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204 GRUYERE.
Fribourg, though little visited, is more
interesting than any city in the neighbouring
cantons, because it carries the spectator
back to a state of society, altogether
different from that of modern Furope, and
its present inhabitants are in perfect keeping
with its antique appearance.
From Fribourg to Bulle the road is good,
and the scenery, though not mountainous,
is rich and p a sto ra l; but at Bulle we again
approach the mountains, and at Gruyere,
(two miles beyond Bulle,) celebrated for its
cheese, the scenery resembles, on a scale
less grand, that round Interlaken. In the
bed of the river, I observed limestone dipping
to the south-west, at an angle of
thirty degrees. In the other parts of our
route, both yesterday and to-day, the
limestone is everywhere covered by an
immense mass of sandstone, and conglomerate,
extending from Berne to the lake of
Geneva. The descent to Vevey from Bulle is
very fine : a deep and beautiful wooded valley
lies below the road on the le f t: through
this valley runs the river Veveyse. I observed
in this descent beds of sandstone
almost vertical, and near these were other
beds much confused. I should regard this
as a local slip, as this sand and sandstone
must, I think, be considered as of comparatively
recent date, lying unconformably
over the lower strata.
The preceding year w'e came to Vevey
by Lausanne, between which towns the
sides of the hills are covered with vines,
arranged in terraces, rising one above the
other, from the edge of the lake. The
finest grapes in the Pays de Vaud are grown
here ; they are as large and fine-flavoured
as our best hot-house grapes : this arises
from their being well sheltered from the
northern and easterly winds, by Mount
Jorat, behind Lausanne and Vevey, and
by the mountains on the north-east end of
the lake. The physicians at Geneva send
some of their patients here during the
vintage, to take what is called a regular
course of grapes, that is, to subsist for
three weeks entirely on this fruit, without
tasting any other food or drink. The quantity
recommended to be eaten is, in many
instances, about seven Fnglish pounds per
day. The patients generally dislike the
grape diet at first, but in a few days it becomes
agreeable, and they feel no inclina