um;--and after so many years of war, are dissatisfied at having no
conquests to boast of.

It cannot be however expected that the great bias given to the French in
favour of war, by their late ruler, should speedily subside; but the
restless and impatient spirit which at present prevails in France, and
which would engage immediately in a fresh war, must be in some degree
restrained by the exhausted state of their finances; and as it is, many
of the taxes are much complained of.

* * * * *

CHAP. XII.

I remained at Geneva longer than I had at first intended, and at last
quitted it with regret. I shall ever recollect the time I spent there
with pleasure; but the period allotted for my tour would not permit me
to remain any longer stationary; and I therefore set off for the
mountains of Jura, celebrated for the extensive and varied prospects
which they afford of the Alps, &c. I was much pleased with the scenery
of the little lake and valley of _Joux_, shut out by mountains from the
rest of the Canton of Vaud. At Coponex I met two gentlemen, who were
indebted to their horse for having escaped being robbed the evening
before. They were travelling slowly in an open carriage, when suddenly
they were ordered to stop by several men of French appearance, who were
thought to be disbanded soldiers. This adventure made a great noise in a
neighbourhood, where highway robbery is extremely unusual. We
breakfasted at a neat inn in the village of Lassera, and afterwards went
to see the chief curiosity of the place, the separation of a rivulet
into two branches, one of which falls into the Lake of Neufchatel, and
eventually through the rivers Aar and Rhine into the German Ocean; the
other runs into the Lake of Geneva, and by means of the Rhone at length
reaches the Mediterranean. This singularity proves the facility with
which the Lakes of Neufchatel and Geneva might be made to communicate
with each other. Accordingly, a canal has long since been commenced; but
its projectors have made little progress in their undertaking. The
little town of Orbe, is nearly surrounded by a river of the same name;
it bears evident marks of antiquity, and from its position, must have
been in former times a place of considerable strength. The ancient kings
of Burgundy had a residence here.

This part of the country is highly varied, and presents a most
picturesque appearance.

Land in the Pays de Vaud, I found,