and is open from one till three o’clock every Tuesday.  Two secretaries are then engaged, under the inspection of the librarian, in taking lists of the books which are borrowed or returned.  The hydraulic machine on the Rhone, which supplies the city with water, although it is less complicated than that at Marli, is not less ingenious, and is certainly of greater utility.  The wheel is twenty-four feet in diameter, and raises about 500 pints a minute at all seasons (being preserved from the effects of frost) to two reservoirs, one seventy, the other 126 feet above the level of the river.  The first supplies the fountains and houses in the lower part of the town, and the second those in the more elevated situations.  The water of the Rhone, although transparently clear, is hard and unpleasant to drink.

In enumerating the public establishments of Geneva, I must not omit to mention the Society for the Advancement of the Arts, which was originally projected by M. Faizan, an eminent watch-maker; its first meetings were held at M. de Saussure’s house.  This society is now so considerable as to be under the direction of government, and its meetings are held in the town-hall, where subjects connected with agriculture and the useful arts are discussed, and prizes distributed, as well to the school of drawing (which is on a most respectable footing) as to all, who distinguish themselves, either by inventions of utility, or by noble or humane actions.

Another excellent establishment here, is the Chambre des Bles, or magazine of corn; this is a large and handsome building, and always contains an ample supply of good wheat.  The direction of this establishment is immediately in the government, and its managers are selected from the different councils.  The benefits arising from abundant seasons, cover the expences occasioned by years of scarcity.  The bakers being obliged to buy here whatever quantity of corn they may require, and at an uniform price it follows that the price of bread always continues the same, and that price is fixed by the grand council.  The managers of this store, to prevent the bakers from making bread of an inferior quality, have established a shop in each quarter of the city; and the bakers, to ensure a ready sale, are obliged to make their bread of equal quality with that which could be procured at the shops of the managers of this establishment.  The churches of Geneva are not distinguished by any architectural beauties, if we except the portico of the cathedral, which is constructed of rough marble, said to be copied after that of the Rotunda at Rome; it is considered equal to that of St. Genevieve at Paris, but I cannot subscribe to that opinion.