We found at Bex an excellent inn, which is not undeserving the reputation it has acquired of being the best in Switzerland.  This little town is situated amongst lofty mountains, which the industry of the peasants have cultivated wherever it was practicable, and they often carry their cattle with great labour to little spots of pasture which would otherwise have been lost, as without assistance, they could not have arrived at them.  The cottages on the side of the Valais are so placed, as to contribute greatly to enliven the scenery; and they are also remarkable for their singular construction, being mostly built on wooden pillars, several feet above the surface of the ground.

Many of the inhabitants have two or three houses in different parts of their possessions, which they inhabit according as the season of the year requires their attention to the different places where they are situated.  These people are said to be descended from the northern tribes, and certainly resemble them in their wanderings; I have seen a whole hamlet deserted, the season not requiring the residence of the people.  In countries which boast a larger portion of civilization, the fashion prevails over the division which the seasons seem to point out.  An inhabitant of the Valais would no doubt be surprised at the summer being the season in which our fashionables resort to London, from the purer air of the country.  The Valais abounds with vineyards, but the wines are by no means palatable to persons who have tasted those of more favoured countries.

In the vicinity of Bex and Aigle are the only salt-springs in Switzerland.  They are of vast extent, and the view of the subterranean galleries, and of tin:  reservoirs of brine, is very striking.  The town of Aigle is principally built of black marble, which is in great abundance in its neighbourhood, and the polishing of which affords employment to a number of persons.

I observed more corn in this district than I had before seen in Switzerland, but was informed, that it did not grow a sufficient quantity for the consumption of its inhabitants, who are said to exceed 10,000.  The church of Bex is neat, and has been lately repaired.  We next arrived at Villeneuve, which is only remarkable as a place of embarkation on the lake of Geneva.  Our plan was to return to Geneva by water, but the violence of the wind, which was against us, and which had greatly ruffled the lake, obliged us to continue our journey along its banks.  The length of this lake is about 50 or 53 English miles, and its breadth from 10 to 12.  This vast body of water is sometimes so much agitated by sudden storms from the surrounding mountains, as to be covered with waves like the sea.  We were highly pleased with the extraordinary scene of cultivation which its banks presented; they are sometimes extremely steep, but are formed by the unceasing industry of the inhabitants into terraces supported by walls, and if their labour in originally making