She Had Great Talent Of
Conversation, And I Never In My Life Met With A Lady Possessed Of So Much
Historical Knowledge.
I started on the 27th June from Lausanne, passed the
first night at Mondon and the next afternoon arrived at Avenches, the
Aventicum of the ancient Romans.
Payerne is only a mile distant from
Avenches, and I was received with the utmost cordiality by the worthy
pastor and his daughter. The scenery on the road to Avenches is very like
the scenery in all the rest of the Canton de Vaud, viz., alternate mountain
and valley, lofty trees, and every spot capable of cultivation bearing some
kind of produce; corn just ready for the sickle and fruit such as cherries
and strawberries in full bloom. Avenches has an air of great antiquity and
looks very gloomy withal, which forms a striking contrast to the neat, well
built towns and villages of this Canton on the banks of the lake Leman
where everything appears so stirring and cheerful. Avenches, on the
contrary, is very dull, and there is little society.
At Mr. J[omini] there were, besides his daughter, his son and his son's
wife. All the ministres (for such is the word in use to designate
Protestant clergymen and you would give great offence were you to call them
pretres) have a fixed salary of 100L sterling per annum, with a house and
ground attached to the cure; so that by farming a little they can maintain
then? families creditably. M. Jomini lost his wife some time ago, and still
remains a widower.
I left Payerne on the fifth of July and walked to the campagne of M. de
T[reytorre]us,[107] situated on the banks of the lake Morat. It is a very
pretty country house, spacious and roomy, and I was received with the
utmost cordiality by M. de T[reytorrens] and his amiable family. He is a
very opulent proprietor in this part of the country, and has spent part of
his life in England. He is a dignified looking man, a little too much
perhaps of the old school and no friend to the innovations and changes
arising from the French Revolution. Having lived much among the Tory
nobility of England, he has imbibed their ideas and views of things. His
son is now employed in one of the public offices in London. His wife and
three daughters, one of whom is married to a ministre, dwell with him.
With this family I passed three days in the most agreeable manner. I find
the style and manner of living of the noblesse (or country gentlemen, as
we should style them) of Switzerland very comfortable, in every sense of
the word. I wish my friends the French would take more to a country life,
it would essentially benefit the nation. The way of living in M. de
T[reytorre]us family is as follows. A breakfast of coffee and bread and
butter is served up to each person separately in their own room, or in the
Salle a manger, Before dinner every one follows his own avocation or
amusement.
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