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had not comprised a longer residence in
Piedmont. We crossed the Semplon, and
descending the valley of the Rhone, proceeded
to Geneva along the Savoy side of
the lake, passing one night at Evian, a
town which contains about one thousand
five hundred inhabitants, and is much re sorted
to in summer for the mineral waters
in its vicinity ; they are chalybeate, with a
considerable quantity of carbonic acid gas.
Evian is pleasantly situated near the lake,
and almost opposite Lausanne, from which
it is distant about two leagues, in a direct
line over tlie water. The country between
Evian and the mountains behind it is extremely
rich and beautiful. This would be
a most agreeable summer retreat, were the
accommodations good, which I should be
inclined to doubt from what I saw there ;
but the season was then over. The difficulty
which the custom-house officers oppose
to the free intercourse with Lausanne
and the northern side of the lake, also prevents
visitors from enjoying excursions by
water, as they might otherwise do.
Thonon is situated five miles west of
E v ian : it is a considerable town for Savoy,
and was formerly the capital of the province
called Chablais. This town is opposite
to Rolle, in the Pays de Vaud ; the
widest part of the lake is between Thonon
and Rolle. On an eminence to the northeast
of Thonon stand the remains of the
chateau and monastery of Ripaille. It was
originally an Augustin priory, founded by
Amadeus the first duke of Savoy, and when
he afterwards determined to renounce the
cares of government,he chose Ripaille as the
most delightful situation in Savoy for a residence,
where he might pass the remainder
of his days in retirement. He built a chateau
near to the convent, with seven towers
and seven suites of apartments, to each of
which there was a separate garden, opening
into a great park planted with oak
trees. In this park were several diverging
vistas, through each of which might be
seen some town or village in the Pays de
Vaud, on the opposite side of the lake, a
country then belonging to Savoy. In this^
castle Amadeus convoked the states of
the duchy, on the 7th of November, 1434,
and abdicated the sovereignty in favour o f
his son Louis ; at the same time, he instituted
the order of St. Maurice, and declared
himself grand-master, and fixed his abode
ink':