t was formerly the residence of the celebrated
philosopher Voltaire. The carriage stopped under some ancient trees, and
Mr. and Mrs. Holiday and Rollo got out and walked up an avenue. At the
head of the avenue they came to a gate which led into the grounds of the
chateau.

There was a bell cord hanging by this gate, and a placard up, requesting
visitors to ring the bell, and not to enter the grounds until the
domestic should come to guide them.

"Shall I ring, father?" said Rollo.

"Yes," said Mr. Holiday; "ring away."

So Rollo pulled the bell rope, and very soon a domestic came. He
received the company very politely, and invited them to follow him.

Mr. and Mrs. Holiday and Rollo accordingly followed him into the yard.
The domestic led them round to the front of the house, which was turned
away from the road. The front faced a beautiful lawn, ornamented with
walks and trees. In one place there was a table under the trees, with
seats around it, as if the family were accustomed sometimes to take
their tea there. From this lawn there was a beautiful view of the lake
and of the mountains beyond.

The domestic led them into the house, and showed them the two rooms in
it which contained most of the memorials of Voltaire. The most
remarkable of these memorials was a marble monument which stood on one
side of the room, and which Rollo said looked like an ornamental stove,
that contained Voltaire's _heart_. His body was buried in Paris, but his
heart was deposited in this sepulchral urn.

Besides this there were a number of pictures in the room, which had been
placed there by Voltaire. Some of them had been given to him by the
emperors and kings that he had been acquainted with.

Rollo, however, did not take much interest in any of these things. The
singular appearance of the room and of the furniture interested him in
some degree by its novelty, but in other respects he was very little
amused by what he saw. He was glad when the visit to the house was over,
and he came out again upon the lawn.

From the lawn there was a very splendid view. There was a broad and very
fertile slope of land extending for several miles down to the shore of
the lake. Beyond it was seen the blue expanse of the water, and still
farther another magnificent slope of fertile and richly-cultivated land,
which extended back beyond the lake to the foot of the mountains. A
lofty range of snow-clad summits rose in the distance, the towering
summi