ad
altered into "Chambre des Paris," or the Upper House, inscribing the
other cabin with his pencil as the Chambre des Deputes.

Many a person fond of indulging in classical reveries, and not aware of
the real breadth of the Clitumnus, may have formed a very spacious idea
of that celebrated stream, and longed to contemplate its wide reaches
from the foot of its well-known temple. As however the Clitumnus is in
this identical spot, not broader than what a Yorkshire farmer would call
"a bonny beck," and a Yorkshire fox-hunter would ride at without
hesitation, the imaginary picture of it may with real propriety be
transferred to the Saone near Tournus, winding as it does through the
extensive meadows of a rich champaign country, and reflecting in its
broad blue mirror the herds of fine white cattle which we saw paddling
in every creek. It bears a strong resemblance to many parts of the Po,
excepting in the stillness of its current, which was so great, that it
would have been easy while leaning over the bow of the vessel, to fancy
the Saone into the blue sky, and the coche d'eau, into Southey's vessel
of the Suras, or Wordsworth's aerial skiff.

At seven in the evening we came within view of the stately towers of
Macon, a town, to all appearance, fully equal to Chalons in size and
opulence, and much exceeding it as a subject for the pencil. Its fine
navigation, the general richness of the country, and the productive
vineyards on the neighbouring hills, all unite to render it a central
point of business and bustle. There are several inns on the quay, of a
good appearance; but we found the Hotel de l'Europe, to which we had
been directed, in every respect deserving of its high reputation, and
inferior, perhaps, to no country inn on the continent. After
reconnoitring Mont Blanc again from the windows of the clean and airy
bed-rooms to which we had been shown, we dined at the table d'hote,
which was served within a quarter of an hour after the arrival of the
coche. Among the more polished company present, I was not a little
diverted by some scattered specimens of the French gentleman-farmer,
present for the express purpose of wallowing for once in a dinner drest
by the Duc d'Angouleme's ci-devant cook; fat and well-clad; their
countenances wearing a sort of awkward purse-proud defiance to the cool
sarcastic look with which the Parisian travellers eyed them; and their
conscious shame struggling with the desire to appropriate al