtic
origin; _Gen_, a sally-port or exit, and _av_, a river, probably
because the Rhone here leaves the Leman lake. The eagle on the
escutcheon of the city arms indicates its having been an _imperial_
city; and it is believed the key was an adjunct of Pope Martin V., in
the year 1418. The motto on the scroll, "Ex tenebris lux," appears to
have existed anterior to the _light_ of the Reformation. The number of
inhabitants may now be estimated at about 22,000; but it appears, by a
census in 1789, to have been 26,148. In this moral city, it is
computed that every twelfth birth is illegitimate. The number of
people engaged in clock and watch-making and jewellery, may be safely
rated at 3,000. In years favourable to these staple manufactures
75,000 ounces of gold are employed, which is almost equally divided
between watches and jewellery. The daily supply of silver is about 134
ounces. Pearls form an article of considerable value in the jewellery,
and have been rated at no less a sum that 1,200 francs daily. 70,000
watches are annually made, only one-twelfth of which are in silver.
More than fifty distinct branches are comprised in the various
departments, and each workman, on the average, earns about three
shillings a-day.--_Mr. John Murray's Tour_.
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